Hungarian automotive industry: week 47
Last week’s hot topic was wages, coupled with words such as agreement, increase, talks and strike. But let’s recap what else the 47th week of this year brought in Hungary’s automotive sector.
Manufacturers
Thanks to the Hungarian National Bus Manufacturing Action Plan and demand by local public transport companies and BKK, the Budapest Transport Center, local bus manufacturing, currently in a state of limbo due to a lack of orders, is looking to be on the rise.
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| Sándor Vincze-Pap, president of the Association of Hungarian Bus Manufacturers |
At the 47th Autobus Expert Meeting we sat down with Sándor Vincze-Pap, the president of the Association of Hungarian Bus Manufacturers, to talk about the breaking points and reality of the Hungarian bus manufacturing sector.
Audi Hungaria has deployed a new device to enhance ergonomics on its production floor: an innovative Motion Capturing system digitalises human motion and recognises non-ergonomic movements, allowing for the development and optimisation of highly ergonomic work stations and workflows.
After a series of unsuccessful wage talks between representatives of Vasas Trade Union and the management of Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Hungary, on Wednesday last week, a group of assembly line workers held a warning strike outside the facility to voice their demands.
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| Assembly line workers at Mercedes-Benz Kecskmét hold warning strike |
According to the company’s press statement, production was not hindered by the workers’ action. Still not in the sight of an agreement, wage talks between trade unions and the management of Mercedes-Benz Kecskemét are set to continue this week.
Suppliers
Székesfehérvár-based VT Metal Kft. has invested HUF 800 million (€2.6 million) in a new KTL (Cataphoretic painting) painting line.
MÁV-Start Zrt. is currently preparing the production of 20 new-generation international IC+ railway coaches. The coaches, capable of travelling at speeds as high as 200 km/h, will be built by a consortium between Siemens Zrt. and Knorr-Bremse GmbH after a successful tender bid.
Service providers
Last week, we interviewed Gábor Mikulcza, the sales director of packaging technology supplier Nefab, who said that an optimal packaging solution is one of the key elements of efficient sale activities.
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Education
“We are currently negotiating with companies based in the Budapest region to support our initiative to transform a significant portion of the M7 motorway to prepare it for the testing of autonomous technologies.
"The new section to be built between Zalaegerszeg and the M7 will be specifically prepared for such tests, including convoys of autonomous lorries,” László Palkovics, state secretary for education, said last week in an interview with Autopro.
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| László Palkovics, the Hungarian government's state secretary for education |
