Budapest

Quite a number of foreign companies complain about Hungary’s policy being unpredictable. In this interview, Frank Klein, head of Daimler’s plant at Kecskemét, explains how he has experienced Hungarian politics and speaks about the future of Germany’s dual training system in Hungary.

Mr. Klein, your company is one of the largest foreign investors in Hungary. How have you experienced Hungarian politics at Kecskemét?

Klein: We have met with excellent support from all political levels at Kecskemét from day one. There have been three Prime Ministers since we made our decision for this location. In our experience, policy has always been predictable for us.

You agreed on a strategic partnership with the government. Can first results of this partnership already be seen?

First of all, there has been much progress with regard to flexible working hours. Models such as flextime accounts give us more flexibility in managing production. Other working time laws, for instance relating to holiday leave, have become more enterprise-friendly. We have also made progress in the development of vocational training programmes following the German model, in research projects at Hungarian universities and in strengthening the Hungarian supplier landscape.

Yet you have hardly any Hungarian suppliers so far  ...

Daimler generally purchases globally, a production site is not necessarily also a major place of procurement. And as a matter of fact it takes time for a regional supplier landscape to develop that can meet the quality standards of Mercedes. Nonetheless, we currently already have 25 suppliers based in Hungary. We have also seen some initial success in the second and third tiers. A supplier looking for a subsupplier, say, of screws will most probably prefer to find one in Hungary than at international level.

You not only need good suppliers, but first of all good staff. How can you guarantee that staff at your Hungarian site meets German quality standards?

We joined forces with politicians and associations to set the course for German-style dual vocational training programmes in Hungary; the vocational training law was specifically amended in September 2011. That’s an historic step – and Kecskemét can be seen as one of the cradles of this development. We want to establish this type of training down to the smallest shop – we want to convince other companies of this system.

When will a Hungarian native become Plant Manager at Kecskemét?

We promote our Hungarian talents and over time more and more will quite naturally progress to the management levels. So maybe one of the future plant managers is already working for our company today.