This investment helps the company to further expand its leading role in the paper and containerboard production in Central and Eastern Europe; at the same time the new plant allows to significantly increase energy efficiency of the production site and consequently reduce dependence on gas imports.

Hamburger Hungária, the Hungarian branch of Hamburger Containerboard, inaugurated the new power plant on the site of its paper production in Dunaújváros, app. 70 km south of Budapest, in the presence of high-ranking Hungarian government representatives. The construction of the power plant marks an investment of more than 150 million Euro. Amongst others, the power plant uses the rejects from paper production to produce heat and energy.

Thomas Prinzhorn, owner of Prinzhorn Holding, CEO Cord Prinzhorn and Harald Ganster, Managing Director of Hamburger Containerboard, welcomed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade László Szabó, Secretary of State for Energy András Aradszki and Member of Parliament at the opening. Harald Ganster sees the investment as an important step for the further expansion of the group in Hungary: “With around 700.000 tons of annual production capacity, Hamburger Hungária is the largest and most important production site of Hamburger Containerboard. The construction of the highly efficient industrial power plant allows our site in Dunaújváros to grow into one of the most efficient sites in all of Europe. With the thermal utilization of waste from packaging and rejects from paper production, our plant contributes significantly to the implementation of EU climate targets in Hungary.”

Prinzhorn Group represents close to 90% of Hungary's paper manufacturing, and through its three Hungarian companies - paper waste collector Duparec, producer of corrugated base paper Hamburger Hungária and manufacturer of innovative corrugated paper products Dunapack - creates an eco-friendly value cycle with long term sustainability producing innovative packaging solutions using paper waste. By building its own power plant, Prinzhorn Group completes this cycle, increasing its competitiveness on the regional and European markets.

„We are committed to Hungary: I am proud to say that thanks to our investments of the past years totaling some 430 million Euros Dunaújváros, and thus Hungary has become one of the paper production centers of Europe," said Cord Prinzhorn, CEO of Prinzhorn Group. „80% of the outstanding quality containerboard and packaging products produced here - to the amount of 240 million Euros - is exported to the CEE region, partly to the Group's other companies operating in 14 other countries. Our competitiveness in Europe depends on high efficiency and low cost energy solutions. Today’s inauguration of the new power plant strengthens our leading role.”

The new co-generation power plant uses solid fuels, including the paper mill’s own residual waste from paper production, but also biomass and coal. Due to its state-of-the-art design the plant generates both heat and electricity, thus ensuring the plant’s energy self-sufficiency and the recovery of waste paper that was earlier deposited at landfill sites in the vicinity. The power plant has a capacity of 172 MW in used fuels, 158 MW in generated heat and 42 MW in generated electricity. The power plant generates energy with an outstanding high efficiency of 75% that represents three times the efficiency of traditional electric power plants, thereby using a third of the energy in comparison.

At the inauguration ceremony, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade László Szabó said: „The new investment further strengthens the long term competitiveness of Prinzhorn Holding, which is highly needed considering that in Hungary, Prinzhorn companies provide employment to some 1,300 people directly as well as a further 3,000 indirectly through small and medium sized businesses it works with. We are grateful to the owner and leadership of Prinzhorn Holding who have invested his trust in our country since 1990 and with ongoing investments continue to prove that they are viewing Hungary as a long term partner.”

The new power plant also created new jobs as during the construction period on average 300 people worked on the project. Once in operation, the power plant is supplying 60 direct jobs with outstanding salaries thus increasing the number of Prinzhorn Holding employees in Dunaújváros to over 550. The power plant uses the services of many more companies from the region of Dunaújváros and from Hungary, thereby significantly boosting regional economy.



About Prinzhorn Holding
The Austrian-based Prinzhorn Holding is one of the leading European players in the recycling, paper and packaging industry and market leader in the CEE-region. The family-owned group has its headquarters in Wiener Neudorf / Austria and is structured into three operational divisions: Hamburger Recycling Group (collection and trading of paper for recycling and other recyclable materials), Hamburger Containerboard (production of corrugated base paper) and Dunapack Packaging (production of high quality and flexible corrugated packaging solutions).
Overall, the group is operational in 15 countries, with 54 production sites and recycling depots altogether and a total staff of over 5,800 people. With an annual production of 2 million tons of containerboard from recycled paper and an annual turnover of approximately 1.23 billion euros (figures 2015), Prinzhorn Holding is number three in Europe in this segment.

About Hamburger Hungaria Containerboard
Hamburger Hungária is a leading containerboard manufacturer in Europe. The two paper machines located in Dunaújváros produce annually about 700.000 tons of brown containerboard which accounts for 85% of all paper grades produced in Hungary. The company exports the majority, an approximate 80% of its products to European and Middle Eastern markets. Hamburger Hungária creates high quality containerboard from waste paper which marks its role as one of Hungary’s most important environmental industrial companies as the company produces high added-value product by recycling instead of transporting waste paper to waste disposal sites or waste incinerating furnaces. Hamburger Hungária uses only secondary materials for production which enables the preservation of natural resources and the recycling of large amounts of waste paper.

Fotocredits: © Prinzhorn Holding
Hamburger_Dunaujvaros.jpg Hamburger Hungaria invested more than 150 million Euros into the new co-generation power plant in Dunaujvaros.