Rheinmetall Expands in Zalaegerszeg with €9.5 Million Investment

Rheinmetall Hungary Zrt. is building a development and engineering center for the defense industry at its plant in Zalaegerszeg, Hungarian Foreign and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó announced on Friday at the site. The investment amounts to 3.7 billion forints (9.5 million euros), of which the Hungarian state is contributing 560 million forints (1.4 million euros) to support the creation of 80 new jobs.

In his speech, the minister emphasized the geopolitical necessity of this development. “We live in an age of danger, and the threat of a third world war is becoming more real every day. While everything in Brussels is dominated by war, Hungary has been consistently working for peace for three and a half years. However, peace requires strength,” he stressed.

Péter Szijjártó emphasized that

thanks to such projects, our country is increasingly able to meet the requirements of the Hungarian armed forces through its own production, which is a sign of Hungary’s strength.

The investment by Rheinmetall that has now been announced promotes this goal and brings the country closer to realizing the Zrínyi 2026 defense and armed forces development program.

Foreign and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó announcing the investment by Rheinmetall Hungary Zrt. Photo: Hungary Today

The defense industry is a state-of-the-art sector with extensive modernization opportunities, according to the minister.

The 80 new jobs are aimed at Hungarian development, research, and manufacturing engineers as well as computer scientists,”

he emphasized.

Péter Szijjártó also emphasized the importance of the investment for German-Hungarian economic relations, which are of fundamental importance to the Hungarian economy. He referred to a recent survey by the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce, according to which four-fifths of German companies would choose Hungary again as an investment location.

Germany is an important trading partner; German companies employ around 300,000 people in Hungary. Over the past 11 years, the government has supported 324 investments by German companies with subsidies, creating 40,000 jobs.

Paul Walf announcing the investment by Rheinmetall Hungary Zrt. Photo: Hungary Today

Paul Walf, CEO of Rheinmetall Hungary Zrt., recalled that the German defense company began its greenfield investment in Zalaegerszeg in 2020. The investment now announced will increase the plant’s development, engineering, and testing capacities by around 50 percent.

In the future, the Zalaegerszeg plant will develop new versions of the Lynx armored vehicle with Hungarian participation, and the local engineering team will also be involved in the development of the Panther KF51.

Paul Walf explained that the experts at the new center will work closely with their German colleagues on tank development.

The CEO highlighted to Hungary Today the partnerships between the Rheinmetall plant and seven Hungarian universities, with the closest cooperation being with Széchenyi István University in Győr and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME).

In response to our question, the CEO pointed out that the company plans to deliver the 172 battle tanks ordered by the Hungarian Armed Forces by 2029.

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