On the print issue of July 30^th, the Budapest Business Journal (BBJ, http://www.bbj.hu/ ), which is the largest, oldest and a leading publication in business category in Hungary, published an interview conducted by Kester Eddy with a member of SK Battery Hungary: László Ludman. Ludman is a human resources development (HRD) and public relations (PR) manager who has been working at SK Battery Hungary since the establishment of the company in Komárom, Hungary.

The interview focuses on how the EV battery manufacturing plants of SK Innovation have made changes in the region. Through the interview with BBJ, László Ludman reiterated the reasons SK Innovation chose Hungary as the company’s first EV battery manufacturing site in Europe. He emphasized the three top reasons as “the proximity of European car manufacturing sites, the availability of a well-trained workforce, and the support from central and local governments.”

Ludman also talked about how the company has been able to secure the workforce at the regions with low unemployment rates. He also revealed that “approximately 20% of the workforce [at SK Battery Hungary] are Slovak citizens, since “Komárom is only a bridge length away from Slovakia.” According to Ludman, to make it more convenient for the employees to move around, the company provides free bus transfer service for employees with “7 routes for daily office staff and 18 for shift workers.”

▲ (Left) SK Battery Hungary members participate in company’s volunteer planting tree activity in June, joined by Komárom Mayor Attila Molnár and CEO of SK Battery Hungary Han Sang-kyu / (Right) SK Battery Hungary’s plant in by Komárom

Regarding the differences between Korean and European/Hungary’s culture, particularly working culture, Ludman shared that despite the language barriers, “SK Battery Hungary is committed to narrowing the differences by researching various communication channels.” As an example, he mentioned the “monthly in-house magazine dealing with know-how and safety rules at the production site.” “And as part of ‘Open Discussion’ and ‘Mutual Respect,’ part of SK Innovation’s management philosophies, we have held a number of workshops to help people understand each other’s cultures,” he added.

When being asked about the current status of the plants in Komárom and the new project in Iváncsa, Ludman mentioned that last year the first plant operated by SK Battery Hungary reached its 2020 production targets. The second plant operated by SK Battery Manufacturing, which is also located in Komárom, has completed construction and “test production is currently ongoing, with mass production expected to start in the first quarter of 2022.” He said the Iváncsa project is also ready to start the construction stage.

*Disclaimer: The interview was conducted before SK Innovation announced its new strategies and targets at the Story Day event, which took place in early July. Some of the numbers mentioned in the interview may not be up-to-date. The online version of the interview is published on Budapest Business Journal’s website on August 14, after the first publishing in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of July 30, 2021.