Chocolate production to be revived in Hungary

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Árklub Ltd. is set to build a chocolate factory in Bátonyterenye, northern Hungary, with a 8.3 billion forint investment. The project is going to receive state aid.
The plant to manufacture products of the brand name Vadász (Hunter) is to start its operation at the end of 2019, with a staff of 150 people.

This development project constitutes a key phase in the revival of Hungary’s once world-class sector, the food industry, more specifically the confectionery industry, commented Levente Magyar, state secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, at the site on Wednesday.

Over the last 30 years,

Hungary’s confectionery industry has almost been destroyed; we will turn it around now

, he said.

The Hungarian government provides a HUF 3.3 billion subsidy for the investment, which constitutes 45% of the original budget of HUF 7.3 billion.

Magyar said the subsidy may be considered also as a diplomatic response to the fact that the Budapest-based plant, owned by Ukrainians, where Vadász chocolates have been manufactured, terminated the contract abruptly at the end of 2017.

Csaba Tóth, Sales & Marketing Director of Árklub Ltd., said the company had been established in 1994 as a family business and had remained profitable ever since. They have 67 products on the market under the brand name ‘Vadász’.

The plant in Bátonyterenye will be the company’s first own factory, as so far it manufacturing has been outsourced. The move resolves the biggest problem for the company, namely the lack of production capacity.

A production hall on 15,000 square metres will be built in the first phase by the end of this year. Machinery are to arrive in early 2019 and it will six months to install the technology, after which a trial run may start. Serial production is expected to be launched at the end of 2019. Most of the company’s products will be manufactured in Bátonyterenye.

Front page photo by Shutterstock

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