Publication: Budapest Business Journal
Provider: New World Publishing
Date: June 20, 2005

Business

TechCon Kft will build a used tire-fueled power plant for Ft 6 billion in Polgár, northeast Hungary. The plant will generate 40-45 GWh of electricity per year and handle about 20% of all rubber waste in Hungary.

A project company set up by six local cooperatives has signed a leasing contract with EKO Kft, owner of the bankrupt Nyíregyháza canning factory, to continue production at the plant. The factory's 120 employees will also be retained.

Meat producer Délhús Rt, owned by OTP Bank Rt CEO Sándor Csányi, has made a public buyout offer for the shares it does not already own in Pick Rt. Délhús made an offer of Ft 1,046 per outstanding share. The deal is pending approval of financial markets regulator PSzÁF.

Seven Hungarian companies have made it into the top 15 in a regional "Best Employer" survey of Hewitt Associates. The top four Hungarian companies are Debreceni Höszolgáltató Rt, Nexon Rt, Columbus Klíma Kft and T-Mobile Hungary Rt.

The Economy Ministry has agreed with Mol Rt, Hungary's largest fuel retailer, that the latter would cut pump prices for trucking companies using diesel fuel, conditional on sales.

Xella Hungary Kft, the Hungarian subsidiary of German construction material maker Ytong Holding GmbH, said it will build Central Europe's largest wall element manufacturing plant in western Hungary, possibly in Devecser. The investment is valued at over Ft 4 billion.

Kókai Sealing Technology Kft, Hungary's largest automobile rubber parts company, will spend Ft 700 million in a greenfield project to upgrade production at its plant in Városlöd, western Hungary, and build a new plant and ancillary logistics center to meet growing orders.

Austria's Leier Group has begun test-runs at its new concrete manufacturing facility in Jánosháza, western Hungary, following upgrades worth over Ft 1 billion. The company's production process is now entirely automated.

Roto Elzett Certa Kft, the German-owned window fittings production company, has started a Ft 1 billion investment to upgrade technology and boost production capacity.

Linde Material Handling, the industrial-truck manufacturing unit of Germany's Linde AG, has dropped Slovakia for Hungary as the location for its new supply plant to the new Hyundai/Kia plant in Zilinsky, Slovakia, according to Slovak press reports.

Nabi Rt is abandoning production of its Compobus models in Hungary and will shut down a $15-million plant in the U.S. The beleaguered bus maker last month sold a third of the company and 90% of its American unit to creditors to slash its $103 million debt load.

Meat processor Gyulai Húskombinát Rt intends to shut down its hog slaughterhouse and will lay off 35% of its nearly 1,000 workers following three consecutive years of losses.

Fornetti Kft, a maker of frozen pastry products, plans an Ft 850 million expansion at its plant in Kecskemét. The plant will nearly double in size to 5,000 sqm, and will contain a logistics unit. Last year Fornetti had sales of nearly Ft 6 billion.

Power plant operator Vértes Rt has signed an agreement with Slovakia's SES to convert a furnace at its Oroszlány plant, western Hungary, to make it suitable for mixed biomass utilization. The project is expected to kick off next October and will cost Ft 1.2 billion.

Graphisoft NV has signed a deal to buy Finland's Dynamic System Solutions Oy, and will transfer its computer-aided facility management (CAFM) business to regional partners in a bid to focus on core architecture software activities.

E.On Hungary Rt will invest Ft 100 billion to build a power plant in Mohács, central Hungary. The company is currently in talks to buy a 27-ha building site in the town's industrial park. Scheduled for construction in 2007, and new plant should be up and running by 2009.

German-owned DIY chain OBI Hungary Kft had revenue of Ft 38 billion in its business year (ending April 30) – 11.5% more than in the previous year. Sales of building materials, kitchen and bathroom furnishings each accounted for about a third of this year's revenue.

Hungarian tile maker Zalakerámia Rt's shares are no longer traded on the Munich Stock Exchange, as of June 10. The company's stocks have traded on the Budapest, Vienna and Frankfurt stock exchanges, as well as the U.S. Portal Market.

Commerzbank Rt has opened the first of its ten planned branches in Hungary. The bank said it will spend Ft 800 million this year to launch another one or two branches and on advertising campaigns.

Primus Capital Partners and New Market Holding Ltd are investing $400,000 in a first round funding of VideoCast Kft, a developer of a new generation of IP-based video surveillance systems. Primus will cover the bulk of the investment with $300,000.

Budapest public transport company BKV Rt has called an international tender to set up the IT, security and electricity supply systems for the new No. 4 metro line. The project is valued at around Ft 10 billion.

Szenna Pack Kft, a maker of aerosol spray cans, is set to build a Ft 2 billion production line near Kaposvár, southwest Hungary. The investment is expected to boost production and efficiency by 30%-40% and double revenues to Ft 5 billion by next year.

German construction giant Hochtief plans to bid for Ferihegy Airport operator Budapest Airport Rt – possibly jointly. Hochtief AirPort, a Hochtief subsidiary, owns stakes in operators of the Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Athens, Sydney and Tirana airports.

Autóker Holding Rt, an Israeli-owned property development company, has broken ground for the construction of a Ft 5 billion 200-flat residential building in Budapest's Dist. VI. The building is scheduled for completion in September 2006.

SCD Balaton Holding Rt, a real estate developer, agreed to buy Balatontourist Rt from the Veszprém city council for Ft 4.04 billion. The company also pledged to invest Ft 4.1 billion in Balatontourist, which runs 13 campgrounds and a hotel.

Low-cost airline Wizz Air said last week that will launch flights between Budapest and Sofia from September 18 this year, starting with three flights a week. This will be the first discount flight between the two capitals.

American real estate and logistics company Universal Group is to build a 15,000-sqm logistics center in Lenti, western Hungary, worth over Ft 6 billion. Apart from storage, the center will also be used for stripping and packaging.

Chinese company TPV Technology Ltd. and Dutch Royal Philips Electronics have completed acquisition of a Székesfehérvár-based LCD monitor and TV production factory. TPV paid $355 million for the division, which has annual turnover of €1.5 million.

Hungarian carrier Malév Rt has introduced electronic ticket sales. Initially available for three flights, e-tickets are expected to replace paper tickets by the end of 2007. Malév expects to save billions of forints through paperless sales.

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