Hungarian automotive industry: week 42 2017 edition

Last week, Techtogether Automotive Hungary, a nation-wide team competition organised by Autopro, was held for the fourth time at trade exhibition Automotive Hungary.

The competition lined up energy efficiency teams from Győr, water cruiser builders from Budapest, mechanical engineer students from Szombathely and vehicle builders from Szeged.

The three-day event gave us an opportunity to see the very best of the country’s student teams competing in various challenges.

Manufacturers

Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Hungary Kft. has long-term plans in Hungary: Daimler announced a development and capacity expansion campaign at its existing plant in Kecskemét and the construction of a brand new high-tech unit back in 2016, an investment in the excess of €1 billion.

Suppliers

Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems Budapest inaugurated its latest training shop last week. The HUF 5.28 billion expansion project has rendered the company the world’s largest manufacturer of rail brake systems as well as one of the definitive training centres in Hungary.

Production at the Szombathely-based LuK plant began 20 years ago. Since its establishment, the plant’s floor area has seen a tenfold increase, while its number of employees has grown from just 64 to 3,400.

CEO Tibor Szigeti said at the event celebrating the company’s 20th anniversary that every tenth new car manufactured worldwide is fitted with a clutch and flywheel system produced in Szombathely.

Hajdu Autotechnika completed a HUF 2 billion capacity expansion project last week. The group’s latest investment further expands its pressing capacity, promotes technological development and improves its tool design and manufacturing capacities.

Last week it was confirmed that Magna will not choose Hungary as the location for its newest plant: the Slovenian government has authorised the country’s ministry of economic affairs to sign the contract on the construction of the Canadian-Austrian company’s latest plant in Hoce-Slovnica, south of Maribor.

Service providers

New technologies in the automotive industry are projecting revolutionary changes, Gábor Ganczer, CEO of event venue Hungexpo, said at the opening of Automotive Hungary.

Csaba Kilián, the secretary-general of the Association of the Hungarian Automotive Industry, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga and Daniel Korioth, CEO of Robert Bosch Kft., at trade exhibition Automotive Hungary

The Municipality of Tatabánya has signed an agreement on the purchase of 41 new buses. Following public procurement proceedings, four electric buses will be delivered by Ikarus Egyedi Kft., 23 vehicles will be supplied by Győr-based Kravtex Kft. and 14 articulated buses will arrive from MAN Kamion és Busz Kereskedelmi Kft.

The Győr-Gönyű national port was opened last week. The region's largest intermodal centre, accessible on water, railway and public roads and located just a few kilometres off of county seat Győr, is used by companies such as Thyssenkrupp and Wuppermann. The port was built with a HUF 8 billion state subsidy.

Fifty small businesses are looking to join the fourth industrial revolution thanks to a HUF 2.35 billion project to support the digitalisation and automation efforts of SMEs by establishing Industry 4.0 template applications.