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Minister of Defense Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky called the establishment of the French-Hungarian joint venture Satys PSP Hungary Zrt. in Gyula on Thursday a new step in the development of the defense industry. The company is the surface treatment partner of Airbus Helicopters Hungary, and a new factory has been set up in the southern town next to the Airbus factory.
Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky recalled that in 2016-2017, the Hungarian government set the goal of rearming the Hungarian defense forces by relying specifically on European suppliers, but not just by purchasing military equipment, but by bringing manufacturing capacity to the country where possible, he added.
One of the most perfect realizations of this is the establishment of Airbus in Gyula, which has also begun to attract its suppliers to Hungary, which is how Satys arrived, he said.
This also shows that the development of the Hungarian armed forces is following a strategy, the Defense Minister noted, adding that the development of the armed forces and the air force starting from the Gyula-Békéscsaba region is also part of the strategy. This will also include the development of vocational training, university education, R&D, and infrastructure, Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky emphasized.
László Palkovics, CEO of the N7 National Defense Industrial Innovation Holding Zrt. which established the joint venture on the Hungarian side, said that
the defense capabilities development strategy has three important pillars: the creation of Hungarian-owned companies; the development of companies that repair and maintain defense equipment; and the creation of technological partnerships with foreign companies.
He added that in the latter area, the creation of the Airbus factory in Gyula, which brought with it the establishment of a supplier company in Hungary in a very short time, is outstanding. Hungary has not had an aeronautics industry for a long time, but Airbus could put the country on the European aeronautics map, the CEO emphasized.
The French-owned Satys Group has been a supplier to Airbus for thirty years and is the company’s surface treatment partner. Satys has invested €17 million in setting up the factory in Gyula, said Christophe Cador, founder and CEO of Satys Group. “This is one of the biggest investments in the aerospace industry in Europe,” he said.
Cador explained that the investment represents a strategic turning point for the group, which is present on four continents. In addition to France and Portugal, the company now has a plant in Hungary, from where it plans to supply markets east of the Rhine. This represents an opportunity for the company to expand further, he noted, adding that the factory’s process control system and automation of its surface treatment processes will make Gyula a “pioneering site.”
Featured photo via Snoj Péter/honvedelem.hu
