Alcoa to double production in Székesfehérvár
The new investment project of American aluminium producer Alcoa in Székesfehérvár, central Hungary, will open a new chapter in Hungarian-US economic cooperation, State Secretary for External Economic Relations Péter Szijjártó said on Monday.
Alcoa is investing USD 13 million to expand its forged aluminium wheel manufacturing plant in Székesfehérvár. The investment will double the capacity of the facility and will create 35 new permanent jobs.
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| Photo: Károly Árvai |
Scott R. Kerns, Vice-President of Alcoa's wheel products business said: they are happy increase their presence in Hungary, party thanks to the support of the Government. He added that forged aluminium wheels were invented in 1948 and they have been under development ever since, and now the company is launching a "significant innovation, a new standard".
Alcoa Hungary Director Béla Forgó said that the company's Hungarian presence is a success story. He added that thanks to continuous investments, the company's production has always been pushed towards higher added value products.
Attending the foundation stone laying ceremony, the State Secretary noted that Alcoa is Hungary’s second largest investor from the USA. The firm has already created 1600 jobs in Hungary, in addition to which 75 percent of its suppliers are Hungarian SMEs, representing a further 4000 jobs created indirectly.
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| Photo: Károly Árvai |
To implement the project, the company is receiving USD 4.4 million in EU funding from the Hungarian Government. Construction of the expansion began in January 2014 and is expected to be completed in early 2015.
The State Secretary also underlined that the 600 or so US companies operating in Hungary have created 40,000 jobs and invested nearly 9 billion dollars over the past ten years, adding that in 2013 the United States became Hungary's second biggest non-European trading partner, with bilateral trade increasing by 24 percent to USD 5.5 billion.
The new production unit in Székesfehérvár, producer of forged aluminium wheels, will manufacture market-leading Alcoa's most innovative product. The management has high hopes regarding the wheel product, featuring Dura-Bright Evo surface treatment, and will double production capacity in Székesfehérvár by early-2015.
The State Secretary added that the Hungarian production unitwill supply the entire European market of lorry, bus and trailer manufacturers.
The Prime Minister's Office contributed to this article.
