Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency

As a spin-off from GE, with over 130 years of experience tackling the world’s challenges, GE Vernova is uniquely positioned to help lead the energy transition. By continuing to electrify the world and simultaneously working to decarbonize it, GE Vernova plays a crucial role in shaping a sustainable future. Its products and technologies help generate approximately 25% of the world’s electricity..

GE Vernova operates in over 100 countries and has a strong track record in Hungary. Since 2001, its Veresegyház plant has been engaged in producing and upgrading special steel alloy components for industrial gas turbines, as well as assembling and testing small- and medium-sized power plants.

The company already had an extensive network of suppliers in Hungary and decided to expand it further. The initiative was taken up by HIPA, as the central institution of the investment promotion system, with the main objective of opening up new market opportunities for Hungarian companies in the global value chain of large foreign companies active in Hungary.

HIPA has launched a new series of supplier forums in recent months, aligning with the agency's tradition. The first forum was organized in autumn 2024 for BYD, the biggest emerging player in sustainable mobility, which is building its first European car plant in Szeged. Based on feedback from the Chinese investor and local partners, the two-day event was a great success.

GE Vernova’s forum was met with similar interest. At HIPA’s headquarters in Budapest, procurement and technical experts from the US company met with representatives from 42 Hungarian companies on March 17th, 2025.

In his opening speech, Mr. István Joó, Government Commissioner and HIPA's CEO stressed that the task of promoting investment does not end with a positive investor decision.

On the contrary,  "the hardest part of the work starts only then", since after the physical implementation of the investments, it is necessary to ensure the cooperation between foreign investors and domestic educational institutions, and the integration of foreign investors into the domestic ecosystems.

HIPA's priority is to help Hungarian companies benefit from the presence of foreign investors and is ready to support the development plans of domestic companies that are participating in global value chains

– underlined the Government Commissioner for Investment Promotion and Implementation of Large FDI Projects.

Mr. István Joó added that economic cooperation is the most solid component of Hungarian-American relations, which has not been changed by the "political storms" of recent years, and thus companies from the United States constitute the fourth largest investor community in Hungary.

Mr. Attila Olajos, Executive Sourcing Leader at GE Vernova, highlighted that the energy transition has sparked an "investment supercycle", which is a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" for businesses. Hungary is particulary well-positioned, thanks to its excepional education system, including unique engineering programs, robust logistics, and strong supplier capabilities.

As a partner of GE Vernova, new Hungarian companies can seize such an opportunity, with a wide range of products and services "from screws to multi-million euro equipment". These companies are expected to participate in the tight supply chain in accordance with GE Vernova's safety and quality-focused operation. He added that they can be involved not only in the activities of the Veresegyház plant, but also in GE Vernova's global supplier network.

Ms. Viktória Fodor, Managing Director of GE Hungary Kft. and the Plant Manager of the Veresegyház site, highlighted that the Veresegyház plant, built as a greenfield investment, is GE Vernova's second largest manufacturing base and the largest outside the United States.

However, what makes the 50,000-square-metre plant special within the company – which employs 75,000 people worldwide – is not just its size, but also its continuous efficiency improvements through lean management. Colleagues from all over the world come to the plant near Budapest to learn about the results and adopt best practices, Ms. Viktória Fodor explained.