Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky said the plant would start making 30mm shells before expanding the production palette to include 155mm and 120mm shells.
Headcount at the base will rise from 50 to several hundred as production is ramped up, he added at the inauguration, according to state news wire MTI.
The minister also noted that the 30mm shells would be used for Lynx infantry fighting vehicles produced by Rheinmetall at a plant in nearby Zalaegerszeg. He added that Europe’s strategic munitions reserves had been “severely depleted” because of deliveries to Ukraine.
Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger said the plant would have the capacity to turn out 240,000 tank shells and 1 million smaller caliber shells a year.
Rheinmetall has spent about EUR 300 mln on the 30mm shell production capacity and will plow a total of EUR 500 mln into the plant in Várpalota as it fills orders worth EUR 54 bln, he added, according to the report.
Producing journalism that is worthy of the name is a costly business. For over 30 years, the publishers, editors and reporters of the Budapest Business Journal have striven to bring you business news that works, information that you can trust, that is factual, accurate and presented without fear or favor.Newspaper organizations across the globe have struggled to find a business model that allows them to continue to excel, without compromising their ability to perform. Most recently, some have experimented with the idea of involving their most important stakeholders, their readers.
We would like to offer that same opportunity to our readers. We would like to invite you to help us deliver the quality business journalism you require. Hit our Support the BBJ button and you can choose the how much and how often you send us your contributions.
