COMPANY BRIEFS

BUDAPEST AIRPORT CARBON NEUTRAL

Budapest’s Ferenc Liszt International Airport has been awarded carbon neutral certification for the fourth year in a row, continuing to be one of the 362 airports in the world that operate in a responsible and environmentally friendly manner, fully offsetting the carbon emissions generated by their operations. According to a Budapest Airport press release, the airport management company joined the Airport Carbon Accreditation program in 2011, and during these ten years, it has halved its direct carbon dioxide emissions and reduced carbon dioxide emissions per passenger to one-third. The company recently received its certificate from Airports Council International (ACI), which also recognizes that the airport operator continues to fulfill its sustainability commitments, despite the impacts of the global pandemic on aviation. Airport Carbon Accreditation, launched by Airports Council International, is the only institutionallyendorsed, global program that assesses the carbon emissions of the world’s airports, through a six-tier certification scheme. The system is based on the fact that airports can be rated 1, 2, 3, 3+ while 4 or 4+ have recently been added, based on their emissions and efforts to reduce emissions, meaning that ACI assesses all airports that join the program voluntarily, regardless of size, category or function. In line with its sustainability goals of zero carbon emissions, energy efficiency and transport developments, Budapest Airport also joined the STARGATE consortium in 2021, as part of which it undertook, amongst other things, to develop and put in place a cloud-based, paper-free air cargo handling system. The project, led by Brussels Airport, has secured nearly EUR 25 million of support from the European Commission, within the framework of the Green Deal program.

ACG, 'AGENCY OF THE YEAR' AT HUNGARIAN EFFIE AWARDS

The entry "Soproni - Óvatos Duhaj" submitted by the brewing company Heineken and the ACG communication agency in the category 'Long-term efficiency' won 2021's Platinum Award at the Hungarian round of the annual Effie Awards for best advertising campaigns. ACG turned ten out of its 13 nominations into awards, which made it the 'Agency of the Year' while its client, Heineken Hungária received the 'Client of the Year' award. The Effie, 53 years old abroad and 20 years old in Hungary in 2021, is the only advertising competition that focuses on the effective achievement of marketing objectives. The two rounds of the competition, which is a global symbol of excellence, saw 59 entries shortlisted in Hungary, 27 of which were judged by a 120-strong jury of professionals. ACG won three out of the five gold Effies: 'SoproniÓvatos Duhaj' in the category of long-term branding, 'Rapcity Online Camp' in the category of low-budget campaigns and 'Starting School Together' for the OED in the category of social campaigns. In addition to the three gold medals, ACG's digital team also won two silver medals for the communication of the TheaterTV online platform, developed by ACG's digital team in response to the challenges of the pandemic, and four bronze Effie medals for the Together for Autism Foundation, Sopron and Rapcity. According to ACG CEO Nikolett Blaskó, "truly successful campaigns are created when client and agency build a brand together in full harmony, in partnership, for the long term. It's a great pleasure when the work that comes out of such collaborations – in addition to being excellent and delivering results – is awarded the highest professional recognition."

ROCHE HUNGARY SIGNS STRATEGIC COOPERATION AGREEMENT

One of the largest companies in the healthcare industry, Roche Hungary Ltd., known for its innovative solutions, has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Hungarian government. The aim of the agreement is to use Roche's value-based healthcare model to multiply the innovative and personalized therapies delivered to patients in a way that significantly reduces their social costs and benefits the wellbeing of Hungarian patients. Roche is a major player in the Hungarian healthcare market, providing patients with quality of lifeenhancing medical solutions through more than 70 products in oncology, hematology, immunology, neurology and pulmonology, and working to help Hungarian decision-makers develop a sustainable healthcare system through its research and international experience. Roche, which has been present in Hungary for more than 35 years, is providing Hungarian patients with innovative therapies that move medicine towards personalized medicine through clinical trials in addition to its products. The Roche Group is also at the forefront of job creation, continuously expanding its workforce, now employing more than 1,750 people in Hungary, and increasing in 2021 the number of employees at Roche Europe Services Ltd. by 300. As a major player in the business services sector, Roche supports its employees in more than 60 countries from Hungary. In recent years, Roche Europe Service has brought more and more high value-added assignments to Hungary and is working to further strengthen the sector's presence in Hungary. Roche is one of the companies that invests the majority of its revenues in Hungary, which for the biotech company means that three quarters of its annual revenues are reinvested in the Hungarian economy.

AUTOWALLIS’S MOMENTUM CONTINUES

The Hungarian automotive group AutoWallis has reported strong results for the past nine months: the EBITDA of the corporation exceeded HUF 5.7 billion, meaning that the listed company was likely to surpass its yearly plan of HUF 5.5-6.2 billion. The Group generated a revenue of HUF 145.4 billion in the first nine months 2021, with its margin production having grown by nearly 10%, and its EBITDA margin having increased from 3 to 3.9%, according to a press release by the company published in December. Having closed a strong quarter, the AutoWallis Group is progressing towards achieving the goals outlined in its strategy: the HUF 145.4 billion revenue meant more than doubling its previous performance by realizing a 132% increase compared to the first three quarters a year earlier. Both business units of the Group contributed to the growth, despite the economic environment having been adversely impacted by the repeated introduction of restrictions in response to the succeeding waves of the coronavirus pandemic, the slowing down of automotive production and supply due to the shortage of chips, as well as the sluggish recovery of the tourism sector. AutoWallis’s growth was significantly higher than that of the EU or the regional automotive market: the passenger vehicle market expanded by 6.6% in the EU and by 10.8% in Central Eastern Europe, which is the market relevant for the AutoWallis Group. In contrast, the corporation increased its new vehicle sales almost fourfold (by 271%) to 17,587 units, with transactions and acquisitions completed in 2020 accounting for 231 percentage points and organic growth making up 40 percentage points of the increase. The latter figure is in itself several times the average market growth in the region.

company briefs

MERCEDES BRINGS CHRISTMAS BREAK FORWARD IN KECSKEMÉT EMERSON EXPANDS MANUFACTURING FACILITY IN EGER

The American global industrial software and engineering company Emerson has carried out a capacity-building investment in Eger, NE Hungary in order to meet automation needs for global customers. As a result of the project worth USD 14.7 million, a building of 10,500 square meters was constructed, which means new offices and additional production server units in addition to the new plant hall and creates 200 new jobs in the long-term. Emerson, headquartered in the USA, is a global technology and engineering company providing innovative solutions for customers in industrial, commercial and residential markets. Emerson has one of the industry's broadest portfolios of fluid control and pneumatic devices that incorporate sensing and monitoring capabilities to improve uptime and performance, enhance safety and optimize energy usage at industrial and food manufacturing facilities, in automotive and transport equipment, and for other applications. High-quality pneumatic cylinders and valves, mainly used for the construction of production lines and industrial applications, are produced in countless variants at the Hungarian site. Thanks to the development, the company doubles its manufacturing capacity in Eger. Their portfolio is expanding with new product families and production was further modernized in the spirit of Industry 4.0. With the investment, the rate of exports continues to increase, reaching 94%. Emerson Automation FCP Kft., the Hungarian subsidiary of the Emerson Group with a past of more than 130 years, is considered one of Eger's largest employers with 670 employees. During the development, R&D capacities have also expanded by increasing the engineering headcount.

The Mercedes factory in Kecskemét, SE of Budapest, has been shut down, there will be no production until January 12. That is according to an early December statement to the press by MercedesBenz Manufacturing Hungary Ltd. The factory said that they had modified their production plan to adapt to the constantly changing parts supply situation. The start of the usual Christmas shutdown was brought forward from the originally planned date of December 15. There would not have been any production on December 10 anyway, because Friday shifts had not been running since October 18, when a four-day working week was introduced. "As in previous years, the winter shutdown in 2021/22 at the passenger car and engine plants in and outside Germany will last several weeks everywhere, although start and end dates may vary from site to site," the company said. “The Mercedes-Benz plant in Kecskemét is adjusting its production plan from the 50th calendar week in order to adapt to the constantly changing parts supply situation, and has brought forward the start of the Christmas break accordingly. During the break, maintenance and rebuilding work will be carried out at the plant," they added.

TATA’S SERVICE CENTER EXTENDED IN BUDAPEST

Tata Consultancy Services, Asia's senior software development and service company, which has been present in Hungary for 20 years, will create 300 new jobs with typically high added value in Financial Analysis, Market Research and IT areas over the next two years in Budapest. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the largest IT venture of India, and at the same time Asia's leading software developer and service provider company, employing over 450,000 employees in nearly 50 countries around the world. The first global Service Center of TCS was established in 2004 in Budapest. A Digital Competence Center was opened in January 2020, which, by creating 500 new jobs and focusing on digital transformation and complex technological solutions, carries out high value-added activities in IT and cognitive business processes. The TCS center in Budapest now provides services to ten industries and 60 priority clients. Operations are carried out in the center in 33 languages by employees of 99 different nationalities. The Hungarian Center covers the entire spectrum of the service portfolio from cognitive business processes through IT Infrastructure to digital transformation services (cloud services, data analysis, artificial intelligence, automation, quality assurance). The company employs a total of 2,700 welltrained engineers, programmers, developers and economists speaking foreign languages in their Budapest Service Center.

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HYDRO TO LAUNCH ANOTHER INVESTMENT IN SZÉKESFEHÉRVÁR

As a result of the development of about EUR 88 million, the large aluminum and energy company Hydro will create 70 new jobs by building a foundry with a capacity of 90,000 tons next to its Hungarian pressing plant in Székesfehérvár, SW of Budapest. Hungarian taxpayers contribute to the costs with about EUR seven million according to a government decision. As a result of the development, Hydro will be able to process and recycle all technological waste generated by the company and thus – taking full account of sustainability aspects – create a closed production chain and high added value for its customers. Hydro, with a history of nearly 120 years, has been present in Hungary for decades, and their factory in Székesfehérvár with six aluminum pressing lines, multiple surface coating technologies, and nearly 300 machines for fabrication, is one of Europe's largest pressing plants primarily supplying Diplomacy-n-Trade.ai 1 2017. 02. 27. 11:22:30 automotive clients. In addition to the production activity, the company also provides business services to Hydro's businesses. The Hungarian subsidiary has the largest and most modern European extrusion plant in the Hydro Group producing between 30 and 35 thousand tons of scrap metal, which is then shipped to Romania or Slovakia for recycling. The aim of the company is to become a fully integrated site by building a 90,000-ton capacity foundry next to the Hungarian pressing plant. With this, the company will be able to process all internal waste generated on site, so that following the completion of the new investment – contrary to the previous common practice – it will no longer be necessary to transport the waste to Romania or Slovakia.