The two new production halls of the German Bürkle group’s factory in Debrecen were handed over on Thursday in Debrecen, in the industrial park on Határ út.
Olaf Hartwig, chief operating officer of the Robert Bürkle Group, called the Debrecen project, the company’s first European plant outside Germany, a success story of more than a hundred years.
He added that half of their production capacity in Europe is provided by the Debrecen plant and 25-25% by their two plants in Germany. At present, 20 percent of the suppliers in the Debrecen plant are local companies, and they want to increase their share significantly in the coming years, the CEO pointed out.
Jürgen Schröer, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Bürkle, recalled that in 2019, 19 countries were surveyed as sites for planting, then the circle was narrowed down to five countries and 15 settlements, and finally, Debrecen was chosen. The Hungarian city was chosen because of its political stability, quality workforce, logistics infrastructure, and the Xanga Group’s willingness to cooperate, he added.
István Herdon, CEO of Xanga, pointed out that their business model has remained unchanged for twenty years: they are developing a turnkey manufacturing and logistics infrastructure in which manufacturing companies that move in as tenants can start operating after installing their own technology. Bürkle’s 5,000-square-meter plant in Debrecen was invested by the Xanga Group to the tune of approximately HUF 3 billion.
Gábor Laczkó, the director of the Debrecen plant, which manufactures surface treatment machines for the wood industry, said that the turnover plan of the plant, which already employs more than sixty people, reached HUF 6 billion, last year with 45 employees it reached HUF 4.2 billion. Their profit-to-sales ratio was around five percent last year, and they expect a similar rate again this year, he added.
He also said that 90 percent of the workers came out of training in Debrecen, they will still need trained engineers and technicians who speak a foreign language to expand their employment.
MTI
Photo: MTI / Zsolt Czeglédi
