French-owned Schneider Electric on Friday laid the cornerstone for a 16 billion forint (EUR 40.3m) plant it is building in Dunavecse, in central Hungary. The investment creating 500 jobs is supported by a 2.3 billion forint government grant, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs and trade, said at the ceremony.
The plant, Schneider Electric’s fifth in the country, will make medium-voltage equipment for electrical distribution systems, the minister said. Szijjártó noted that French businesses form the sixth largest group of foreign investors in Hungary, and bilateral trade was worth 10 billion forints last year, with Hungarian exports accounting for 6 billion euros. Schneider Electric employs around 2,000 people in the country at four plants, a logistics base and two shared service centres. Executive Vice President Frederic Godemel said the factory dubbed Duna Smart Power Systems will have zero carbon emission, will use geothermal and solar energy and its energy-efficient operation will be controlled by Schneider’s own digital monitoring system. The plant is scheduled to be completed in 2024.
Public records show Schneider Electric Hungária Villamossági had revenue of 81 billion forints last year. Exports accounted for around 50%. SE-CEE Schneider Electric Közép-Kelet Európai had revenue of 244 billion forints in 2021, the company said earlier. Exports accounted for more than 90%.