Samsonite adds production in Hungary, moves into smart phone cases

Samsonite-Hungária, a subsidiary of baggage manufacturer Samsonite International SA, has seen a 20 percent jump in both sales and production at its plant at Székszard in southern Hungary.

Output of polypropylene travel cases from the recently expanded facility during 2014 reached 800,000, which is 140,000 units more than it manufactured during 2013.

The Székszard plant saw its annual sales revenue rise last year to 48.3 million euros ($55.2 million) from 40.8 million euros ($46.6 million) during the previous twelve months while the subsidiary's pre-tax profits rose to 3.85 million euros ($4.4 million), according to József Pinczel, director of the production facility.

In 2014, Budapest-based Samsonite-Hungária invested around 8 million euros ($9.1 million) to add a new 4,400-square-meter production hall at the site which was completed last year and is set to increase the overall capacity by 28 percent when it is fully operating this March.

The expansion, which raised the plant workforce from 50 to over 500, was supported by a 2.3 million euros ($2.6 million) Hungarian state grant provided through the New Széchenyi Plan fund. Today, the baggage facility employs around 520.

With its continuing Hungarian investment program, Samsonite has been introducing new added value technology also enabling the site to turn out designer polycarbonate based cases. The company aims to meet a growing demand for innovative baggage across Europe.

Samsonite-Hungária has invested more than 17 million euros ($19.4 million) in expansion and new technology over the past five years with 5 million euros ($5.7 million) worth of support from the EU.

The group's Hungarian project has been the main driver in its capital investment in Europe, while it has also improved its operation at Oudenaarde, Belgium investing 2.2 million euros ($2.5 million) in an additional warehouse.

Last year, Samsonite also spent around 1.76 million euros ($2 million) to acquire two new injection molding machines for its Belgian plant.

Elsewhere, the group has moved in to a new market with its 2014 acquisition of Speck Products in the U.S., a designer and distributor of slim protective cases for a range of personal mobile electronic devices such as mobile phones and tablet computers.

The acquisition gives Samsonite its first entry into the growing smartphone case market, while Speck can take advantage of Samsonite's global base to expand outside the U.S., which represents 80 percent of the company's sales.