Hungarian automotive industry: week 20 2018 edition

Interviews

Hungarian engineers are conducting research on how to improve the acoustics of Audi engines. Dr. Dániel Feszty, senior research engineer at Audi Hungaria’s vehicle development department, has recently returned from Canada to participate in a project related to car acoustics.

The Association of Hungarian Automotive Industry (AHAI) held a general meeting last week to elect new presidency and supervisory board members in a secret ballot. Secretary general Csaba Kilián gave us a summary of the event.

Workforce shortage and competitiveness are boosting interest surrounding automated manufacturing processes in order to increase better controllability and efficiency, says Adrienn Oláh, an associate at GE-CO Hungary Kft., a company engaged in the sale and servicing of CNC and machining stations.

We interviewed Tamás Pápai, CEO of Veszprém-based Continental Automotive Hungary Kft., on labour shortage and fluctuation: he said last year was particularly challenging, not just for Continental but also for other companies in the region, however it is something they have already found a solution for.

Production line

Audi Hungaria launches mass production of 3-cylinder power unit: the 1.0-litre petrol engine, available in 63 kW and 85 kW variants, is yet another efficient and high-performance powerplant from the Győr plant.

The Kecskemét-based Mercedes plant closed a successful year in 2017: the company manufactured more than 190,000 cars in 2017, up by 4.1 percent from the year before. The company’s net revenues amounted to €3.5 billion. Its profits will be entirely spent on investments related to the Hungarian plant.

As one of the largest suppliers of bus and rail flooring systems, the products manufactured by Graboplast Zrt. are used in more than a hundred countries worldwide. The company has reported on HUF 19 billion in revenues last year.

Automotive carpets and insulators manufacturer opens new plant in Komárom. Autoneum’s investment will create 150 jobs by the time it reaches full capacity. In the first phase, the plant will supply parts for 500,000 vehicles, to be ramped up to 1 million parts annually.

Lear Corporation Hungary Kft. closed its Mór-based site a few months ago. It has been now revealed that the previous job cuts will be followed by further layoffs in Gyöngyös and Gödöllő, affecting a total of 550 employees.

Rába’s sales in the Axle Unit were boosted by the European heavy truck segment, while in the Vehicle Unit business the surge in turnover can be attributed to the market of welded vehicle chassis components. In Q1 2018, the company registered a net profit of HUF 396.4 million, up by 129 percent from the base period.

Robert Bosch Power Tool Kft. has been chosen as the factory of the year in the segment of businesses with an annual revenue higher than HUF 10 billion, along with plastic processer Simon Műanyagfeldolgozó in the segment of HUF 3 to 10 billion and GIA Form Kft. in the segment of sub-3 billion.

Titán ‘94 manufactures nearly 6 million chassis components at its 14,000sqm site in Budapest, a location engaged in the production of metal parts for global OEMs, electronics companies and sanitary manufacturers.

A few years ago, school cooperatives were unable to offer jobs to a multitude of students, whereas now it is considered a good result if 80 percent of positions are filled in. Labour shortage has reached such a level that in certain areas students are able to earn as high as HUF 2,500 an hour.

Education

Tibor Czigány, the dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, and Gábor Péceli, lecturer and former director at the Department of Measuring Technology and Information Systems of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics at the same university, have received the highest scientific honour awarded by the Hungarian state.

Pneumobil’s HUF 1 million prize has been won by students from the university in Kecskemét.