Amid a raft of layoffs around Hungary due to the economic crisis there one glimmer of hope as shoe factory Szamos Cipoipari ramps up production thanks to the weak forint and the resulting rise in demand abroad.
The firm which makes shoes on contract for Germany’s Josef Seibel has hired another 40 workers, bringing headcount to 550, business daily Vilaggazdasag reported on Tuesday.
Szamos expects to deliver 900,000 pairs of shoes to Germany again this year. Earlier the company shipped about a million pairs of shoes, but it now makes more high-value and labour-intensive models.
Szamos started its own line of children’s shoes in 2007 and sold 15,000 pair in 2008. This year it targets sales of 30,000 from the line.