Mihály Varga inaugurated Vajda-Papír's new mill in Dunaföldvár - One of the world's most modern hygienic paper mill has been expanded
Vajda-Papír's paper mill in Dunaföldvár has been expanded with a second mill. The new mill, which was completed during a 15-month investment project worth HUF 16 billion, was handed over by Mihály Varga, Minister of Finance, and Attila Vajda, Managing Director of Vajda-Papír Kft. One of the world's most modern hygiene paper mills has been expanded with the new mill unit, which includes the new base paper production hall, the base paper warehouse and the pulp storage and preparation areas. At the inauguration ceremony, Finance Minister Mihály Varga praised, among other things, the fact that Hungary has become self-sufficient in another area, and the supply of base paper for the production of hygienic paper products is now also ensured. He pointed out that well-chosen investments contribute to increasing the resilience of the whole country. Vajda-Papír's investment will create 50 new jobs while maintaining the existing 600.
With the participation of Finance Minister Mihály Varga, Vajda-Papír officially opened its second production unit, expanding its integrated factory for the production of hygiene paper products and base paper, built in Dunaföldvár in 2018. The Hungarian Government has classified the investment as a priority investment in the national economy and has granted HUF 5.5 billion in non-refundable aid under the Large Enterprise Investment Support Programme.
At the opening ceremony, Finance Minister Mihály Varga highlighted that the Government's goal is to ensure that the Hungarian economy is able to grow even in the face of the European recession, based on Hungary's performance over the past decade. At the handover ceremony of the HUF 16 billion investment in Vajda-Papír Kft., the Finance Minister emphasised that the Government will continue to support investments by companies that are able to operate on foreign markets and strengthen security of supply, and the necessary funds are available for this purpose in next year's budget adopted today.
According to forecasts, the war and the misguided sanctions will soon plunge Europe's economy into a crisis, Mihály Varga stressed. Therefore, he said, the Hungarian economy must be managed in such a way that it retains its capacity for growth in a deteriorating global economic environment. The government is working to save the cuts in rationing to the level of average consumption despite the war on prices, to protect jobs, family allowances and the value of pensions, and to fight against war inflation through price freezes, he said, adding that Hungary's energy supply must be secured even as energy prices plummet. The 2023 budget provides a stable basis for these goals, which also guarantees the reduction of public debt and the deficit. On the investment of Vajda-Papír Group, Mihály Varga said that the Vajda-Papír Group produces about 55 percent of household and hygiene paper products in Hungary, and these products account for almost three quarters of exports. The current development, worth HUF 16 billion, will ensure Hungary's self-sufficiency in hygiene paper products and will create 50 new jobs for people living in the area, while maintaining 600 jobs, Mihály Varga said.
Attila Vajda, Managing Director of Vajda-Papír, Hungary's leading hygiene paper manufacturer, said that the Group is not only able to ensure Hungary's self-sufficiency in hygiene paper products, but is now also able to meet its own base paper needs. "The investment we have handed over in line with our ambitions will reduce the environmental impact of our production and, by eliminating the transport of base paper, we will also significantly reduce our ecological footprint," he said.
He highlighted that the EUR 16 billion factory expansion and the acquisition of a world-class base paper machine as part of it will double the production capacity of Hungary's leading manufacturer of hygiene paper products and triple its base paper production capacity. Paper production capacity will increase from 35,000 tonnes to 115,000 tonnes, significantly improving the company's ability to expand its foreign markets.
Attila Vajda also emphasized that thanks to the new plant, the Hungarian-owned company's leading position in the production of tissue paper products can be extended to more countries in the region and exports can be further expanded thanks to innovative product development and the most modern, energy-efficient technology available. He pointed out that the company's annual production of hygienic base paper exceeds domestic demand by far, so Hungary can be self-sufficient in these products, even with increased demand during and after the coronavirus epidemic. Consumption of hygienic paper is steadily increasing as hygiene expectations and needs grow, and there is still significant growth potential in Hungary, and the company decided to invest in the expansion of the mill to meet the growing domestic and foreign market demand for high quality.
"It is a huge milestone in the life of the company that we are now able to produce base paper exclusively in a domestic environment. Achieving the highest paper conversion rates has been a priority for many years. We are building an entrepreneurial dream, a true success story, having started 22 years ago from a small rented warehouse, and in 2018 we opened the country's most modern paper mill, and in 2022 we were able to expand it with another mill, which includes one of the largest, fastest and most modern base paper machines in the world. We believe that as a Hungarian manufacturer, we can achieve further joint successes in the future with products made in Hungary and in cooperation with the largest retail chains. Vajda-Papír Ltd. is committed to serving Hungarian households at the highest level. We work every day to ensure that our Ooops! branded and other commercial private label products meet the needs of Hungarian consumers to the maximum," said Attila Vajda.
In the second phase, which was inaugurated today, a new base paper production hall, the base paper warehouse and the pulp storage and preparation areas were also inaugurated and the new base paper production line was started up after the test run. Almost HUF 10 billion of the total budget has been spent on machinery and technology investments, and there is also a significant amount of construction development. The production of the new line will be sold both domestically and abroad, and the additional revenue is expected to reach HUF 21 billion per year, generating hundreds of millions of forints in additional tax payments per year. The new plant, which is being developed with a budget of HUF 16 billion, has been financed with HUF 5.5 billion in state aid and the issue of green bonds. At the opening ceremony, Attila Vajda also said that the construction and development of the plant will not stop in Hungary, and that work is already underway to expand the plant.
He reminded that the first phase of the investment was completed in Dunaföldvár in November 2018: the most modern paper mill in Europe, the largest in the region, was built with HUF 15 billion. The Hungarian Government has classified the investment of the first phase as an investment of key national economic importance and has granted HUF 4.5 billion in non-refundable support in the Large Enterprise Investment Support Programme.
Factory expansion in numbers
At the handover ceremony, Attila Vajda said, "The paper machine hall, the associated paper bale storage, and the pulp and base paper warehouses together occupy an area of about two football pitches, and the roads built to them occupy another two pitches. Yet the huge complex, built by Strabag Hungary's main contractor, rose out of the ground in just 15 months, making it the fastest completed paper mill in Europe. Construction involved more than 250 specialists from eight nations. Its sheer scale is reflected in the fact that at peak times, 5 mobile cranes and 20-25 basket and scissor lifts were involved. The total weight of the reinforced concrete in the buildings is eight times that of the iron and steel in the Chain Bridge, but the prefabricated supporting structures of the complex alone weigh one and a half times more than the Eiffel Tower. And the cables built into the walls would stretch all the way from Budapest to Szekszárd."
The supporting structure of Vajda-Papír's new factory in Dunaföldvár was made of 15,700 tonnes of precast reinforced concrete; 2,650 tonnes of reinforcing steel and 15,600 m³ of concrete were used in the construction, which represents a total of about 40,000 tonnes of reinforced concrete. The building was completed in 12 months, of which 7 months were spent on the technological installation. A 9,970 m² road was built for the new plant, which has a floor area of 14,212 m² and includes the new base paper production hall, the base paper warehouse and the pulp storage and preparation areas. Of this, the paper machine hall measures nearly 6,000 m², the associated paper bale storage area reaches 2,150 m² and the covered-open pulp storage area exceeds 1,500 m². The pulp warehouse covers an area of 7 000 m². The length of the installed cables is 150 km, and the length of the prefabricated reinforced concrete elements is 16 km, which would be laid in succession from the factory in Dunaföldvár to the centre of Dunaújváros.
One of the continent's biggest and fastest paper machines is in operation in Hungary
"The paper machine we have installed at the mill also boasts record parameters. Even its installation was completed in an impressively short time: it took just 12 months from the start of the foundation to the start-up of one of the largest and fastest producing paper machines on the continent. Almost half of the 157-metre paper machine hall, which was completed as part of the Dunaföldvár factory expansion project of Vajda-Papír, a leading Hungarian manufacturer of tissue paper products, is taken up by a 66-metre-long paper machine, which weighs the equivalent of 40 elephants in a machine weighing more than 1,044 tonnes. The drying cylinder of the machine weighs 168 tonnes. The top speed of the paper machine is 2,200 metres/min = 132 km/h, which exceeds the speed limit on the motorway. It is no wonder that the production line needs only two seconds to make the paper pulp into the base paper, which is wound onto a 5.6 metre wide roll. Thanks to this, its annual production capacity serves the annual needs of ten million consumers," said the Managing Director of Vajda-Papír, highlighting the record.
Vajda-Papír's latest state-of-the-art paper machine will ensure the self-sufficiency of the leading tissue paper company in base paper, doubling the company's production capacity and tripling its base paper production capacity. The equipment was supplied, installed and commissioned by the Italian company Toscotec in Dunaföldvár. Equipped with world-class, energy-efficient technology, the base paper machine is the "heart" of the new plant, capable of producing 10 tonnes of base paper rolls per hour and 80 000 tonnes per year.
The safe and flawless operation of this most advanced and energy-efficient base paper production line is supported by a number of latest generation auxiliary systems. In addition, to protect our environment, we biologically purify the fibre-containing water from the paper production process, making it pure enough to be accepted by nature and directly returned to the Danube River. 50% of the biologically purified water is filtered once again through a special device to achieve the purity of well water - the water we receive from nature. And we can reuse this water ourselves in the paper-making process.
