German-owned shoemaker Josef Seibel inaugurated a new HUF 1.1 billion production unit on Friday.

The German-owned company started building the 2,000-sqm unit last year. The development was supported with the help of a HUF 500 million grant from the Economic Development Operative Program.

Josef Seibel employs one hundred people. The combined headcount of Josef Seibel and Szamos ─ which operates at the same site and fills contracts for Josef Seibel ─ tops 660.

With the new unit and technology, next year’s output could reach 2 million pairs of shoes at the plant in Csenger (NE Hungary), up from 900,000 per year, Managing Director János Juhász said.

The bulk of the plant’s output is exported to the US and the UK. The company had profit of HUF 814 million on revenue of HUF 14.7 billion last year.

Econews earlier reported that Josef Seibel is bringing part of its contract work to the Csenger-based companies from Asia and Moldova due to quality problems.