Hungarian Companies Persevere despite Energy Crisis

Although Hungarian companies are feeling the effects of the energy crisis, they are trying to cope with the situation and come up with solutions. Among these are investments to increase energy efficiency and the relocation of production abroad, according to a summary article in Világgazdaság.

Some Hungarian companies were contacted by the Hungarian economic website and asked how they are coping with the current uncertain economic situation and the energy crisis. According to the head of Florin Zrt., the country’s leading Hungarian-owned household chemical company, they are facing a very serious challenge from the rise in energy and raw material prices. As Attila Barta said, they sense that people are looking for cheaper and smaller products or large and economical products, so they try to react to these trends as quickly as possible.

Barta added that

it is very difficult to make business plans at the moment, as they do not know how much gas they will use and what the price will be.

However, Florin Zrt. has recently made several investments that allow it to produce at a lower price; for example, the solar farm has been upgraded to the maximum technical capacity, the buildings have been insulated, and new windows and doors were installed. In addition, to reduce costs the company has started to manufacture its own bottles. The manager also said that they are looking to relocate production to countries less affected by the energy crisis through contract manufacturing. Florin Zrt. has already contacted Turkish companies to explore the possibilities.

At Alföldi Tej, a leading Hungarian dairy company, long-term contracts have been signed and energy costs stabilized, making energy spending predictable.

In addition, the company is in the planning phase for a number of investment projects to reduce energy costs and is exploring the possibility of alternative fuels.

Haladás Mezőgazdasági Zrt, the country’s largest potato producer, also faces a number of challenges. Increased energy prices have caused the cost of storage in cold stores to rise dramatically, said Éva Kulich, the company’s head of sales and marketing. The situation has also been made worse by the government’s introduction of a price cap on potatoes, which is making things more difficult for small-scale producers. However, Éva Kulich underlined that “the larger producers, such as Haladás, will certainly sow anyway”, meaning that the country’s potato supply will be secured.

Featured photo via Facebook/Florin Zrt.