The opening of the center in Budapest today. (Photo: MTI/Zoltán Máthé)

By 2017, the company says it is planning to employ approximately 400 highly qualified IT personnel developing industrial internet solutions. GE says the opening of the center is an especially important milestone in its history, fitting into its efforts to become one of the leading digital firms in the world by 2020. 

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said at the event that GE is one of the best partners of the Hungarian government.

According to GEʼs website for Hungary, the American giant has been operating in Hungary since the end of 1989, when it made a strategic investment in Hungarian lamp manufacturer Tungsram. GE currently has more than 10,000 associates in the country; of these, 9,000 are working in industrial businesses, with an additional 1,500 employees at GE’s Global Operations Center in Budapest.