Priority Government Support to Companies Competitive in International Markets

The government will continue to give priority support to companies that are competitive in international markets, as they all increase Hungary’s exports, which is important for economic performance, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said in Tatabánya on Thursday.

The Minister emphasized at the inauguration of Graboplast Padlógyártó Zrt. (a leading special floor manufacturing company) that the HUF 1.1 billion (EUR 2.96 million) investment was supported by the state with a HUF 317 million (EUR 853,860) share, thus contributing to the protection of more than 500 jobs.

Speaking about the dramatic challenges of recent years, he said that the world economy had turned upside down twice in a short space of time and business plans had to be completely rewritten.

In the past three years, the Hungarian economy has, thank God, proven to be quite crisis-resilient, as the figures show,”

he recalled.

He stressed that gross domestic product (GDP) grew by over seven percent in 2021 (to USD 181.85 billion), and over four percent in 2022 (estimated USD 190.2 billion), and that the economy will avoid recession even now, expressing hope that “we can survive this year with an economic growth of around 1.5 percent.”

Péter Szijjártó emphasized that these results did not just “fall out of the sky;” they required strategic decisions, including the government’s focus on preventing unemployment and protecting the labor-based economy, instead of providing financial aid during the coronavirus epidemic.

He added that in response,

Hungary had launched one of the biggest investment incentive schemes ever,

but that alone would not have been enough to succeed – it also needed the participation of brave companies.

The Minister also described the investment of Graboplast Padlógyártó Zrt. as a milestone in this respect, and stressed that the company exports 90% of its products to more than 100 countries.

He said that this was also extremely important in view of the fact that the Hungarian economy relies heavily on exports, as shown by the record exports last year. He stressed that Hungary is ranked 34th in the world in terms of export performance, and 95th in terms of population.

This is why the Hungarian government will continue to give priority support to companies that can compete in international markets,”

the politician concluded.

Graboplast’s new plant will produce waterproof floor tiles made of mineral-based materials, which can be laid without glue and are made of interlocking elements. The SPC (Stone Polymer Composite) flooring tiles produced in the 2,400 square meter plant are suitable for both public and residential use. The current capacity of the plant is 500,000 square meters, with the possibility of further expansion.

László Ivan, CEO of Graboplast Zrt., underlined at the event that the market for SPC flooring produced at the plant is expected to expand, with sales of the new product range quadrupling in the next five years, he hopes, accounting for eight percent of the company’s revenue this year.

According to publicly available data, the company achieved sales of HUF 21.7 billion (EUR 58.5 M) in 2022, of which almost HUF 18 billion (EUR 48.52 M) came from export sales, and a profit after tax of HUF 130 million (EUR 350,262).

Featured image: Facebook/Szijjártó Péter