Europcar is the leader in car rental services in Europe. Present in 150 countries, the company provides customers with access to the world’s largest vehicle rental network through franchise operations and partnerships. With 6,500 employees in Europe committed to delivering customer satisfaction and an average fleet of close to 200,000 vehicles.

The company was founded in 1989 as the first rental car company in Hungary, became a franchise partner of Europcar in 2002 and has carved out a niche as the country’s biggest and most advanced car hire operation. Atilla Mag. Szabó, General Manager, explains, “We have the most extensive network of any car hire company in Hungary, with an office in every big town, including at Budapest’s international airport and downtown. We also have the biggest fleet, with in total more than 750 vehicles. Our additional strong points are high liquidity and quality thanks to being part of the Porsche group, the convenience for our customers of the Europcar network, and our very high quality fleet. We are Hungary’s market leader in rental vehicle utilisation.”

Almost every vehicle in Europcar Hungary’s fleet is a Volkswagen brand, including Volkswagen, Audi, SEAT and Skoda. All Europcar’s vehicles meet the highest international standards, are not older than 15 months or have been driven for more than 40,000 km. The customer can find all kinds of cars in the fleet, from the small city carvers through minibusses, vans to luxury limousines. Despite the economic crisis in 2008 Europcar Hungary has been steadily expanding and aims to increase its fleet to 1,000 vehicles over the next two to three years.

Serving high profile corporate customers

Even during the drop in tourism following 9/11 and the global financial crisis, Europcar Hungary continued to grow thanks to its strong track record and high quality service. “With our proactive service understanding we increased
our acquisition efforts and searched for new answers to the changing demand on the market. Our strategy could
convince our partners that we grant quality – even in poor times – and this lead to a loyal corporate clientele. Only one third of our business is from international tourists. We offer temporary rental cars and other services for corporate clients, which include Metro, Siemens, Bosch, and the EU presidency. If companies and institutions need cars, we are here for them,” Atilla Mag. Szabó says.

For customers choosing medium and long term rentals, Europcar offers a fixed monthly rate, special insurance coverage, 3,800 free km per month, 24 hour assistance, the newest models with an average age of only four months, and much more.

Europcar partners with a number of airlines to give its customers frequent flyer miles for car hire, and it also
provides streamlined reservations through the Europcar online reservations system. The company’s loyalty programme gives clients even more reasons to hire a vehicle from Europcar. The free of charge program rewards Europcar’s drivers for their loyalty in proportion of their vehicle rental frequency. Drivers who enroll in the program benefit automatically from the Ready Privilege Express Service, when available, and earn Privilege credits in order to reach one of the Privilege Statuses and their related advantages.

Europcar Hungary welcomes the chance to provide exceptional service. “One of our recent clients was from Saragossa, Spain, and he was able to rent a car here and return it to our Europcar office in Saragossa, thanks to Europcar’s huge network. In case of mobility we are the solution specialists, because there is no need we can’t satisfy,” Atilla Mag. Szabó explains.

europcar@europcar.hu
www.europcar.hu

Alfa Group, which is active throughout Europe, has been investing in Hungary for the past 11 years and foresees continued strong growth there. Alfa Group’s Fiesta Hotel in Budapest offers spacious, fully equipped rooms and four star services in the heart of the city, within walking distance of all major cultural, shopping, entertainment and business attractions.

Assaf Onn, Managing Partner, says, “Our competitive edge is our service. Over 26% of our guests are return visitors, which is a really high percentage in the hotel industry. We are a top four star hotel because of our attractive rates, value for money, high occupancy, and of course our service.” He notes that the average occupancy rate for a four star hotel in Budapest in 2010 was 54%, while the Fiesta Hotel achieved an impressive 67% rate.

The Fiesta Hotel targets frequent independent travellers, who currently make up around 80% of the hotel’s guests. Most of the hotel’s customers are from the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and Russia, and Assaf Onn says the hotel is seeing more and more business travellers. “If you are an executive traveller, our staff is here to help you. You can use our office and we will bring you a coffee! We are all about people. We are here to give service,” he promises.

Launch of Starwood’s Aloft Hotels brand in Hungary

Assaf Onn anticipates strong growth for Hungary’s hotel sector beginning in 2013, and notes that the Alfa Group is already involved in another hotel project in the country: the launch of a new Starwood Aloft hotel. He explains, “The Aloft in Hungary will be the first Aloft hotel in Eastern Europe. Aloft hotels are designed as lifestyle hotels with a distinctive quality that will bring visitors back again and again.” Aloft hotels are known for their modern and fresh look, bargain prices, and a friendly atmosphere that encourages guests to socialise.

Hungary in general and Budapest in particular offer a wealth of attractions for international travellers, Assaf Onn believes. He concludes, “Budapest is great value for money and a very attractive distination. We are seeing more and more visitors coming to Hungary, staying longer when they come here, and also coming back for another visit.” He adds that the Alfa Group welcomes the chance to work with international partners in high potential projects in Hungary.

Alfa Hotel Group Ltd.
Victor Hugo utca 11-15
1132 Budapest
Tel.: +36 1 350 8710
www.alfagroup.hu

Budapest’s WestEnd City Center shopping mall, named Hungary’s best shopping mall several times since it opened in 1999, is located in the heart of the capital next to the largest traffic junction of the city.

WestEnd is the flagship development of TriGranit Development Corporation, which is one of the largest European fully integrated real estate investment, development and management companies, working in 7 countries, with a total planned investment of €4 billion. WestEnd City Center contains over 400 stores as well as a wide range of other attractions, including a 14 screen cinema, a three hectare roof garden with playground or 2,500 sq m ice skating rink during winter. General Manager Attila Prosits says, “We are proud of the awards we have received, but what means the most to us is that 20 million customers visit our mall every year to shop, have fun or simply because it is good to meet at WestEnd.”

Visitors to the mall will find all kinds of shopping options, specialising in fashion, shoes and leather goods, electronics and cosmetic products. WestEnd City Center also contains numerous cafes, ice cream parlors and food courts offering a taste of Hungarian and international cuisines.

The mall has a dedicated consumer services centre as well as a left luggage facility, baby care room, and even a ticket office. Conveniently located in central Budapest, with Hilton Budapest WestEnd and with three A-class office towers as a part of the complex, WestEnd City Center has become one of the city’s top attractions for locals as well as international visitors.

WestEnd City Center is a destination in itself.

www.westend.hu
www.tgm.hu
www.trigranit.com

The new four star Continental Hotel Zara in Budapest, located in a listed landmark building that housed a famous theatre in the 1950s after being transformed from an archetypical bathhouse, now offers upscale amenities in and out of the contemporary trends featuring a blend of Art Nouveau, Art Deco and modern styles. As General Manager Zoltan Geher puts it, “I am proud of the design of the hotel and the uniqueness we can offer. The Continental Hotel Zara’s design sells itself.”

Zoltan Geher, General Manager

The Continental Hotel Zara offers 272 guestrooms and suites in four categories, including 25 corporate rooms with larger desks and special lighting. For business travellers, the hotel has five state of the art conference rooms that can accommodate a total of 300 people. Other services include an underground private parking garage, one of Budapest’s finest wellness and fitness centres, massage rooms and a sauna, three spa treatment rooms, the Araz Restaurant with a terrace and a convivial bar, the Gallery Café, and a corporate lounge. WiFi Internet connections are free throughout the hotel.

Guests can enjoy the Zara’s very popular themed Sunday brunches and can relax in the hotel’s two courtyard gardens or in the rooftop garden, which has spectacular views of downtown Budapest to enjoy from the rooftop pool. In these spaces, the hotel becomes a green oasis in the heart of the bustling city. In every amenity and around every corner in this sprawling and historic edifice, you’ll encounter smiles and world class service and hospitality.

Alternative to standardised chain hotels

As an independent hotel property, the Continental Hotel Zara is an excellent choice for travellers seeking an alternative to standardised chain hotels. Zoltan Geher explains, “Our unique style, fresh design and personal touch are key reasons guests love our hotel. We welcome both leisure and business travellers, most of them from Europe. We put a lot of effort into attracting corporate clients and work closely with chambers of commerce in order to host events attended by top business leaders. We provide special services to all our guests, and we live up to our motto.

‘Enjoy the hospitality’

The award winning Continental Hotel Zara is part of Worldhotels, a leading collection of independent four and five star hotels in more than 65 destinations worldwide.

The Zara aims to play a major role in positioning Budapest as a top choice for business and leisure tourism. Zoltan Geher concludes, “Budapest, with its beauty and rich cultural scene, has the potential to become an elegant luxury tourism destination that will attract high level visitors, and the Continental Hotel Zara is a unique place to sta in this exciting city.”

Dohány utca 42-44
1074 Budapest
Tel: +36 1 815 1000
continentalinfo@zeinahotels.com
www.continentalhotelbudapest.com

FOGÁZ has been providing world class services for over 150 years. The company handles gas supply in the capital city of Budapest and its surrounding villages, including the management and maintenance of the gas pipeline network. Due to the company’s new residential supply strategy FOGÁZ extended its service area beyond the borders of Budapest to 10 additional counties. This is in addition to providing gas trade on the free market to the entire area of Hungary for a number of years now. Mr. László Koncz, CEO, explains, “Our state of readiness and motivated employees enable us to hold our own in the changing market environment. FOGÁZ is ready to meet the challenges that lie ahead.” With a commitment to environmental and social responsibility, FOGÁZ is currently adopting a “green” fleet of compressed natural gas vehicles and contributes to a number of community service projects. The company is
helping to drive forward Hungary’s economic development.

II János Pál pápa tér 20.
1081 Budapest
www.fogaz.hu

Kuehne + Nagel offers the winning combination of local knowledge and global reach to guarantee high quality logistics services for its customers in Hungary. Benefiting from the worldwide Kuehne + Nagel network, the company provides a full range of logistics support, including sea, rail, road and airfreight, customs clearance, packaging and labelling, value added solutions and much more. “Kuehne + Nagel is number one in the world in the sea freight market. Hungarian companies cannot reach our level in sea freight, because they lack the global network,” explains Hungarian National Manager Elo Elemer.

Elo Elemer, National Manager

Kuehne + Nagel Ltd Hungary serves local and multinational corporate clients in Hungary’s pharmaceuticals, high tech, automotive and packaging sectors, among many others. Elo Elemer points out, “In our portfolio we have international and local clients to whom we guarantee risk free performance and reasonable prices. Our clients often sign a longer lasting contract with us.”

Hungary is an ideal base for logistics operations

Hungary is an ideal base for a globally active logistics operation since it offers streamlined connections to both
Western and Eastern Europe and beyond. Elo Elemer says, “The strongest advantage we have is our proximity to the Kuehne + Nagel Eastern European regional headquarters in Vienna. We belong to the Eastern European organisation, which consists of 21 countries. The region expands from Austria to Russia. In fact, we concentrate on export and import shipments.”

Kuehne + Nagel is well known for its high standard of professional service. As Elo Elemer puts it, “We do not aim to be the cheapest; we want to provide the best service and to stay competitive.” Kuehne + Nagel Ltd in Hungary is certified to handle special types of shipments, including hazardous materials, and oversees every shipment through its cutting edge tracking system. All its subcontractors have been carefully vetted through to make sure they meet Kuehne + Nagel’s demanding criteria.

As for the future, Kuehne + Nagel’s goal is to continue to grow at double the average rate in Hungary and in all its markets. Elo Elemer says, “Hungary has a motivated and educated workforce, and we are near the EU market. Most of all, Kuehne + Nagel is the logistics provider of choice for integrated and complex solutions!”

M1 Business Park – 2071 Páty
Tel: +36 23 889 000
info.budapest@kuehne-nagel.com
www.kuehne-nagel.com

Teva, the world’s biggest manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals, chose to enter the Hungarian market 18 years ago by acquiring two of the country’s top pharmaceutical enterprises. CEO Dr. László Szabó explains that Teva took part in helping Hungary’s pharmaceutical sector thrive once again through making major investments – a total €852 million (HUF230 billion) to date – and implementing the latest technologies and expertise.

Dr. László Szabó, CEO

“Under Teva’s ownership, the output of the two Hungarian companies we acquired has risen by tenfold over the past 18 years,” he says. Teva regards Hungary as a key area for its investments. It is open for further investments and to create jobs in Hungary, but would require a more investor friendly environment in the pharma sector.

Certainly the company understands the financial situation of the country, the challenges the government is facing and agrees that cost reduction is a must. As Dr. László Szabó says: “Pharmaceutical companies have been key contributors to the state budget. Drug producers started to pay extra taxes several years before other industries.
Furthermore while another company, e.g. a car manufacturer is incentivised for creating a workplace for workers
with elementary or mid-level education, we are punished with extra taxes for creating jobs for well educated people
as a sales representative. Besides the taxes we are struggling with continuous price reduction measures despite the fact that Teva markets its high quality products at 50% of the average drug price in Hungary.” The new drug
reimbursement measures of the government on generic medicines could not lead to considerable cost saving in the long run. On the contrary, the irrationally low prices keep the generic companies away from the market and the Health Fund has to finance the expensive original medicines because the lack of cheaper generics. Furthermore the planned so called blind bid could cause serious supply problems, because companies will not be able to keep the relevant amount of products, or after winning the bid and stocking out their drugs, the small and cheapest companies will not have the interest to maintain the supply, so patients will be forced to change therapy and it could cause additional health risk and cost for the Health Fund.

“The four biggest pharmaceutical companies, including Teva contribute 50% of Hungary’s total research and development, and we have a considerable contribution to the export as well. We will continue the cooperation with the government and we hope that our voices will be heard because our role in Hungary is essential both from an economic and public health point of view,” expressed Dr. László Szabó.

R70 Office complex
Rákóczi road 70-72. III.Floor
1074 Budapest
Tel: +36 1 288 6400
Fax: +36 1 288 6410
www.teva.hu

Global healthcare player B. Braun, which produces around 30,000 healthcare products sold worldwide, has had a presence in the Hungarian market for more than 40 years, and established its own affiliate here in 1991, when it acquired Rolitron, a local firm operating a dialysis centre. B. Braun has made a major contribution to upgrading Hungary’s healthcare system by introducing services to go along with their innovative technologies.

Péter Horn, Managing Director

Managing Director Péter Horn explains that to date B. Braun has invested around €200 million in Hungary, employing close to 2,000 colleagues. The company operates 18 dialysis centres throughout the country, accounting for a 40%
market share. B. Braun’s dialysis centres apply EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) standards, and received the Central-Eastern European Quality Award this year. Péter Horn adds, “We also won the IIASA-Shiba Award which is one of Hungary’s most prestigious quality awards.”

B. Braun operates a plant in Gyöngyös, Hungary where it produces all its bloodlines used in dialysis for the European market as well as infusion sets and wound drainage systems. B. Braun also has a software development centre in Hungary and recently began the construction of a €14 million expansion of its Gyöngyös plant as part of its drive to quadruple the plant’s capacity by 2020. Péter Horn says, “Think of the impact B.Braun will have in the future on job creation, healthcare and the Hungarian economy.”

Felhévízi St. 5
1023 Budapest
Tel: +36 1 346 9700
www.bbraun.hu
www.bbraun.com

GIRO Zrt., an automated clearing house established in 1989, has helped to spur on the development of Hungary’s banking sector, which had become a two-tier system in 1987 including commercial banks as well as the central bank. GIRO performs an essential infrastructural service in the Hungarian banking system.

Peter Legeza, CEO

Given its significance to Hungary’s financial system, GIRO Zrt. is highly regulated and often audited. It has earned an exceptional track record in meeting the highest European standards, i.e. the Ten Core Principles. GIRO’s payment activities were not affected by the economic downturn. The company has recently been seeing growth in corporate transactions, which have balanced out a reduction in government transactions due to reforms in Hungary’s public sector. Peter Legeza concludes, “GIRO Zrt. is a stable company within a stable and advanced financial system here in Hungary.”

Vadász u. 31.
1054 Budapest
Tel: +36 1 428 5600
info@mail.giro.hu
www.giro.hu