VEVEY, SWITZERLAND — Nestlé Hungária is increasing pet food production in Bük, Hungary, as part of the company’s five-year development plan. As part of the final phase of this plan, Nestlé is establishing a new pet food plant in the area, which will produce more than 50,000 tons of pet food and create 130 jobs in the region.
“With today’s announcement, a five-year development phase in the life of the Bük factory will end, during which we will implement a total investment worth HUF 300 billion, which can be considered the largest investment in the food industry in Hungary. ,” said Péter Noszek, managing director of Nestlé Hungária.
In 2020, Nestlé set a HUF 382 billion (approximately $1.07 billion USD) development plan to support its operations in Bük. Of that budget, HUF 325 billion (approximately $906.2 million USD) went to the company’s Purina pet food manufacturing campus. The company has invested HUF 90 billion (approximately $250.9 million USD) in its Hungarian pet food capabilities by 2023.
According to Noszek, the company produced about 200,000 tons of pet food in Hungary and exported to more than 50 countries in 2019. The addition of this new factory unit, along with other investments in its Purina business, is expected The company will double its annual pet food capacity to 500,000 tons.
Construction began on the new plant in January, and Nestlé expects production lines to be installed later in 2024. Production is scheduled to begin at the facility in 2025.
According to the company, Nestlé will continue to use local raw materials to support farmers and agricultural producers in Hungary. Today, almost half of all raw materials supplied to its Bük operations come from Hungarian suppliers. Nestlé expects this ratio to increase following the completion of its new pet food processing plant in the area.
“Nestlé has contributed not only to the quantitative growth of the Hungarian economy, but also to the qualitative one by constantly modernizing its activities and bringing significant industrial innovations to Hungary,” said Péter Szijjártó, minister of foreign affairs and trade. “The Hungarian government contributes to this investment by providing the necessary infrastructure for the operation by modernizing and developing the road and water network, which also benefits the residents of the region.”
Nestlé currently employs 2,800 people in three factories and offices in Budapest, along with its pet food operations.
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