Rheinmetall’s new factory to bring cutting-edge technology to Szeged

Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Rheinmetall’s new factory, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that we know the German company mainly as a defence industrial investor, so it is important that although the new Szeged factory has ties to the defence industry, it is independent of it. The new plant – which is expected to create 300 new jobs – will utilize cutting-edge technology to manufacture equipment for the purposes of electromobility and hydrogen vehicles.

The new factory will be one of Europe’s premier research and development projects – emphasized the minister, adding that the government is proud of the fat that it can be implemented in Szeged, Hungary.

In collaboration with the University of Szeged (SZTE), Rheinmetall is going to build an ecosystem and a knowledge base that will offer special opportunities to many Hungarian and foreign young people. “Hungarians do not need to go anywhere else, since the world is coming here to us” – said Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.

He noted that just as Rheinmetall, the government of Hungary also considers electromobility, digitalization and industrialization as priorities. In today’s world, the most important development areas are energy production and storage as well as electromobility.

The Hungarian state makes contributions to the establishment of the new factory through the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency (HIPA) and key infrastructural investments – said the minister, who made it clear that it is in our national interest that the bloc-formation should not continue and we should not return to those times when the Iron Curtain separated the East from the West.

The Hungarian strategy spanning several terms of the government was that we would re-industrialize the country after the 2008 financial crisis. We have achieved a huge success in this regard, especially in the field of the automotive industry, which today provides hundreds of thousands of Hungarians with jobs, and an important knowledge base has already been built – said the minister.

We would like to do the same in the field of defence industry as well. This will not only promote our military sovereignty but also enable us to manufacture the state-of-the-art technology for export – said Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky.

Christoph Müller, Head of Rheinmetall’s Power Systems division said that the Szeged plant would be the technology group’s first hybrid base, with civilian and defence technologies brought together under the same roof.

Planned to be built in the first phase in an area of 85,000 sq m next to the ELI-ALPS Laser Research Centre, the 15,000 sq m plant will provide 300 highly-trained professionals with jobs. The area offers further opportunities for expansion – said the expert.

Besides the Zalaegerszeg infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) factory, the Várpalota munitions factory and the Budapest digitalization centre that has been co-established with its industrial partner 4iG, Szeged will be the fourth one among Rheinmetall’s premises in Hungary – said the head of the division.

He emphasized that Hungary guarantees an investor-friendly environment for enterprises. The government and the HIPA have been open-minded and friendly, which is no longer widespread in Europe today. Currently a huge transformation is under way in global automotive industry, from internal combustion engines towards electric vehicles. The Szeged one will be Rheinmetall’s 22nd factory, to be built with the primary purpose of supporting electromobility – said Cristoph Müller.

In his speech, Mayor László Botka recalled that the local government had set up a joint company with the university back in 2007 in order to establish a world-class laser research centre on the edge of the town. The plan won support first from the government and then from the European Union. Next to the centre there is a 70-hectare industrial park waiting for investors, where one of Europe’s leading industrial companies, Rheinmetall is about to create 300 new jobs for the residents of the region.

SZTE Rector László Rovó said that as the best higher educational institution of the country and the region, the university aspires to establish close cooperation with companies operating in the region, an also provides their supply of experts.

The factory – which is scheduled to start operating in late 2025 – is to be built with an investment worth EUR 63 million. Rheinmetall’s Szeged plant will manufacture products primarily for the automotive industry, among others electrical components, for example nanocapacitors, as well as tools with applications in hydrogen mobility and energy production. The company also intends to manufacture here certain products of the defence business area of Rheinmetall’s Electronic Solutions division.