ELECTROLUX Lehel Kft, the Hungarian subsidiary of the biggest Swedish investor in Hungary, electronics giant AB Electrolux, is to announce in March of this year, that its vacuum cleaner manufacturing plant in J??szber©ny (75km east of Budapest) and its refrigerator plant in Nyregyh??za are now the largest such plants in Europe.
“The company invested approximately $1.4 million in Swedish kroner to relocate the vacuum cleaner plant from V¤stervik, Sweden, in August last year to J??szber©ny,” said J??nos Tak??cs.
The managing director of Electrolux Lehel Kft, he was recently voted in as chairman of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in Hungary.
He added that the division will put out an annual 2.7 million vacuum cleaners, of which less than 10% will be sold on the Hungarian market – the rest going for export.
“With vacuum cleaners and refrigerators, the J??szber©ny plant will employ about 3,600 workers,” he explained.
The company has just inaugurated a €65 million combined-bottom refrigerator manufacturing division in Nyregyh??za, as part of its expansion program.
At this plant Electrolux has started producing what will, by 2007, be an annual 560,000 units, employing 600 workers. Electrolux also has a freestanding cooker assembly line in Satu Mare, Romania, and a tumble drier and washing machine plant in Poland.
“Being big is not always easy as much is expected from the company in all areas, including both corporate and social,” said Tak??cs.
He added that Electrolux decided to invest in Hungary in 1991, partially due to the country’s ideal geographic location.
The company arrived in Hungary in 1991 when it acquired the Hajdu-Lehel white-goods plant in J??szber©ny, which it renamed Electrolux Lehel.
Since then the company has invested nearly €40bn ($209m) in Hungary.
Electrolux’s latest (€64 million or $81.53 million) investment in Nyregyh??za is part of the Hungarian government’s Ft191 billion ($999.13 million) program to offset Hungary’s 10-year leasing of 14 SAAB-BAE Systems JAS-39 Gripen fighter planes.
The Electrolux Group is one of the world’s leading electronics appliance manufacturers for, amongst other items, vacuum cleaners.
The group sells more than 55 million products each year in 150 countries. According to the group, in 2003 it had 77,000 employees and revenues of $17.4 billion.
The Electrolux group includes brand names like AEG, Zanussi, Frigidaire, Eureka and Husqvarna.
From The Budapest Sun Online