COMPANY BRIEFS

SIXT OPENS NEW TECHNICAL BASE NEAR THE AIRPORT

Sixt, a member of the AutoWallis Group, has built its new technical base in Vecsés, near Budapest's Ferenc Liszt International Airport. Of the HUF 705 million investment project, 40% (HUF 282 million) is subsidized by Hungarian taxpayers through a government decision. Classified as a green project, AutoWallis has focused on sustainability, ensuring that the new location is suitable for servicing electric vehicles for car sharing programs and fleet providers. The technical base of 1,349 square meters and 210 parking spaces were constructed on a site of almost 6,000 square meters by renovating and converting existing structures. This investment project has prepared AutoWallis for the increase in tourism following the end of the pandemic, for the more costeffective operation of Sixt, and for quick support to be provided to any mobility services the Group may launch in the future (such as car sharing and fleet management). A major initiative of the investment project was to increase the effectiveness of car rental services and the connected logistics, operations, technical and vehicle servicing. The project is part of the AutoWallis Green Finance Framework, financed, in addition to the state aid fund, with AutoWallis proceeds from the green bonds issued last year. The green investment of Sixt’s new technical base was executed by ALTEO based on a cooperation agreement last year. In line with AutoWallis’ green commitments, the technical base operates using heat exchangers for heating and cooling and uses only LED lighting, vehicles are cleaned with both dry and wet handwashing methods. Furthermore, ALTEO has installed a 50-kW solar panel system on the property and 13 electric charging points, preparing the system for future connection to an energy storage facility. The fact that rental cars will no longer have to be moved between Sixt’s service points results in significant fuel savings, in addition to which the increasing proportion of hybrid or fully electric vehicles in the fleet can also be charged using electricity obtained with solar energy.

WABERER'S ESTABLISHES A JOINT VENTURE WITH MAGYAR POSTA

The Hungarian trucking company WABERER’S INTERNATIONAL announced on the Hungarian Stock Exchange website that – with Waberer's Group as the majority shareholder and Hungarian Post (Magyar Posta) as the minority shareholder (collectively the ‘Parties’) – a joint venture will be established to serve the Parties' existing and future customers with full range of parcel logistics support. According to the announcement, the Parties shall provide the necessary resources for the joint venture in the form of a contribution in kind and shareholder’s loan. The joint venture will provide its customers – particularly web shops – with a full range of logistics outsourcing services, including warehousing, packaging, shipping and delivery, providing them the opportunity to focus their resources on their core sales activities. The delivery of web shop orders becomes faster and simpler, generating an increase in customer satisfaction. In a joint statement, Waberer's CEO, Zsolt Barna, and Magyar Posta CEO, György Schamschula commented that “the joint venture – to be created by Hungarian Post and Waberer's – will be able to provide a highly efficient service and an attractive value proposition to our customers from the very beginning of the operation, based on the owners' relevant experience, customer base and existing infrastructure. We are confident that in a market with high growth potential, the JV will be able to gain and maintain a significant market share in the long term.”

Unilever is to cease production at its plant in Röszke, southeastern Hungary. The planned group redundancies affect 80% of the 190 workers, the remaining 20% are to be taken over by the new owner of the plant, Mezőker Ltd. Unilever will transfer nearly a third of its current product range in Röszke to Mezőker Ltd. for contract manufacturing, while the majority of the products will be transferred to its own Romanian and German plants and to a European contract manufacturing partner by the end of March 2023. Hungarian-owned Mezőker Ltd. has been a supplier of vegetable dehydrated products to Unilever for nearly three decades. The company aims to further strengthen its cooperation with Unilever by taking over the production of Delikát and some Knorr products. Mezőker has also expressed its intent to purchase the site in Röszke and its production equipment. With changing consumer trends in recent years, namely the preference of fresh food over pre-packaged products, Unilever needs to adapt to the changed market conditions by reorganizing its production capacity, concentrating production in larger plants. Managing Director of Unilever Hungary Ltd., Alberto di Leo, said that "while a future partnership with Mezőker would provide a more sustainable future for our brands, we know that our announcement will also have a difficult impact on our 190 colleagues and 18 temporary workers at our factory in Röszke. We will inform our colleagues about our plans and work with employee representatives to develop solutions that will help our workers".

EMAG BUILDS GIGANTIC LOGISTICS CENTER UNILEVER CLOSES DOWN PLANT IN RÖSZKE

The eMAG Logistic Ltd. new logistics center in Dunaharaszti, south of Budapest, will be the largest of its kind in the Central and Eastern European region. In addition to Hungary, it will serve six additional regional markets: Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Austria, Germany and Czechia. As the leading player of the domestic e-commerce market, eMAG-Extreme Digital is to meet steeply growing demand with this new e-commerce storage center. The HUF 35 billion investment will create 213 jobs and a facility of 117,000 sqm will be built, applying several automated solutions. Approximately 14% of the investment is financed by Hungarian taxpayer money through a decision of the government. Operations can start as early as at Christmas. The large-scale investment will rely on several state-of-the-art automation solutions to make work processes even more efficient. The expansion further strengthens the role of the company and thousands of Hungarian merchant partners in the local e-commerce market. Furthermore, headcount is expected to go up to 600 in the logistics department within the upcoming four years. The new storage facility can process not only eMAG-Extreme Digital’s own orders but also those of over six thousand companies in Hungary and the region that offer their products and services to domestic customers. With this investment, the company intends to help local small businesses become professional online merchants and remain competitive vis à vis foreign online behemoths that are expanding their operations in the region.

company briefs

NEW KOREAN INVESTMENT IN BATTERY PRODUCTION

An important supplier of the battery industry, South Korean-owned Nice LMS Hungary Ltd. sets up a new production plant of some 6,000 sqm for EUR 14.4 million in Vác, north of Budapest. The project will result in creating up to 60 jobs. The Hungarian subsidiary of the South Korean Nice Group, Nice LMS Hungary Ltd. started its operation in Hungary in 2019 at its Gödöllő site, east of Budapest, and it has become a key supplier of battery components for Samsung SDI and LG Chemical. Now, a new plant will be built in Vác thanks to a greenfield investment with the purpose of manufacturing aluminum battery cases. The project is to improve to meet needs of clients not only in the field of battery production, but also in automotive, defense, ICT as well as sports and leisure product manufacturing. The Asian country brings investments to Hungary in a conveyor belt fashion. Accordingly, it is not surprising that South Korea is the 5th largest investor in the country in terms of FDI that amounted to USD 5.2 billion in 2019. That accounts for 5.5% of total FDI stock in Hungary, the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency reports.

ALSTOM EXPANDS ITS ACTIVITIES IN HUNGARY

Alstom has expanded its activities in Hungary: it is producing a bogie frame for its hydrogen-powered passenger train at its factory in Mátranovák, NE Hungary, and plans to hire 100 new employees. The first bogie was recently completed in Mátranovák, where an investment of more than HUF 1.3 billion is under way. The company is planning new developments and an expansion of its workforce, a statement by the company said. The Coradia iLint is the world's only hydrogen-powered passenger train, built by Alstom at its Salzgitter plant in Germany. Designed for non-electrified lines, the train has already been ordered by Germany, Italy and France. The bogie frame, which is made in Hungary, is a key part of the rail wagons, on which the axles, springs and brakes are mounted. Its quality is crucial for railway safety. The quality of the products manufactured at the Nógrád plant is outstanding, and the ‘Made in Mátranovák’ designation has become a trademark of reliability and high professional standards, Alstom said. Gáspár Balázs, CEO of Alstom Transport Hungary Plc., said in the

FEMTONICS MANUFACTURES VENTILATORS AND COVID TESTS

With the support from the European Union and the Hungarian government, Femtonics Ltd. has invested HUF 914.75 million to develop its COVID-19-specific ventilator and diagnostic manufacturing capacity in Kővágószőlős near Pécs, southern Hungary. The company received a conditional reimbursable grant of HUF 731.80 million. The aim of the project is to provide the necessary conditions for the domestic production of exportable Hungarian medical technology and medical diagnostics products, including the company's LUCA ventilator and its ultra-fast Femto-ID COVID-19 test. As a result of the development, it will be possible to manufacture the critical components of the ventilator family and the COVID-19 test developed in Hungary, they said. According to the announcement, the 250-square-meter production facility, which was set up for medical technology research and manufacturing, will provide statement that they foresee a great future for the use of hydrogen propulsion in rail transport both in Hungary and in Europe, which is why they are planning continuous developments and related staff increases this year and in the coming years. Alstom has been present in Hungary for more than 20 years and is one of the country's largest suppliers of metro trains. In January 2021, the company acquired the Mátranovák bogie factory, one of the largest employers in Nógrád County with 660 employees. The factory was built in the early 1970s and has been producing bogies since 1982.

AUTOWALLIS SETS RECORDS IN ALL ITS BUSINESS LINES

The AutoWallis Group has set records in all its business segments in the first half of the year, with 60% of last year's total annual vehicle sales already achieved in the first six months of this year. According to the statement, the group, which is present in 14 countries in the region, sold 15,379 vehicles in the first half of the year, 32% more than in the same period last year, despite the difficulties in the automotive industry. The biggest increase of 44.3% was achieved by the wholesale business, with 10,659 vehicles sold in the first half of the year, with the SsangYong and Opel brands accounting for the sharp rise, the company said. The retail division's performance in the second Diplomacy-n-Trade.ai 1 2017. 02. 27. 11:22:30 quarter was boosted by the Slovenian Avto Aktiv, but even without it, growth was strong across the board. The business sold 3,783 new and 937 used vehicles in the first six months, up 10.4% and 11.3% respectively year-on-year. In the retail services business, the number of service hours rose by 24.4%. The Group's vehicle rental business also performed well, with the number of rental events more than doubling. The number of rental days grew at a slower rate of 26%. The figures continue to show that the number of tourist rentals of shorter duration, typically with higher cover, continued to grow in the quarter prior to the peak summer season, they said.

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the opportunity to conduct neuroscience research, including laser microscopy Y measurements, and to produce mechanical components. The production line can also manufacture ventilator components and chip components for COVID tests, with built-in EU quality control processes. Femtonics Research and Development Ltd. is an innovative and fast-growing spin-off company founded in 2005 by researchers of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, focusing on the development, production and export of state-of-the-art two-photon microscopes optimized for neuroscience research and R&D activities.

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