Hungarian automotive industry: week 23 2018 edition

Interviews

We are striving to create a working environment that helps us keep our employees. Labour shortage can be tackled if we pay attention to our workers, assess their needs and assign them tasks that constitute professional challenges, András Somogyi, HR director of the Hungarian Bosch Group, said in an interview last week.

We usually recommend companies familiarising themselves with IoT solutions to start small and launch low-risk pilot projects. It usually starts producing returns in the first few months, and a viable business model can be expanded to almost any scale, Stephan Brand, SAP vice-president responsible for IoT activities, told our site in an interview.

Time is a key factor, and if we can save time on milling by using waterjet cutting first, it will speed up the entire production process. Having such a machine can be made more profitable by contract manufacturing, as there is a growing demand on contract manufacturing activities on the market, GE-CO associates told our site in an interview.

Labour market

Mercedes has begun the construction of its full-flex plant in Kecskemét. The new production unit will comprise a pressing shop, a body shop, a surface treatment unit and an assembly unit. The production unit will be capable of manufacturing vehicles with traditional cars as well as autonomous electric vehicles.

Mercedes is planning to hire 2,500 people to the new unit, including 300 group leaders as well as foremen in large numbers.

The first year of students have successfully completed their education in the dual training programme of Gyöngyöshalász-based Apollo Tyres, receiving a rubber technician diploma.

Hungarian-owned Tom-Ferr is building an automotive tube plant next to its existing site at Tata Business Park with a HUF 2.1 billion investment. The company is Hungary’s largest tube manufacturer, supplying 70 percent of tubing used during the production of Suzuki cars in Esztergom.

There is a shortage of well trained employees, there are people who lack basic vocational knowledge or even what they simply call common sense. Those with sufficient skills usually leave to find jobs abroad.

This was the summary of a roundtable discussion last week between representatives of car servicing companies. Even a net monthly salary of HUF 250,000 isn’t enough to find the right people.

Hungarian success

Audi has been yet again awarded for a Győr-made engine. The 400bhp (294kW) engine is the most powerful five-cylinder power unit in mass production. The engine has been in production at Audi Hungaria since 2008.

The world’s first, particle collision-based, compact neutron research laboratory will be built in Martonvásár, Fejér County.

The neutron source is a device used by researchers, the industry has not yet begun to utilise this technology. However, the construction, machine and automotive industries could potentially use it for material analysis and imaging.

Hungarian engineers are currently engaged in the development of a cloud system that allows and processes communication between autonomous vehicles.

Analyses

According to an analysis published by the OECD, countries with large amount of jobs in assembly will be in great trouble due to the fast-approaching robotisation of such work processes. The organisation mentioned Hungary and Slovakia as the two most endangered countries.

According to an analysis, the main obstacle to digitalisation is the lack of time and resources. 4 out of 10 companies lack the required know-how.

Professional drivers turn to the government with a petition, which includes the introduction of a minimum wage and the abolition of the auxiliary worker status.

Education

Every year, Győr-based student team SZEngine introduces a new power unit to participate in Formula Student, the competition of engineering students, as a supplier. The season is about to start, this year the team has plans to participate in three events.

Students from BME are working on a new miniature satellite.