A Decade of Constant Growth

Givaudan, the leading manufacturer of flavors and fragrances, recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of its Makó manufacturing site, in southeast Hungary. The event included a special ceremony attended by employees, senior company executives and experts. The celebration marked a significant milestone for the company site, recognizing a decade of innovation and development that has helped support regional and global business growth in a highly dynamic industry. According to the Head of Operations and Company Manager at the Makó plant, Mihály Karkas, much of the success of the facility is due to the hard work and dedication of the staff and their commitment to continuous improvement.

With over ten years of operation, Givaudan’s Makó facility, which is part of the Givaudan Taste & Wellbeing division, employs close to 600 people, most of whom were present at the anniversary celebration.
It was in August 2010 that Givaudan – following a long selection process involving many possible sites in several countries – announced that it would create a plant in Makó with an investment of CHF 170 million, which was the largest investment sum in the company’s history at that time. The next milestone was on December 6, 2012, when the first commercial shipment was loaded on a truck to leave the plant. Today, the Makó factory ranks 5th in Csongrád-Csanád County in terms of sales revenue and was the county’s largest exporter in 2021.

Manufacturing excellence
During the past decade, Givaudan has grown from a company with revenues of CHF 4.4 billion to revenues of CHF 7 billion, while expanding its offering from flavor and taste to health and nutrition ingredients, preservation and texture solutions, and natural colors. By leveraging automation and maximizing capacity, the team in Makó has delivered an incredible standard of excellence in its production and for its customers, bringing the Makó site to life and making it a model for Givaudan and the industry as a whole.
The real value of the Makó facility is not only its great technology and tools, but also its people. During the past ten years, many who started as students have become experts and have shared their knowledge and expertise to help drive the business forward and to continually better understand the market needs.

Sustainability
In addition to its manufacturing excellence, Makó has achieved several sustainability targets, including a reduction in its annual water consumption ratio by 13.6%, electricity consumption ratio by 25.7% and the natural gas consumption ration by 13.1%.
The volunteer-based team, known as the ‘Green Team’ promotes and stimulates energy consumption reduction efforts across the site. The factory also consumes 100% green electricity, and with small improvement ideas (kaizens), the site has been able to eliminate unjustified energy consumption and waste.
The company also launched last year the ‘-20% energy reduction program’ to which the Makó factory contributes significantly. The latest success story in Makó is the installation of two heat pumps which are beginning to deliver over 600 tons of CO₂ emission reduction for the site.

Social responsibility
The Givaudan Foundation, a non-profit organization, was established by the company ten years ago to reinforce its commitment to the communities in which it operates.
In Hungary, in 2020-21, the Givaudan Foundation joined forces with the Red Cross to help families and individuals who are in a difficult position. The Foundation provided voluntary donations and financial support so that the Red Cross could organize training for schoolchildren. Givaudan believes it is important to raise a generation who are conscious about themselves, their surroundings, and their peers.
In 2022-23, Givaudan organized a ‘Dental screening program for Makó’, involving four screening days. Dentists screened 551 children and provided over 1,000 dental packs (toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash, and plastic glass).
The Hungarian Red Cross awarded Givaudan Hungary the title of ‘Supporter of the Year’ in 2022, for the second time since 2017. This came in recognition not only of the financial support the company provided but also of its employees’ commitments to the community, including collecting supplies and participating in company-organized blood donations.

Continuous improvement
Mihály Karkas stresses that over the next few years, the fundamentally continuous improvement is the biggest driving force behind the factory, and this is exercised in terms of efficiency, productivity, quality improvement, and improving the factory’s safety record. With these key areas of focus, the factory's performance continues to strengthen and improve year-on-year.
This involves increasing capacity at certain points and for certain technologies at certain times. For example, the Makó teams are already working on plans to introduce more new technologies to implement as the market situation may require. With this approach, the Makó factory is perfectly equipped to continue answering customers' needs and market demands with maximum quality and efficiency.