Lucart celebrates its new plant in Hungary

The inauguration of Lucart’s plant in Hungary was held in Nyergesújfalu in the presence of a large audience among which, besides Lucart’s employees, there were: the Italian Ambassador in Hungary, Massimo Rustico, the Secretary of State in Hunghary, Pál Völner, and of the Mayor of Nyergesújfalu, Magdolna Mihelik. The new plant with an overall investment of over EUR 19 million will bring a strong momentum to the area’s developing economy by serving CEE markets across Europe.

“Today is really a day of celebration for us” – declared Massimo Pasquini, CEO of Lucart – “less than two years ago, according to our internationalization strategy, we have chosen Hungary as the entrance gate to East and Central Europe, and now, with our new factory, we can actually see the future of tissue paper in Hungary, a future made of quality, innovation and sustainability. Thanks to this investment we can consider concluded the first phase of Lucart’s development program in Hungary. The second phase, focused on the acquisition of new customers and revenue, is now starting and we are confident that it can lead to new future investments, even more significant”.

“Lucart is an Italian reality of excellence. In an increasingly competitive reality we need companies like Lucart that invest in research and innovation, making products aimed to satisfy customers’ needs, but paying attention to the human factor and making better use of the available resources of the planet” – added Massimo Rustico, Italian Ambassador in Hunghary – “This is the vision we need to ensure a better future to generations to come. This kind of investments not only strengthens the economic ties between our countries but, at the same time, the sharing of skills and know-how starts processes of socio-economic growth and transformation of the territories. With this new factory, Hungary becomes an important tile of the tissue production chain, while Lucart makes a step forward in its internationalization activity, which is more and more a crucial element for companies’ competitiveness in the modern economy. The Hungarian market confirms to be attractive for foreign investors and I wish that this project may be the first step for a long-standing and successful cooperation”.

”Shutting down the paper plant in Lábatlan was a big loss for the region. It is a great pleasure for me now that the new plant based on old traditions creating new jobs and bringing the latest technologies to Nyergesújfalu” – declared Pál Völner, Secretary of State in Hunghary – “I am grateful for the trust of investors, and for the fact that they have chosen this terrotory to build up their modern plant with state-of-the-art procceses also from an environmental point of view. In addition, I would like to thank everybody who contributed to the success of the project”.

After the acquisition of Bokk Paper Kft. in 2016, and its renaming as Lucart Kft, the Group has been working to integrate the new Hungarian branch within the Lucart Group marketing and commercial strategy. Shortly after the acquisition, Lucart has acquired an area in Nyergesújfalu, extending over 50,000 sqm surface, on which the company has just finalized a new converting plant of about 12,000 sqm covered. The plant with an overall investment of over EUR 19 million is dedicated to convert the jumbo paper reels, coming from Lucart paper mills in Italy and France and from local producers, into finished product such as toilet paper, industrial rolls, medical sheet and hand-towels for the Away from Home and Consumer markets.

”Nyergesújfalu on the industrial side of the Danube river considers development of the local economy, creation of new jobs and support of companies its priority” – said Magdolna Mihelik, Mayor of Nyergesújfalu – “Conditions for the positive and constructive co-operation are set: our continuously developing industrial park offers great possibilities for the dinamically growing Lucart Kft. representing sustainable innovations, while stability of the local government is strengthening and a lot of employees living in the area or in Nyergesújfalu could find job opportunities and good working conditions at location”.

Currently, Lucart Kft. is employing 70 people, with perspectives of future recruitments connected to the increase of the turnover of the company. Moreover, the company has just obtained the EU Ecolabel certification. As happened in Italy in 1998, when Lucart was the first company to obtain the community trade mark of ecological quality (the EU Ecolabel); in 2018 – Lucart Kft. is going to be the first company to produce EU Ecolabel Certified tissue products in Hungary.

In addition to the EU Ecolabel, the factory is able to produce items with the FSC® and PEFCTM Certification, which ensure that the raw materials come from forests managed according to strict criteria of sustainability, from recycled or controlled sources.