Hungarian automotive industry: week 3 2017 edition
Heated wage talks between trade union and Audi management, Opel reports on new records in production, Rába launches strategic investment scheme. Let’s recap what the third week this year brought in Hungary’s automotive sector.
Manufacturers
The management of Audi considers the trade union’s last proposal excessive and unrealistic and thus rejected it, saying their current offer would provide a higher wage bill than the union’s first proposal. As a result, the negotiations are set to restart from the very beginning.
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| Audi wage talks set to restart between union and management |
Audi Hungaria proposed a universal HUF 25,000 (€81) gross base wage increase and an additional HUF 595,000 (€1,920) and 620,000 (€2,000) in optional fringe benefits in the first and second years, respectively.
However, the trade union’s proposal includes a universal HUF 45,000 (€145) increase to base wages and an additional HUF 650,000 (2,100) in fringe benefits for both 2017 and 2018.
In the meantime, the company reported on its production volumes from 2016, which fell behind its previous record years.
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| Grzegorz Buchal of Opel Szentgotthárd |
The Szentgotthárd-based Opel plant had every reason to celebrate: last year, nearly 630,000 engines were manufactured at Opel’s Szentgotthárd engine plant, up by 23 percent from their previous record, Grzegorz Buchal, plant director at Opel Szentgotthárd, told journalists last week in Budapest.
Suppliers
Last week, Rába kicked off a strategic investment programme. Additionally to modernising technology, the HUF 12 billion (€40 million) programme includes the necessary infrastructure, logistics and equipment development, too.
After the completion of this development every second or third European heavy truck is planned to roll off the assembly lines on Rába-manufactured front axles.
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| Rába launches technology development project |
Hankook Tire has appointed a new chief-executive to head its only European production site, as the previous CEO, Sang-Il Lee, will now retire.
Service providers
A new government-funded info communications project is set to launch with a total allocated budget of HUF 54 billion (€174 million). The government plans to aid Hungarian SMEs to prepare for a digital economy, competition and make further progress in their developments.
The centre of focus in the German-Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s agenda for this year is taking practical steps in promoting Hungary’s labour market, chairman Dale A. Martin said at the chamber’s year-opening event.
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| Dale A. Martin |
Trans-Sped Kft. has handed over a 6,000sqm air-conditioned warehouse at Tatabánya-Környe Business Park. The HUF 1 billion (€3.2 million) investment is set to cater to storage requirements of the neighbouring AGC automotive glass plant.
Education
Audi has added a new training course, industrial and commercial administration in German language, to their dual education portfolio. Taught mostly in German language, the course focuses on integrated professional skills and competences.
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| Audi Hungaria adds new course to dual education portfolio |
Production line
Up until recently, it was impossible or near-impossible for tailor-made special purpose machinery to be converted to suit the manufacture of another product. However, there is an increasing demand on flexibility, as the life-cycle of electronics and automotive products is becoming shorter, Balázs Borsos, the CEO of B&O Engineering Kft., the local distributor of Universal Robots, said last week in an interview with Autopro.
