Fifth stage of the “Grand Tour of Switzerland in Hungary”: Bük

Press releases, 14.04.2016

Thanks to another investment by the Nestlé Group, the west Hungarian city Bük with around 3’500 inhabitants, will become the new biggest pet food production center of Nestlé in Europe.

From left to right: Ambassador Paroz, President Markwalder, Minister Varga and Director Grunewald © by David Harangozó/dteurope
From left to right: Ambassador Paroz, President Markwalder, Director Grunewald and Minister Varga

In this way the Swiss global company based in Vevey at Lake Geneva makes Bük to a symbol of the successful bilateral relations between Switzerland and Hungary, which was valued accordingly at a press conference on 14th April in the Hungarian House of Parliament, where Nestlé announced its largest investment in Hungary so far: With an amount of 20 billion HUF (about 70 million CHF) the Group will expand its pet food factory in Bük. The minister for economics, Mihály Varga, the President of the Swiss National Council, Christa Markwalder and a high-level parliamentary delegation from Switzerland were present at the press conference. 

In his address, the Ambassador of Switzerland, Jean-François Paroz, pointed out that the announcement of the new investment in Bük comes particularly timely during the visit of the President of the Swiss National Council, Christa Markwalder, and her parliamentarian delegation in Budapest. He explained that that the economic relations are the most important elements of the bilateral relations between Hungary and Switzerland. In addition, Switzerland has consistently been among the 10 most important investors in Hungary in the past years, and the Swiss companies employ around 39’000 workers in Hungary. 

Jean Grunenwald, director general of Nestlé Hungária, emphasized Nestlé’s 150th worldwide anniversary and Nestlé’s 25th anniversary in Hungary. Through this investment the factory in Bük is becoming the largest pet food factory in Europe. The staffing levels will increase up to 1000 persons in total. 

The Minister for economics, Mihály Varga, mentioned the success of the Hungarian Economic Policy in recent years and explained that the confidence in the economic site of Hungary is enjoying a renaissance among foreign investors. Through this investment, the Nestlé Group demonstrates that it has found a home in Hungary. The investment in Vas County constitutes a sign of a further strengthening of the bilateral economic relations between Switzerland and Hungary.