Uflex to Build New Plant in Hungary for Production of Unique Foil
India’s largest multinational flexible packaging material company, Uflex Group, is setting up a new plant in Hungary with an investment of around EUR71 million. The facility in Rétság will be built by its film manufacturing subsidiary Flex Films, which will also receive funding of EUR8.7 million from the Hungarian government.
The new factory will be Uflex’s second plant in Europe, after Poland, and will create 170 new jobs. Uflex expects to produce 50,000 tonnes/year of film products to its European customers, once the plant reaches full capacity.
According to news reports, India has become the ninth most important investor in Hungary. Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó was quoted as having said that “thanks to these investments, bilateral trade flow between the two countries has also begun to increase dynamically, reaching US$665 million dollars last year, with exports increasing by 22% during the first eight months of this year and trade flow increasing by 9%.
He also said that the plastics industry in Hungary has played a significant role in the growth, having expanded by 14% during the first three quarters of the year, with a production value of EUR5.28 billion.
Other Indian investors in Hungary include tyre maker Apollo and BOPP/BOPET film maker SRF also announced early this year it would invest in a facility in Hungary.
Apart from India, Uflex also runs production facilities in the UAE, the US, Egypt and Mexico.
SRF Ltd, an Indian manufacturer of bi-axially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BOPET) and bi-axially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films, announced in June that it was is planning to build its first European manufacturing site in Hungary with a €60m investment.
The company employs over 8,000 people worldwide and serves a host of multinational clients, among which Pepsi Cola and Coca-Cola, Ferrero Rocher, Nestlé and L’Oréal.
Uflex is aiming to supply to the European and American markets from Hungary.
