Hungary’s government signed a strategic partnership agreement with the local unit of Japanese tyre maker Bridgestone on Friday. The agreement was signed by state secretary for foreign affairs and external economic relations Péter Szijjártó and Bridgestone Tatabánya Termelő managing director Kenji Karato. The managing director said politics and business are like a pair of wheels on a car: if they do not roll together, neither will get anywhere. Bridgestone inaugurated its plant in Tatabánya in 2008. It decided last year to triple capacity at the base to a daily 18,000 units by 2017, spending €267 million. Szijjártó said the government had declared the expansion, which will create 505 jobs, of “elevated importance” and the Hungarian Investment and Trade Agency (HITA) had proposed supporting the investment with subsidies. Bridgestone employs about 350 people in Tatabánya at present. Since last summer, the government has signed strategic partnership agreements with the local units of Coca-Cola, Alcoa, Daimler, Suzuki, Hankook, General Electric, Microsoft, Stadler Rail, Tesco, IBM, Tata Consultancy Services, Nokia Siemens, National Instruments, Audi, Jabil Circuit, Continental, Dalkia, Lego, Teva and Sanofi, as well as with Hungarian drugmaker Gedeon Richter and road haulage company Waberer’s, and Chinese ICT company Huawei Technologies. It expects to sign about 40 such agreements.
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