Hungarian-owned Szatmári Group has restarted production at the former Zalakerámia factory in Tófej, bringing Hungary’s only ceramic tile plant back into operation after an almost one-year shutdown.
The acquisition and restart required around €15 million, covering the factory, inventories, mining rights and the costs of resuming production, owner Zoltán Szatmári said at the plant’s official reopening ceremony.
The group plans to invest a similar amount over the next three years, taking the total investment programme towards €30 million. Production itself resumed on July 15, while the September ceremony marked the formal relaunch of the more than century-old manufacturing site.
Capacity could quadruple to 6 million sqm
Terra Danubia currently has annual production capacity of around 1.5 million sqm of ceramic products, but plans to increase that to 5-6 million sqm within three years. At that level, Szatmári estimates the factory could supply around 40-50% of the Hungarian market, with the remaining output intended for export.
The first products being manufactured are those where shortages had emerged after the previous shutdown and lines that had traditionally been among Zalakerámia’s strongest sellers.
From next year, Terra Danubia wants to broaden the range with larger-format ceramic tiles and restart floor-tile production. A new production line is planned as part of the modernisation programme.
Acquisition included another factory and raw-material rights
Terra Danubia also acquired the former Zalakerámia site at Romhány, associated production assets and existing inventory. It secured mining rights linked to the Tófej clay mine, the Sümeg limestone mine and a mining site at Gyöngyöspata, giving the company access to raw materials used in ceramic manufacturing.
Negotiations with Lasselsberger began in October 2025 and the purchase agreement was signed in March 2026. Former workers were subsequently recruited back to prepare for the restart.
70 employees return to production
Around 70 people currently work at the factory, compared with roughly 300 at its historical peak. Earlier restart plans had envisaged around 80 employees for the initial phase.
Szatmári Group already had a long commercial relationship with Zalakerámia before becoming its new industrial owner. The group had distributed its products for around 30 years, with tiles from Tófej previously accounting for about 80% of sales in the relevant product category at Szatmári stores.
The former owner stopped manufacturing at Tófej in 2025, temporarily ending domestic ceramic tile production. Terra Danubia’s restart now returns both the factory and a significant part of its raw-material supply chain to Hungarian ownership.
