Peter Szijjarto: SICK Investment Creates Three Hundred New Jobs in Kunsziget

Given the size of the settlement, it is an exceptional achievement that the investment by SICK has created three hundred new jobs in Kunsziget, partly thanks to government support. This also reinforces that Hungarians’ money should be spent on developing Hungary's economy, not on keeping another country functioning, stated Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto on Friday in Kunsziget.

Zsolt Imre Vido, Managing Director of SICK kft, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto, and Minister of Agriculture Istvan Nagy at the projekt handover ceremony in Kunsziget (Photo: MTI/Istvan Filep)

In his speech delivered at the SICK kft. project handover ceremony, Peter Szijjarto highlighted that the German-owned company manufacturing intelligent optical sensors has carried out an investment worth ten billion forints. As a result, a new factory and warehouse were built, increasing capacity by fifty percent. He added that the government supported the project with 1.6 billion forints, thereby contributing to the creation of three hundred jobs in the settlement in Gyor Moson Sopron County, western Hungary.

There are special things in this county. For example, what we see here. There is a settlement called Kunsziget, with roughly fifteen hundred residents. And there is a factory that produces for the global market in an absolutely competitive way, and thanks to this investment and future developments, more than one thousand people will be working here soon. And what is manufactured here can be found all over the world,

he said.

"The smart optical sensors made here can be found all over the world, from ocean-going ships to trams, self-driving tractors, industrial chimneys to airport baggage sensors," the minister said. Today, over 43,000 people are employed in the electronics industry in Hungary, and the government supported 185 major investments in the sector in the past decade, he added.

Peter Szijjarto also touched on the serious crises of the past decade and a half, welcoming the fact that despite these challenges, the past four years have been the most successful period in Hungary's economic history in terms of investments.

Never before have so many investments arrived in Hungary, never before have so many factories been built in Hungary, and never before have so many jobs been created as during these four years,

he remarked.

He further pointed out that Gyor Moson Sopron County increased its annual industrial output from 3,200 billion forints ten years ago to 5,700 billion forints, while unemployment fell to two percent. This is also due to the fact that during this period, 124 investments were implemented in the region with state support, with a total value of 810 billion forints.

He then warned that serious dangers are arising and a new world order is taking shape, making security more important than ever. "And while the world was stumbling from crisis to crisis, Hungary carried out several economic feats in order to strengthen its economy despite these challenging circumstances," he underlined. "One million more people are working in Hungary today than ten years ago. Hungary has the lowest taxes on labor in Europe, (…) and although there were completely irrational price movements on international energy markets, we nevertheless managed to put together the utility cost reduction scheme and are still able to protect it even under the current conditions," he listed.

Finally, the minister emphasized that in the current situation, the achievements made so far could easily be put at risk due to the war in Ukraine.

That is why we will continue to stand on the side of security, peace, and predictability, and we continue to believe that Hungarian people’s money belongs here in Hungary. Hungarians’ money must be spent on developing the Hungarian economy, Hungarian companies, and creating Hungarian jobs, not on running another country,

he concluded.

Cover photo: Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto (Photo: MTI)