30.05.08
Foundation stone of a further aluminium car-body production facility has been laid in Szolnok, Hunga
The foundation stone of Stadler Szolnok Kft, Stadler Rail Group’s (Stadler) rail vehicle production facility has been laid a few days ago in the industrial park of Szolnok in Hungary. The facility will be responsible for the production of aluminium car-bodies, which will be utilized in the production process of FLIRT trains. According to the plans, the facility will start production in the last quarter of 2008, and at full capacity, after further investments, it will be capable of producing at least 200 aluminium car-bodies per year, with the employment of approximately 200 people.
The foundation stone was laid by László Puch, State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy and Transport, Imre Iváncsik, Member of Parliament of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok County, Ferenc Szalay, Mayor of Szolnok, Jürg Gygax, Executive Vice President of Stadler’s the International Division, and Michael Moser, managing director of Stadler Szolnok Kft. The construction works have already been started with the designing phase and the obtaining of necessary building permits. According to the current plans, the site can start production in the last quarter of 2008. The Stadler facility will be capable after further investments of producing at least 200 aluminium car-bodies per year. Stadler engaged to employ approximately 200 people, which number may increase in proportion with the production capacity depending on further orders from Hungary and the region. With the establishment of the facility, Stadler not only creates new workplaces but also brings a technology and expertise to Hungary which is unique in the whole CEE region. To advance the success of the Szolnok facility, some of the employees will receive training in Switzerland. The car-bodies produced will also be sold on export markets. At the ceremony, Jürg Gygax, Executive Vice President of the International Division of Stadler Rail Group said: “We are very delighted to step onto a higher level concerning our presence in the Hungarian market. With establishing this production unit, Stadler is not a simple supplier of the Hungarian railway market anymore, we have also become a significant investor. We are very happy that with this step we can contribute to the development of the rail vehicle production industry, which has serious traditions in Hungary.” Ferenc Szalay, Mayor of Szolnok added: This investment is a very important event in the history of Szolnok. Stadler establishes a production facility, which demands high level professional skills, and with this it shows a new direction for our city. We really worked hard to achieve this success, and convince Stadler to choose Szolnok as the location of its investment. In this process we were helped by the investment friendly environment, which is also proved by the developments of the companies operating in our industrial park. Everyone joined forces for this common objective in Szolnok, as a result of which the rail vehicle production industry in the city can shine as before. The management of Stadler made a decision on the expansion of the Group’s production capacity last year, due to the worldwide increase in demand for its products. Stadler decided to place its aluminium car body producing facility to Hungary, because it regards the country as a market of strategic importance. In the decision making process Stadler considered the mechanical engineering expertise of Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county region, the synergies with MÁV Szolnoki Jármûjavító, and the outstandingly beneficial land lease agreement offered by the local authority of the town, which finally convinced the management to establish the production facility in Szolnok. The Stadler Rail Group focuses on the segments of regional and suburban transport, urban light railway transport, trams and rack railways as well as dieselelectric locomotives. The product portfolio ranges from individual and special vehicles through to small and medium production runs, modernizations and repair of rail vehicles. The best known models of the Stadler assortment are the FLIRT (Fast Light Innovative Regional Turbo-train), the GTW low-floor articulated railcar and the RS1 Regio-Shuttle. Stadler offers attractive URL vehicles and trams in the form of the Variobahn and the Tango. The latest member of the vehicle family is the newly developed DOSTO. The Stadler Rail Group is in a position to offer the market complete vehicle concepts. All operations are carried out under one roof, from body and bogie production all the way through to final assembly. State-of-the art technologies combined with lightweight, service-friendly designs help to keep operational, energy and maintenance costs low. Modular concepts cover the specific needs of the rail companies and are one of the reasons for the Stadler Rail Group’s success.
For further information, please contact:
Capital Communications,
Csaba Kiss, Budapest. Phone: +36 1 266 01 99, E-mail: cs.kiss@capital.hu
or Stadler Rail Group,
Tim Buechele, Bussnang, Switzerland, Phone: +41 71 626 31 57, E-mail: tim.buechele@stadlerrail.ch