Source: Schott.
Schott Opening in Hungary
Dr Frank Heinricht, chairman of the management board of Schott, inaugurates the new machine overhauling centre at Lukácsháza together with Dr Hans-Joachim Konz, member of the management board of Schott, Andreas Reisse, vice president pharmaceutical packaging Schott, Christoph Döppes managing director of the Schott site in Lukácsháza, as well as Ferenc Kovács, chairman of the Hungarian conference of county delegates, János Virág, mayor of Lukácsháza, and the entire project team.The pharmaceutical arm of 150-year-old German manufacturer of glass products Schott has announced plans to significantly expand its Hungarian site Lukácsháza, which manufactures pharmaceutical primary packaging. The company has said that "investments in the mid-double-digit million euro range are planned" to 2016. The first step will be to open a new maintenance facility for overhauling and upgrading production machines that will create more than 30 new jobs in the Lukácsháza region. In addition, production capacity should continue to increase in Hungary over the next few years.
Schott manufactures ampoules, vials, and cartridges or so-called primary packaging for the pharmaceutical industry at its site in Lukácsháza near the Hungarian-Austrian border. While the company is mainly involved in glass, plastics are becoming increasingly important in the portfolio. The plant has continued to grow since it first opened in 1993. Today, Lukácsháza, with its roughly 530 employees and annual production of more than 1.7 billion units, is Schott's pharmaceutical division's single largest site. The products manufactured in Lukácsháza are mainly exported to all parts of Europe and overseas, but also produced for the local market.
In addition to opening this global maintenance center, Schott has also established a team of experts at this site that will overhaul its production machines on a regular basis and upgrade them to meet the latest technical standards. “By doing so, we actively demonstrate our commitment to living up to the highest standards for quality and maintaining these over the long-term, in fact even for all of our global plants,” explains Dr. Jürgen Sackhoff, vice president of Schott Pharmaceutical Systems.
For Dr Frank Heinricht, chairman of the board of management, the expansion of the site in Hungary is only part of what can be considered a global investment strategy. After all, Schott also intends to install new production lines in Hungary over time. “On average, our annual production of ampoules, cartridges and vials will increase by almost half at this site,” Heinricht says and adds, “With our investment strategy, we will be helping our customers around the world to meet their quality and growth targets.” The company also opened a new plant in India just recently and significantly expanded its capacities in Indonesia and Russia. A new joint venture in China also further expands its global manufacturing network.
Strong base in the region
Schott’s expansion in Hungary also sends a powerful message to the Lukácsháza region. “We are aware of our importance as a local employer,” explains Christoph Döppes, managing dDirector of the site in Lukácsháza. “Our commitment here is long-term in nature and we are working together with the local authorities on further developing this site,” he adds. Besides opening its new machine building facility, which received public funding support, and expanding its production capacities, Schott also plans to create a number of new skilled jobs for machine builders, technicians and engineers, for instance.