Hungarian automotive industry: week 15 2018 edition
Last week saw two major acquisitions that could affect Hungarian manufacturing sites. The acquisition of both Takata and Federal Mogul could influence Hungarian activities. Let’s recap what last week brought in Hungary’s automotive industry.
Hungarian bus manufacturing
Kravtex-Kühne (pictured above) will expand its Győr plant with a manufacturing area of 1,000 square metres, while the Mosonmagyaróvár unit will be expanded with a 4,000sqm production space. With a Hungarian added value of 70-85 percent, Credo buses manufactured here contain the highest proportion of local products among Hungarian makes.
Acquisitions
Federal Mogul has been announced to change hands. Tenneco, the new owner, has plans to create two independent public limited companies following the $5.4 billion acquisition. One of them would focus on drivetrain systems, while the other is planned to concentrate on products such as suspension components and shock absorbers.
KSS has gathered enough capital to acquire nearly all of Takata’s airbag manufacturing equipment.
Development
Rába announced last week to close its HUF 10 billion programme by 2019, set to create Europe’s most advanced forging plant.
Japan-based Zoltek will create 347 jobs and install 8 production lines in Nyergesújfalu with a HUF 30.8 billion investment.
Domestic sales in the automotive industry grew by 26.1 percent from last February, while the rubber industry saw a 32.6 sales boost in the same period.
Education
Girls’ Day, an interactive, nationwide event will be held on April 26. The initiative’s aim is to inform girls about the advantages of professions in technology, engineering and computer science, enhancing their understanding of working life.
This year, more than 107,000 students submitted their applications to higher educational institutes: the most popular bachelor courses are in the fields of business management, IT engineering, healthcare, early childhood education and psychology.
A vehicle engineering PhD student from BME is researching interface joining technologies and their repair possibilities. His findings could prove to be valuable in the fields of electronics and various segments of automotive manufacturing. According to Miklós Berczeli, aluminium composites are an ideal choice for weight-saving purposes.
