The building has won the 2023 ÉVOSZ Construction Industry Award of Excellence in the category of Industrial and Energy Buildings.

Attila Vajda, Managing Director of Vajda-Papír, said that since 2018 the group has been producing a significant part of the hygienic base paper needed for production at its plant in Dunaföldvár. However, with the increase in production, it was necessary to increase capacity, and due to the covid epidemic that occurred in the meantime, they also wanted to increase the security of supply of the raw material. The second phase of investment therefore also required the construction of a warehouse, a paper bale handling plant, a paper production hall and a stockyard. The new plant, with a floor area of 14 212 square metres, also included the construction of almost 10 000 square metres of roads. The investment, which tripled the company's base paper production capacity to 115,000 tonnes, cost HUF 16 billion and was supported by the Hungarian government with HUF 5.5 billion. The development has created Europe's largest hygiene paper production capacity in Dunaföldvár, and has enabled us to produce the group's entire base paper requirements in our own plant and even strengthen our position on foreign markets," Attila Vajda emphasised. He noted that the investment was financed through the issuance of green bonds, the first among industrial production companies operating in Hungary to issue green bonds worth HUF 9.9 billion.

The Managing Director said that the Construction Industry Award of Excellence is also a recognition of the well-chosen objectives of recent years to ensure that the production of hygienic paper and the operation of the company are carried out with the most environmentally friendly, sustainable technologies. We have spent some 40 billion forints on this over the past 10 years," he said. He cited as an example the significant fuel savings - around 400,000 litres per year - achieved by ensuring that the raw material is produced in-house, thus eliminating the need for deliveries. Operational carbon emissions have been reduced and the production process has become more sustainable: 1 tonne of base paper is produced with up to 26% less electricity and 70% less water than the average paper mill using the previous technology.

Attila Vajda emphasized that a high quality, reliable contractor was also needed for high quality operation, and praised STRABAG's precision, preparedness and accuracy. STRABAG delivered all its stations on time, he added.

Álmos Becsky, STRABAG's Technical Area Director, said that the special production conditions of paper production meant that unique solutions had to be chosen in the design and construction phases, for example, the choice of materials and surface protection of reinforced concrete and metal structures, the high heat and humidity loads in the internal production area, noise and vibration protection, and resistance to chemicals required special solutions and nodes. Special foundations were laid under the paper machine, where a machine platform supported on pile foundations was installed. The construction progressed in parallel with the process installations, which made the construction extremely challenging and required coordinated workflows with the project partners. According to its justification, the ÉVOSZ awarded the prize on the basis of the exceptionally high professional standard of the building's construction work. We are proud of this award, which is further recognition of the high quality of our company's performance," he added.

In 2023, the Curatorial Board of the Construction Industry Award of Excellence Foundation (ÉMA) announced the call for applications for the twenty-sixth time.The first competition was launched in 2000, and since then, the award has been considered the highest recognition of the achievements of the Hungarian construction industry. Founded by the National Association of Construction Contractors (ÉVOSZ) and the Association of Construction Sciences, the award was later joined by seven other professional organisations. The awards were presented, as usual, at the ÉVOSZ Annual General Meeting and Gala on the morning of 7 December. The main criteria for the judging are: the overall architectural and technical assessment of the building, the technical and technical quality of the work, the professionalism of the work, the economic viability and operability of the project, and the cooperation between the parties involved in its creation, in particular the investors, designers and contractors. The prize is open to any organisation with a net final invoice value of at least HUF 100 million and which has been granted a permit to put into service at least one year previously.

Vajda-Papír's new paper mill unit in Dunaföldvár won the 2023 Construction Award of Excellence in the category Industrial and Energy Buildings

Built by: Vajda Real Estate Kft. (Budapest)
Designer: Integrated Engineering Solutions Kft. (Zsombó); Zoozmo Design Studio Kft. (Budapest)
Operator: IDPM Consultant Kft. (Budapest)
General contractor: STRABAG Generálépítő Kft. (Budapest)
Subcontractor: CLC-CONSTRUCT Kft. (Budapest)  
Subcontractor: METAL HUNGÁRIA HOLDING Zrt. (Budapest)
Subcontractor: DUNAKOR 2002 Kft. (Baja)