“The RUAG Group, which is owned by the Swiss Confederation, will be realising a two billion forint (EUR 6.5M) aviation industry investment in Eger”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced at a press conference held jointly with the directors of the Swiss technology company.
“RUAG is one of the world’s one hundred most important defence industry companies, and plans to manufacture fuselage elements for its Airbus 320 and Bombardier aircraft at its plant in Eger”, Mr. Szijjártó told the press.
“The investment by RUAG Aerostructures will also create 180 new jobs in the Heves County capital. The Government is contributing 382 million forints in non-returnable funding towards the project”, he added.
“By choosing Eger for its latest research & development based investment, the Swiss company has acknowledged the favourable Hungarian investment environment, the Hungarian vocational training system, and this is also a recognition of the professional expertise and knowledge of the Hungarian workforce and the people of Hungary”, Mr. Szijjártó declared.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade also spoke about the fact that last year the production value of the Hungarian aviation and aerospace industry exceeded 34 billion forints (EUR 110M), 15 percent more than in the previous year. “1566 people work in this sector of industry in Hungary, and their numbers have increased by 18 percent during the course of the past year”, he said.
Mr. Szijjártó told the press that in view of the fact that RUAG has come to Hungary and Lufthansatechnik has also brought its engineering centre to Hungary, this sector, the aviation and aerospace industry, is also expanding in Hungary.
“Hungarian-Swiss trade flow currently stands at an annual level of some one and a half billion euros”, the Minister said.
Mr. Szijjártó recalled that the Hungarian foreign economy had broken all previous records in 2015 and again in 2016, explaining that the last two years had produced all-time high results with regard to exports, the foreign trade balance and the volume of investment realised in Hungary via the investment promotion system.
“The fact that a Swiss company’s aviation industry investment has now also been added to the list in addition to the many automotive industry, food industry and service-based investments indicated that Hungary’s industrial capabilities are diverse and the country’s system of foreign economic relations has also diversified”, the Minister said.
At the press conference, CEO of the RUAG Group Urs Breitmeier said that the RUAG Group had decided to establish a second production site in Hungary based on its previous, good experiences “it is important to the RUAG Group to continuously maintain and develop its competitiveness, to which its Hungarian investments also contribute significantly”, he highlighted.
Member of Parliament for Eger Zsolt Nyitrai spoke about the fact that the new RUAG investment being realised in the County capital was an important event in the lives of families living in Eger, because it will lead to the creation of new jobs in the city. “The company made the right choice when it chose Eger”, the MP stressed.