1. No category

Economic Reports & Business Guide 2015
Austria at
the Centre
of Europe
Austria continues to be one of the
wealthiest and most innovative countries
in the European Union.
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DEAR READER,
AUSTRIA continues to be one of the wealthiest and most innovative
countries in the European Union. Despite turbulent economic times
the Alpine Republic has held its ground much better in recent years
than many other comparable European countries. This is no coincidence. Austria has first-class technologies, a modern infrastructure
and, on top of this, political, economic and social stability.
THE HIGH LEVEL OF ATTRACTIVENESS OF THE LOCATION is
another important bonus which distinguishes the Alpine Republic. In
the past few years Austria has developed into a big “player” in the
markets of Central and Southeast Europe. The country at the Heart
of Europe is one of the top foreign investors in the entire region.
Exports have also grown strongly.
IN AN EU-WIDE COMPARISON, Austria has one of the highest
levels of per capita labour productivity. More than 90 per cent of
companies are small and medium-sized companies. These are able
to adapt quickly to changing global economic conditions. This high
innovative energy is also a product of a successful education system.
Austria’s dual education system enjoys a particularly high reputation
far beyond the country’s borders.
A FURTHER KEY REASON for the success of Austria’s economic
course is the country’s energy supply security. The electricity grid
is amongst the most secure in Europe. On top of this comes the
successful energy revolution in the direction of renewable sources
of energy. This is a sector in which particularly promising areas of
growth have been opened up.
ALL IN ALL we trust that this edition of “AUSTRIA – EUROPE’S
HEART – Economic Reports & Business Guide 2015” offers a good
overview of current trends and developments in Austria. But above
all we want to draw attention to the many advantages and the high
quality of life of the location.
ENJOY YOUR READ
Yours
Elisabeth Della Lucia
2015
3
CONTENT
Christoph Leitl
President of the Austrian Federal
Economic Chamber:
“Since 2008, Austria has dealt
relatively well with the economic
crisis. This positive development has
been principally down to exports.
Even the more difficult economic
climate has not prevented us from
setting a new export record every
year since 2010.”
INTRODUCTION
7
9
11
Preface
Christoph Leitl, President of the Austrian Federal
Economic Chamber
Preface
Reinhold Mitterlehner, Minister of Science,
Research and Economy
Preface
Christoph Neumayer, General Secretary
of the Federation of Austrian Industries
Page 7
ECONOMY
12
Reinhold Mitterlehner
17
Minister of Science,
Research and Economy:
Interview with Walter Koren,
Head of ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA
”Bursting with innovation”
“Over the past few years Austria has
developed positively despite the difficult
international environment and it is
now the second richest country in the
European Union in terms of per capita
income. A stable, reliable economic
climate and high-performing companies
mean that the country is ahead of the
Eurozone in terms of growth.”
18
21
30
Welcome to ABA – Invest in Austria
Your strong partner for Austria
Interview with René Siegl, Director of the ABA
”Austria is growing faster than
the Eurozone average”
Interview with Thomas Jakoubek,
Chairman of the Board of WED and CEO of BAI
”Authentic and confident buildings”
Page 9
32
34
© Juerg Christandl
Business Location Austria
An economic powerhouse in the heart of Europe
Christoph Neumayer
General Secretary of the Federation
of Austrian Industries (IV):
“Industry and its related sectors
provide the Austrian economy
with a reliable and stable core
as well as being the country’s
largest employer – its concrete
contributions to the location
discussion include location
concepts, strategies and stimuli.”
Page 11
Interview with Harry Gatterer, futurologist
Great sociological and cultural diversity
Interview with Renate Brauner, Vice Mayor of the City
of Vienna and Executive City Councillor for Finance,
Economic Affairs and Public Utilities
”Quality is the key to Vienna’s success in
the face of international competition”
36
Interview with Walter Ruck,
President of the Vienna Chamber of Commerce
“A good sign for the future”
38
40
42
Research & Development
Austria as a dynamic research landscape
Guest commentary Herbert Kovar, Partner at Deloitte
“Taxes and R&D government incentives”
Legal Services
Excellent reputation
INFRASTRUCTURE & ENERGY
44
45
Infrastructure
Intelligently integrated modes of transport
Interview with Alois Stöger,
Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology
“Infrastructure policy is an active way
of providing for the future”
46
Interview with Günther Ofner,
Board member of Flughafen Wien AG
Invest in the “Airport City Vienna”
47
Interview with Birgit Wagner,
Member of Executive Board of ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG
“Campaign for quality”
4
2015
CONTENT
48
49
Energy
A strong location for renewable energies
84
Guest commentary Wolfgang Anzengruber,
Chairman of the Managing Board of Verbund AG
Business Location Upper Austria
Exploiting synergies – strengthening
competitiveness
“We are focusing on energy-related services”
50
Mobility
Climate-friendly mobility concepts
Interview with Gery Keszler,
Life Ball founder and organiser
”The Life Ball has become a flagship”
54
57
Interview with Martina Maly-Gärtner,
Managing Director of Michaeler & Partner
Hotel properties
There is still potential for new hotels
Business Location Vienna
The hub for start-ups on the Danube
Interview with Andreas Trisko,
leader of MA 18 – Urban Development and Urban Planning
”Urban development at the highest level”
89
Cultivated Austria
Between the Classic & the New Generation
”Positive Development in Overnight Stays to
Continue”
58
86
88
TOURISM
52
REAL ESTATE
Interview with Maria Vassilakou,
Deputy Mayor of Vienna
“Mobility, accommodation, freedom“
90
Interview with Josef Herwei and Stephan Barasits,
Managing Directors of WSE Wiener Standortentwicklung
“Developing the future”
92
94
Smart City
Smart City Pioneer
Interview with Sigrid Oblak,
Managing Director of Wien Holding
“The Path to the Future“
96
FINANCE
62
64
REGIONS & CLUSTERS
67
69
72
73
78
81
83
Living in Vienna
Something for everyone
100 Luxury real rstate
Living like High Society
Company Portrait “Infineon“
110 Business parks
Business Location Styria
114 Office real estate
Innovation and growth
Business Location Burgenland
125 Interview with Mark Jenewein,
Founding Member of „LOVE architecture and urbanism“
Interview with Hans Niessl,
Provincial Governor of Burgenland
122 Temporary living
Business Location Lower Austria
126 Consulting
Interview with Erwin Pröll,
Provincial Governor of Lower Austria
132 Shoppingcenter
Infineon builds an “intelligent factory”
Innovation and a high quality of life
Cross-border economic motor
Business Location Vorarlberg
Austria’s smallest province as the growth leader
Interview with Joachim Heinzl, Managing Director
of Wirtschaftsstandort Vorarlberg GmbH (WISTO)
“Flexibility and competitive strength”
82
“Down-sizing of living space must come“
98
Business Location Carinthia
A business location on the rise
“Pushing new growth markets”
80
Guest commentary Jörg Wippel,
Managing Director of wvg Bauträger
102 Living in western Austria
”Full speed ahead“
75
97
Interview with Michael Buhl,
Management Board member of the Vienna Stock Exchange
”I’m cautiously optimistic about 2015“
66
“Vienna is unique“
Capital market Austria
Investors overstate Ukraine exposure
Interview with Gerhard Hirczi,
Managing Director of Vienna Business Agency
Investments in prime locations
The market is well covered
The market should regain momentum in 2017
“A Passion for architecture“
Living in one’s own four walls
The value of real estate
Retail chains are rushing to Austria
134 Facade construction
Facade construction, an important part of project
development
135 Steelwork
Greater international focus
Business Location Tyrol
Cross-border success strategy
Business Location Salzburg
With entrepreneurial energy
2015
SERVICE & INFORMATION
146 Index of Advertisers and Imprint
5
Nourishment for your ideas
Get your maximum benefits for research and development
Austria offers very favourable tax rules and a host of
government incentives for research and development (R&D).
The Deloitte Grants and Incentives Team provides advisory services in the
area of obtaining funds for investments of various types and on all related tax aspects.
www.deloitte.at
© 2015 Deloitte Tax Wirtschaftsprüfungs GmbH, 1010 Vienna, Renngasse 1, +43 1 537 00-3600
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee, and its network of member firms,
each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see www.deloitte.com/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of
2015
6
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited and its member firms.
Exports as the
key ingredient for
success in difficult times
AUSTRIA HAS COME THROUGH THE ECONOMIC CRISIS
relatively successfully since 2008. Exports were a main driving force
behind this positive development. Despite difficult global economic
conditions Austrian companies reported record exports in each year
since 2010. Thus, it was the exports that were key for robust, sustainable economic growth. After all, every second job in Austria is directly
or indirectly dependent upon exports, which amount to as much as six
out of every ten euros measured in terms of GDP. As an open market
economy Austria has developed a wide ranging and highly differentiated external trade network and Austrian exporters sell their products
in 220 countries around the world.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRIA’S export oriented businesses is
an unrivalled success story. 25 years ago exports totalled a comparatively modest 25 billion euros. Today the volume of exports is over 125
billion euros. Austria’s economy is very integrated with the markets of
the EU member states and almost 70 per cent of external trade is with
EU countries. However, diversification of export destinations is becoming increasingly important. Thus it is particularly important to open
up new markets and target groups beyond EU borders, especially to
be able to reach new, prosperous regions as a way of compensating for
difficulties in other markets.
IN ADDITION TO SUCCESSFUL EXPORTS of goods and services, an
intensified internationalisation has also transformed Austria from a net
importer into a net exporter of foreign direct investment. Following the
political transformation of 1989 Austria was able to establish itself as
an important investor in Central, Eastern and Southeast Europe. Austria is one of the top five foreign investors in virtually every country in
the region. As a hub and gateway between the Western nations and the
markets of Central and Eastern Europe, Austria has been able to establish itself as an attractive business location and as the headquarters of
numerous international companies and institutions.
Christoph Leitl
President of the
Austrian Economic Chambers
2015
7
WIR BAUEN ZUKUNFT
Wie sehen Städte der Zukunft aus? Was bedeutet nachhaltiges Bauen? Welche
Bedürfnisse haben Menschen und Wirtschaft in 30, 50 oder 100 Jahren? Wir
finden die Antworten. Wir sind spezialisiert auf schwierige Aufgaben. Wir planen
nicht für das Heute, wir planen für das Morgen und spätere Generationen. Mit
unseren Projekten schaffen wir Platz für die Branchen der Zukunft – für Wien und
für seine Bewohner. Wir lieben Entwicklung. Wir bauen Zukunft.
WSE Wiener Standortentwicklung
www.wse.at
Wiener
Standortentwicklung
ein unternehmen der
8
2015
Stable business
environment,
high-performing
companies
IN THE PAST FEW YEARS AUSTRIA HAS, despite a difficult international backdrop, developed positively resulting in its current position as
second-richest country in the European Union measured in terms of per
capita income. Stable and reliable business conditions combined with
companies and businesses that are performing strongly helped generate a
positive growth differential over the euro zone.
IN ORDER TO PROTECT AND FURTHER STRENGTHEN Austria’s
good positioning as a business location we are constantly working to
improve the environment and beneficial framework for investments,
exports and corporate start-ups. Another Austrian advantage is “ABA
- Invest in Austria”, which has won a number of international awards
for its work supporting international companies in every aspect of their
decision to move their business to Austria.
COMPANIES THAT COME TO AUSTRIA particularly value our highly
skilled workforce, our important role as a hub in the direction of Central and Eastern Europe and our high levels of stability and the rule of
law. Adding to these positive characteristics, the International Energy
Agency recently confirmed our extremely high level of energy supply
security.
IN ADDITION TO THIS, Austria has a comprehensive system of research subsidies which have been expanded further in recent years.
Examples of this are the ten per cent research premium, the increase
in the tax benefits granted to contract research and the numerous new
COMET Competence Centres and Christian Doppler Laboratories in
which science and business can cooperate efficiently for the benefit of
all involved parties. New impulses in this direction are being added from
the knowledge transfer centres in our universities.
THE NEW ECONOMIC REPORTS & BUSINESS GUIDE 2015 offers
comprehensive information about Austria as a prime business location
and should facilitate the allocation of potential relocating companies and
investors from abroad.
Reinhold Mitterlehner
Federal Minister of Science,
Research and Economy
2015
9
You have
the vision.
We find the
property.
BROKERAGE
SERVICES
10
PROPERTY
MANAGEMENT
CONSTRUCTION
MANAGEMENT
FACILITY
MANAGEMENT
2015
Competitiveness is the clue
to growth and jobs
AS A PLACE FOR WORKING AND DOING BUSINESS Austria continues to enjoy such fundamental advantages as social stability, security,
the rule of law, a health system which is, in comparative terms, excellent, clean air and water as well as beautiful natural surroundings.
IN SHORT: AUSTRIA IS OFTEN SEEN as a watchword for quality of
life. Yet these advantages must be actively maintained, as such “soft”
factors also play a key role when international companies make longterm investment decisions.
BEING A STRONG LOCATION also means continuously working to
further improve competitiveness. Austria can only retain its favoured
position as long as it continues to offer companies a business environment which enables them to generate the required added value. Therefore we need structural reforms across all public and federal services.
This especially involves investing in public infrastructure, rebuilding
the education system from the bottom up, reducing secondary labour
costs on employers as well as easing the tax burden for citizens, introducing modern, more flexible working hours models and avoiding any
increases in time-consuming bureaucracy and regulation in such areas
as energy costs.
THE INDUSTRIAL AND RELATED SECTORS form the reliable and
stable core of the Austrian economy and are also the country’s largest
employers – ith its location concepts, strategies and impulses, industry
is a concrete part of the debate about Austria as a business location.
Austria must work hard every day to retain its advantages. Without
a long-term location strategy which involves structural change and
offers attractive incentives to investors, the country’s decisive competitive advantages and, as a result, desperately needed jobs will slowly be
lost. No location can count on long-term survival based on its beautiful natural surroundings alone. Austria continues to boast a range of
locational advantages and remains fully capable of being one of the
very best business locations. But we must keep on working together to
prepare for the future. Competitiveness is the clue to growth and jobs.
Christoph Neumayer
Director General of the Federation
of Austrian Industries (IV)
2015
11
An economic powerhouse
in the heart of Europe
Thanks to its vibrant economy, Austria is one of the world’s richest countries.
An ideal business environment means that the country is well positioned in
the international competition between locations.
• TEXT: Patrick Baldia
12
2015
P
eople usually associate Austria with
its rich cultural heritage, imperial
past, culinary highlights or apparently innumerable natural jewels. However, in addition to the music of the waltz, schnitzels
and snow-covered peaks, the Alpine Republic also has much to offer in the economic field – which helps to explain why it
is now one of the world’s richest countries.
The innovative products and services offered by Austrian companies are soughtafter far beyond the country’s borders. At
the same time, Austria’s business community profits from the country’s central
location at the Heart of Europe, the stable
political and legal environment, moderate
taxes, the comprehensive support offered
to R&D and the high quality of life.
The business-friendly environment is
also confirmed by the fact that many international companies are now present in
Austria. No fewer than 1,000 have located
here in the last few decades. This number
continues to rise: in 2013 the corporate
relocation agency ABA-Invest in Austria
succeeded in convincing 228 companies
of the country’s locational advantages
and there were a further 114 investment
projects in the first six months of 2014.
With an investment volume of 180 million
euros, these projects also generated 900
new jobs. Its role as a hub in the direction of Central and South East Europe is
also underlined by the fact that Austria is
home to the Eastern European headquarters of more than 300 international companies. This puts Austria clearly ahead of
Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and
Hungary.
SECOND RICHEST EU COUNTRY
As one of the world’s ten richest countries Austria is naturally also an interesting market in its own right for companies
seeking to offer their products and services here. After Luxembourg, the Alpine
2015
Republic is even the second richest country in the EU. Estimated per capita GDP
in 2014 is 34,719 euros, compared with
averages for the Eurozone and the 28 EU
countries of 27,640 euros and 25,710 euros
respectively. Similarly, according to Eurostat’s prosperity index, Austria occupies
third place behind Luxembourg and Germany. This is a particularly
revealing indicator because
Form of
- compared with per capita
Government:
GDP – it takes actual indiFederal Republic
vidual consumption and,
hence, actual consumption
Head of State:
of goods and services into
Federal
account.
President
Small and medium-sized
(Dr. Heinz Fischer)
companies (SMUs) clearly
Area in km2:
form the backbone of the
83,859
Austrian economy. These
Population:
account for 99.6 per cent
8.36 million
of all companies in the
country. Around 256,000
Federal Capital:
SMUs – which range from
Vienna
one-person companies to
those with a maximum of
249 employees - employ a total of 1.7 million people and train 65,000 apprentices.
And even though globalisation and EU integration – Austria has been an EU member since 1995 – have presented the SMU
sector with a range of new challenges, they
have also led to a number of new market
opportunities. One impressive fact is that
Austrian SMUs are currently responsible
for half of the volume of goods exported by
the Alpine Republic.
A COUNTRY OF SERVICES
Companies with fewer than 100 employees set the tone in Austria - and there are
no more than 190 companies in the entire
country which employ more than 1,000
people. Strictly speaking, around 99 per
cent of commercial companies – excluding such industries as banking and insur-
13
cent share of GDP. At the same time, the
sector currently accounts for almost 20
per cent of the country’s full-time jobs.
There were no fewer than 132.6 million
overnight stays in Austria in 2013 – an
increase over the previous year of 1.2 per
cent. In the same year, total expenditure
by all holiday guests, business travellers
and day visitors amounted to 32.2 billion
euros.
With a share of GDP of around 30 per cent
Austrian industry continues to outstrip such
major industrial countries as Germany and Japan
as well as its western neighbour Switzerland.
GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
INDEX
21st
of 144 countries
worldwide
GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX
20th
place out
of 143
MERCER QUALITY OF LIVING STUDY
1st
Vienna of 221
cities worldwide
EU SOCIAL CLIMATE REPORT
5th
14
place
out of 27
ance – have fewer than 100 employees.
The highest proportion of employees and
turnover amongst companies of this size
can be found in the tourism and leisure
sector, followed by crafts and trades, information and consulting and commerce.
The largest sectors in the entire SMU
universe are crafts and trades and commerce. The largest share of overall economic output in Austria is represented by
the service sector with 68 per cent, followed by industry (30 per cent) and agriculture and forestry (2 per cent).
Amongst the most important parts of
the service sector in Austria is tourism.
According to the Economic Chambers,
Austria’s per capita income from foreign
tourism of around 1,900 euros is second
only to Cyprus. Tourism Satellite Accounts show that the tourism and leisure
sector was responsible for direct and indirect wealth creation of 46.5 billion euros in 2013, which represents a 14.8 per
THE COUNTRY OF THE “HIDDEN
CHAMPIONS”
With a share of GDP of around 30 per
cent Austrian industry continues to outstrip such major industrial countries as
Germany and Japan as well as its western neighbour Switzerland. Amongst the
most important sectors are chemical and
automotive production, the construction
of machinery, electronics, life sciences
and environmental technology. The industrial landscape is significantly shaped
by “Hidden Champions”, who feature
among the world’s elite in their particular
niches. There are many examples – such
as Schoeller-Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment (SBO), the global market leader in
high precision pieces for use in directional drilling. The Upper Austrian fibre
producer Lenzing is world market leader
in the field of man-made cellulose fibres
as is the Styrian company Andritz in the
production of equipment and services for
the hydropower, paper and cellulose and
metal industries.
In any case, the list of “Hidden Champions” is long, a fact which acts not least
as conformation of Austria’s traditionally high level of industrial productivity. In concrete terms, figures for labour
productivity in the processing industry
show that performance is well above the
Eurozone average and put Austria in fifth
position in the currency union after Luxembourg, Ireland, Belgium and France. In
this connection, the high level of loyalty of
Austrian workers and their sense of identification with corporate objectives play a
decisive role. According to the 2014 World
Competitiveness Yearbook, Austria occu-
2015
2015
15
ECONOMIC GROWTH 2013
+0.2 %
ECONOMIC GROWTH 2014
+0.4 %
Estimate
GDP 2013 (at current prices)
323
Billion
Euro
GDP PER CAPITA 2013
38,050
Euro
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE 2014
5.1 %
RESEARCH RATIO 2013
2.81 %
EXPORT RATIO 2013
57.4 %
INVESTMENT RATIO 2013
22.2 %
EMPLOYMENT RATE 2013
76.1 %
16
15 to 64year-olds
pies fifth place amongst 60 countries in
this regard. In terms of the training and
qualifications of employees in the workplace, the Alpine Republic is also in fifth
place.
A GUARANTEE OF SUCCESS: THE
DUAL TRAINING SYSTEM
This good level of training of Austrian
workers is largely down to the dual system in both apprenticeship-based trades
and the higher-level vocational colleges.
In contrast with other European countries, apprentices are principally trained
not in vocational schools but in companies themselves. This combination of
theory and practice ensures that training
is aligned with the actual requirements of
industry and that newly qualified workers
already have some experience. This same
close combination of theory and practice
is also found in Austria’s 21 Universities
of Applied Science which currently have
over 45,000 registered students. And
even the country’s more traditional universities are home to intensive cooperation with industry.
However, despite the basically strong
state of its economy, Austria cannot fully
escape Europe’s difficult economic environment. GDP growth of 0.2 per cent in
2013 appears set to be followed by figures
of 0.4 and 0.5 per cent in 2014 and 2015
respectively. Unemployment numbers
have also risen as a result of Europe’s recent economic downturn. According to
the EU’s autumn estimate the unemployment rate in spring should rise from 4.8 to
5.3 per cent. However, although this clear
rise is extremely unwelcome, Austria’s unemployment rate will continue to be well
below the 11.6 and 10.3 per cent expected
for the Eurozone and the EU respectively.
Direct comparisons with such problem
economies as Greece (26 per cent), Spain
(24.8 per cent) and Croatia (17.7 per cent)
also put this development into perspective. The good news: the EU Commission
assumes that positive economic growth in
2016 will lead to a five per cent reduction
in unemployment.
© Österreich Werbung
2015
Bursting with innovation
Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Austria has developed into a major
player in Southeastern Europe. A conversation with Walter Koren, head of
ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA, about the country’s highly attractive location and
exceptionally innovative companies. • INTERVIEW: Helmut Wolf
What sets Austria apart as a business
location, and what commercial environment can international companies look
forward to when setting up an office in
the Alpine republic?
We have been growing faster than the
EU average for more than a decade and
benefit from our skilled workforce and
well-balanced economic structure – not to
mention our high quality of life, good public health service, and responsible attitude
towards the environment. These are all
things which, combined with our position
as a gateway to Eastern and Southeastern
Europe, make Austria a great place to do
business. That’s why many international
companies are already reaping the benefits of having their headquarters here.
In EU comparisons Austria has one of the
highest levels of per capita labour productivity. What lies behind this continuing growth in productivity?
Over 90 per cent of Austrian companies are small and medium sized enterprises, which are able to adapt quickly to
changes in the global economic climate.
They also display a real innovative zeal
and readiness to get involved in new ideas, benefitting from the highly-qualified
workforce we talked about earlier. Those
skilled workers are the product of our excellent education system, especially the
dual education system of combined training and education for which Austria is
now envied worldwide.
What subsidies are available for research
and development?
One of the most important, concrete levers
for encouraging growth and competitiveness in Austria and the wider European
Union is the EU’s new “Horizon 2020” research programme. This offers the opportunity to strengthen Austria as a location
for research and innovation even further.
Our goal for the future is not just to secure additional support from the new EU
2015
“We have been growing faster than the EU average
for more than a decade and benefit from our wellbalanced economic structure.”
research funds but also to increase the
extent to which business, especially small
and medium sized companies, is involved
in the process.
Austria is regarded as an economic hub
for access to the Eastern and Southeastern European markets. What are the key
developments and trends here?
Since the fall of the Iron Curtain 25 years
ago, Austria has developed into a major
player in the Central and Southeastern
European markets. We are amongst the
largest foreign investors in these countries and the growth of our exports to
the region is an unparalleled success
story. There’s still enormous potential to
be tapped in these countries, but I’d also
advise companies looking to export to
test the water in markets a little further
away from home – after all, it’s Asia and
the Americas that are set to dominate the
global economy in the years ahead.
© Foto Wilke
17
© pro.media
Austria: The Perfect Location with
Excellent Quality of Life
Austria ranks among the
most prosperous and innovative countries in the
European Union.
Austria – Your Business Location
It offers a modern infrastructure, top-notch
technologies, well-educated and highly motivated employees, and also a high reliability of
energy supplies in addition to political, social
and economic stability. Moreover, Austria is
the ideal base for ensuring market access
to the dynamic markets of South East and
Eastern Europe.
Due to the good conditions, Austria also
outperforms the global average with respect
to foreign investment in the country. For
example, investors benefit from broad-based
research promotion programs, a businessfriendly tax system and high productivity.
Austria – The Bridge to New Markets
Austria is a small country, but it features an
extremely high level of purchasing power,
and is the second most prosperous nation in
the EU. Austria is internationally considered
to be the top business location for building
up business ties to South East and Eastern
18
Europe. After all, there are 16,000 joint
ventures between companies in Austria and
Eastern Europe.
International, cosmopolitan and multi-cultural. Unito, a subsidiary of the German mail
order house Otto Group along with Solvay
Group of Belgium are those in the long list
of about 1,000 companies coordinating
their CEE business operations from Austria.
They join the ranks of firms such as BMW,
McDonald’s, Mitsubishi, Bridgestone, Hewlett
Packard, Samsung, Eli Lilly, Beiersdorf, Henkel
and Fujitsu. They take advantage of Austria’s
special Eastern European know-how and
international atmosphere. The success story
also works the other way around. More than
2,800 CEE companies such as Lukoil and
VTB Bank are already active in Austria.
The attractive corporate tax rate, excellent
R&D institutions, highly motivated and best
qualified employees make Austria an attractive location for foreign investors.
2015
Research and Development in Austria –
and pilot plants at universities. Moreover,
Essence of Your Corporate Success
highly-industrialized Austria proactively
The dynamic research location of Austria is
supports the smart factory, machine learning
on the fast track. Austria features the fifth
and the Industry 4.0.
highest research ratio in the EU. The country
has come close to doubling its R&D rate
Austria – Perfect Location for Logistics
since 1995, from 1.5 percent to 2.88 percent
and Distribution Centers
of GDP or a total of EUR 9.32 billion (global
Austria stands out due to its historically
estimate for 2014).
evolved role as a bridgehead to South East
In international comparison, investments
and Eastern Europe and its high quality
in research and development rose by 27
logistics infrastructure. At the beginning of
percent in the period 2007 to 2012
2014 Deutsche Lufthansa relocated
(EU average: 17 percent). Domestic
its distribution center for Eastern
and foreign companies accounted
Europe from Budapest to Vienna,
for the lion’s share or 61 percent of
and the logistics specialist DAHMS
total R&D expenditures in Austria.
solutions selected Austria as the
According to the Innovation Unhub of its new e-commerce logistics
http://bit.ly/1geVp5B
ion Scoreboard 2014, Austria ranks
center from which it supplies online
sixth with respect to patent applicaretailers throughout Europe. The
tions among the 28 EU member states in its
two firms followed the example of numerrole as an innovation follower, and achieves
ous international companies such as Volvo,
a top position in the category “intellectual
REWE, Fresenius Kabi and Charles Vögele
capital“ next to Denmark, Germany and
which have selected Austria to be their disSweden.
tribution centers and logistics interfaces.
In international competition, companies
The “International Business Compass
require good cooperation partners and
2014“ of BDO and the Hamburg Institute of
support. Austria once again optimized the
International Economics (HWWI) praises Ausconditions under which they operate, as
tria’s high logistics competence. The World
demonstrated by new knowledge transfer
Economic Forum (WEF) ranks Austria among
centers, the funding and promotion of prothe top ten (8th) and particularly emphasizes
totype development and patent applications
the quality of its electricity supply (4th glob-
2015
ALL ADVANTAGES OF
AUSTRIA AT A GLANCE
One thing is certain: for a profitable company
many of the basic conditions must be suitable
for business on a long-term basis. Investors
can exploit a comprehensive package of
competitive advantages:
• Outstanding level of energy security and
reliability and low industrial electricity prices
• Political and social stability as well as a low
crime rate
• Hardly any strikes thanks to the excellent relationships between employers and
employees
• Second most prosperous country in the
EU – an attractive market with above-average
purchasing power on the part of consumers
• Highly developed infrastructure with the
best-performing airport with respect to
flight connections to the Central and Eastern
European region
• Ideal basis for business in South East and
Eastern Europe with more than 1,000 CEE coordination headquarters of foreign companies
• Optimal tax conditions: low corporate
income tax, group taxation, double
• taxation agreements and attractive
research promotion
• Efficient location with high labor productivity
and low unit labor costs
• Highly-qualified employees with practiceoriented vocational training
• High quality of life
19
“Austria is a small
country, but it features
an extremely high level
of purchasing power,
and is the second most
prosperous nation in
the EU. Austria is internationally considered
to be the top business
location for building
up business ties to
South East and Eastern
Europe.”
ally), roads (6th) and railway network (12th).
Moreover, the Global Competitiveness Report 2014 published by the Swiss management institute IMD says Austria’s infrastructure demonstrates a high level of efficiency
(12th globally) and is subject to continuous
improvement (14th), which, amongst other
factors, is being driven by the Infrastructure
Framework Program 2014-2019.
Unsurpassed in the World:
Austria’s Quality of Life
Anyone who has already worked and
lived abroad knows that the decision for
a particular business location is not only
a rational one but also a gut decision. According to the most recent “Quality of Living
Survey 2014” prepared by Mercer Consulting Group, Vienna is the most livable city in
the world. Austria has a lot in its favor in this
regard in light of the fact that no other country in the EU offers a comparable quality of
life. Expatriates are lured to the capital city
with a lot of green space, excellent cultural
offering and appealing shopping and leisure
time opportunities. The quality of life also
entails the highest possible personal level
of security thanks to a low crime rate. Even
in the big cities, it is taken for granted that
one can use public transportation late in the
evening, or stroll through the city after going
to the theater.
Employees of regional headquarters can
enjoy an international community featuring
kindergartens, schools and cultural facilities.
This is due to the fact that Vienna is not only
home to numerous headquarters, but also
the seat of about 40 international organizations such as the UNO or OPEC. Numerous
international employees and diplomats live
and work here.
20
The Expat Center Vienna set up by the
Vienna Business Agency is available to
provide assistance to them. Moreover, Vienna
is one of the top three cities in the world for
international congresses according to the
International Congress and Convention Association (ICAA).
Attractive Tourism Destination
with High Development Potential
Competition in the growth market of tourism
is tough. Each year the World Economic
Forum selects the best tourism destinations, and evaluates the attractiveness and
development potential of 140 countries.
Austria is among the beaming winners and
has been ranked third in the world - and is
still on the rise.
This upward trend is also demonstrated
by the hard facts. The country may be small,
but Austria is a giant with respect to tourism.
There is hardly any country in the world
which can match Austria in terms of tourism
receipts. On balance, Austria is the seventh
largest tourism market in Europe and is
eleventh worldwide.
Support in Expanding to Austria
ABA – Invest in Austria supports foreign
companies in establishing their own business in Austria. Potential investors are informed about Austria as a business location,
as well as about the prevailing economic,
political and legal framework.
In addition, the activities of ABA – Invest in
Austria also focus on establishing all necessary contacts in Austria, consulting on identifying suitable sites and providing information
relevant to a company, for example on cost
factors (e.g. unit labor and infrastructure costs),
tax issues or the performance of specified
economic sectors in the country. ABA – Invest
in Austria also provides support to companies
in carrying out expansion investments.
ABA – Invest in Austria offers information,
personal consulting and tailor-made services
to international investors establishing business operations in Austria free of charge in
the following areas:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Business location Austria
Organizing all required contacts in Austria
Site consulting and selection
Cost factors (e.g. wage and infrastructure
costs)
Business sectors
Austrian component suppliers for domestic manufacturing facilities
Tax issues and labor regulations
Support in successfully handling administrative procedures e.g. labor permits,
visas, etc. administrative procedures
e.g. labor permits, visas, etc.
ABA – Invest in Austria
Opernring 3
A-1010 Vienna, Austria
Phone: +43-1-588 58-0
Fax: +43-1-586 86 59
Email: [email protected]
www.investinaustria.at
2015
Austria is growing faster than
the Eurozone average
What are the main reasons for foreign
companies to settle in Austria?
Austria benefits from a highly motivated
workforce with excellent know-how, firstclass technology, a modern infrastructure
and the proximity of Southeast and Eastern Europe. Austria is not only politically,
economically and socially stable but also
the second richest country in the EU and
the above-average purchasing power of
Austrian consumers makes it a rewarding market for international companies,
despite its relatively small size and population.
René Siegl, Managing Director of the
national investment promotion agency ABAInvest in Austria, on the advantages of Austria as a location, the strong performance
of recent years and the conditions for a
successful future.
• TEXT: Patrick Baldia
Looking back across the past ten years:
How would you sum up Austria’s performance in the international competition
between locations?
The success of ABA-Invest in Austria
over recent years shows that the country
remains very well-positioned as a location despite the continuingly difficult economic context. The pro-business environment also means that the level of foreign
investment in Austria is above the global
average. For example, investors benefit
from a broad system of research funding,
business-friendly taxes and high productivity.
Apropos research funding: How does
Austria hold its ground as a research location compared with other countries?
Since 1995 Austria has virtually doubled
its R&D ratio and can currently boast the
EU’s fifth highest research ratio.
Tailor-made funding for innovation, a
skilled workforce and more than 50 sectoral clusters optimise networking between
science and business. This is confirmed
by international companies such as Baxalta (formerly Baxter), BMW, Bosch, Infineon and Novartis.
And what about Austria as an industrial
location? Can it also sustain its position
in the international competition and, if
so, how?
Industry continues to play a leading role
in Austria’s success story as a location. In
2014, industry contributed 21.1% of GDP.
That is more than in Germany, France or
2015
Holland. Austria’s special strength as an
industrial nation is the number of niche
players from all sectors: for example,
GREENone Tec supplied the collectors
for the world’s largest solar power plant
at Riyadh University for Women in Saudi
Arabia and the Salzburg technology company Skidata provided the access technology for the Maracana Stadium in Rio
de Janeiro (Brazil) during the 2014 Football World Cup.
What makes Austria so attractive as a
location for industry?
The highly motivated and highly qualified workforce, the virtual non-existence
of strikes, the excellent quality of life and
the high productivity all speak for Austria
as a location for industry.
How can it be ensured that Austria remains a top business and research location?
Despite Austria’s really good positioning,
it must work continuously on making conditions for business even better. Important
factors for the successful future of Austria as a location are the continuation of
reform-oriented economic and location
policies and the continuous modernisation of the education system.
© Jeff Mangione
21
Austrian businesses –
the engine of the economy
Austrian businesses are the engine of the economy, while SME dominate the domestic business landscape. They have performed extremely well, especially in economic difficult times
during and after the financial and economic crisis. The performance of our businesses have
contributed to a high degree of wealth in Austria, they generate growth and employment and
therefore determine the attractiveness of Austria as a business location.
The last couple of years were dominated
by the global financial and economic crisis
2008/2009, its aftermaths and effects on the
real economy. After negative growth in 2009
(-3.9 %), Austria witnessed a strong recovery
in 2010 and 2011 (+2.1 % and 2.7 %). Austria
even managed to overcome the crisis better than many other European countries,
despite a slowing down of economic growth
taking place in 2012 and 2013 (for instance:
real GDP growth in 2013: +0.4 %). Real GDP
growth in 2014 and 2015 is forecasted to be
higher (around +1,6 % and 1.8 % respectively),
but downward risks remain. With these
forecasted growth rates, Austria still has a
margin in comparison to the eurozone.
The business location Austria is doing very
well in a number of areas, as the Monitoring
Report 2014 by the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber shows. Austria is a dynamic
and successful country of entrepreneurs with
a high degree of quality of live, wealth, secu-
22
rity, social peace as well as high social, health
and environmental standards.
The Monitoring Report Index (update April
2014) by the Austrian Federal Economic
Chamber shows that Austria is on average
among the best 33.6 % of business locations.
Second highest wealth in the EU
Austria has the second highest GDP per
capita (in PPP) within the EU since 2012. Overall, evidence shows that there is a high correlation of wealth and so called soft factors,
such as social peace and security in Austria.
The evolution of the
Austrian export economy is a success story,
searching for a match
in the world. Austrian
businesses and their
products are leading in
international comparison
thanks to quality, innovative capacity, know-how
and reliability.
Dynamic industries and
a strong service sector
Dynamic industries and a strong service sector are the motors of the Austrian economy.
With 69.8 % of total gross value added,
services account for the largest part (mainly
business-related services, financial services
and other services). The secondary sector
2015
(manufacturing and construction industries)
to important and highly-skilled workers. The
accounts for 29.8 % of total gross value
Austrian dual education system is one of the
added and thus is of very high importance to
“best practice” models in Europe, especially
the Austrian economy.
in the current difficult economic environment
One of the main reasons why
with rising unemployment. Austria’s
Austria managed to recover faster
performance in competitions such
rom the crisis than other counas the EuroSkills 2014 or the World
tries is mainly due to this fact.
Skills 2013 illustrate the system’s
Overall, machinery, steel, chemistrength: 36 Austrian apprentices
cals, electronics technology and
won 19 medals (9 gold, 5 silver,
http://bit.ly/1f0bWdi
automobiles (especially engines
5 bronze) at the EuroSkills 2014
and transmissions) are the most
(Austria thus number 1 in the overall
important good produced.
medal table) and 29 apprentices won 11
medals (5, 2, 4) at the WorldSkills 2013.
Good labor market data, illustrated by…
Austria as a TOP-location
… a high employment rate, low unemployment and a very low number of days on
for research & development
strike. Even in economically difficult years
as well as innovation
such as 2012 and 2013, Austria had higher
Investments in R&D and innovation are inthan average employment growth. At the
vestments in the future, strengthening Austria
same time, Austria has had for several years
as a business location in the context of global
the lowest unemployment rate in the EU
competition. R&D expenditures have continuously increased in Austria and many Austrian
and the second lowest youth unemploybusinesses have established themselves on
ment rate behind Germany (9.2 % vs. 7.9 %).
High employment growth as well as rising
the global market thanks to strong innovative
productivity per hour worked are beneficial
capacities. Over 60 % of R&D expenditures in
for Austria’s overall competitiveness.
Austria (around 8.6 billion Euro) are financed
Austrian businesses alone employ over
by businesses, with this figure set to increase
2.5 million employees. To be precise,
in the future. Austrian businesses invested
2,507,499 employees were employed in
around 5.3 billion Euro in R&D in 2012, while
2013. SME account for the largest part with a
the federal government and provinces
percentage of 61.7 % of total employees.
invested around 3 billion Euro.
Austria’s dual education system
as a role model for Europe
Austrian businesses employ and train
125,228 apprentices, in order to train them
2015
Exports are the “running horse”
of the Austrian economy
The evolution of the Austrian export
economy is a success story, searching for a
Austria as a business
location offers to foreign
businesses and investors best know-how
and quality, well trained
employees, state-to-theart technologies, modern
infrastructure and the
proximity to the CEE
region.
match in the world. Products and services
“made in Austria” are more and more demanded in the world every day. Austrian
businesses and their products are leading
in international comparison thanks to quality,
innovative capacity, know-how and reliability.
While some twenty years ago Austrian
exports were in the dimension of 35 billion
Euro, 2013 was the best year in Austrian
export history: exports of goods were in the
dimension of 125.4 billion Euro, leading to
an all-time-high in exports. 2014 - despite
the current difficult global environment – will
lead to a new all-time-high in goods exports
with forecasted 130 billion Euro.
23
High quality of life and
a high degree of social peace
Several international studies and comparisons reveal that the quality of life in Austria
is especially high. Reasons being, among
others, high health and environmental standards, the optimal access to health services,
sustainable environmental policies, a high
degree of renewable energy sources, a
strong focus on environmental technologies,
the availability and quality of public transport, a high rate of employment, low income
inequality, a comprehensive system of social
security, a low crime rate and many more.
One of the main reasons for this social
(and labor) peace lies in the specifics of the
Austrian social partnership, an aggregation of efforts by the representatives of the
employer associations (Austrian Economic
and Agricultural Chambers) and employee
associations (Chamber of Labor and the
Austrian Federation of Trade Unions). There
is no formal legal basis, the social partnership is a traditional relationship built on trust
and common understanding and goals. The
resulting economic stability is also reflected
in a very modest unemployment rate, moder-
24
ate wage policy and extremely low strike statistics, all of which play an important role for
investors in defining location attractiveness.
High creditworthiness and
low government bond yields
Austria benefits from a high degree of
creditworthiness and low government bond
yields. Two out of the three major rating
agencies grant Austria with the highest possible rating (as well as with stable outlook).
As a consequence, Austria is viewed as a
trustworthy debtor and is one of the few
countries (with Germany or the Netherlands)
with low government bond yields.
An attractive location for
international investors and
the gateway to the CEE region
Austria as a business location offers to
foreign businesses and investors best knowhow and quality, well trained employees,
state-to-the-art technologies, modern infrastructure and the proximity to the CEE region. At the same time, an excellent energy
supply security, political and societal stability
ensure that foreign investors can count on
a degree of predictability. With regard to
foreign direct investments (FDI), Austria has
become one of the TOP-investors in the CEE
region. The stock of Austrian FDI in these
countries rose from 0.4 billion Euro in 1990
to currently around 72.5 billion Euro, which
is around 49 % of total Austrian FDI.
Austria is number 1 investor in Slovenia, Bosnia-and-Herzegovina and Serbia,
number 2 in Romania, Macedonia, the
Slovak Republic and Bulgaria, number 3 in
the Czech Republic, Hungary and Albania
and number 5 in the Ukraine. Only in Poland
(number 10), Montenegro (number 12) and
Russia (number 12), Austria is not among the
TOP-5 investors.
References:
Austrian Federal Economic Chamber,
Economic Policy Department
2015
26
2015
www.advantageaustria.org
Austria’s official Economic Portal
The web portal www.advantageaustria.org is a collection of all the information you need as a
business partner to the Austrian economy.
FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO IMPORT
business partners. They are specialised in
PRODUCTS and services from Austria and
establishing contact on behalf of Austrian
those who are interested in exporting to
companies who are searching for importers,
or investing in the Austrian market, a clear
distributors and trade representatives and
overview of the Austrian economy and
introducing them to future business partners
fast access to the right contact partners is
abroad.
crucial. This is precisely where the portal
On www.advantageaustria.org you can
www.advantageaustria.org comes in. It offers
find announcements of trade fairs, presentaaround 28,000 pages in 28 languages and
tions and other events. The event calendar
delivers targeted information on Austria as
is regularly updated and allows you to plan
a business partner. People from all over
your personal contact to Austrian companies
the world use www.advantageaustria.org to
and organisations. Everyone participating in
get comprehensive information on
any event near you is listed on the
everything they need for successportal, allowing you find out about
fully working together with Austrian
a company and its business needs
business: from company profiles
with just a couple of mouse clicks
and business opportunities to ineven before you attend an event.
formation on more than 30 industry
Every year the ADVANTAGE AUShttp://bit.ly/1f0bWdi
sectors.
TRIA experts organise and support
You can find many detailed commore than 1,000 events worldwide,
pany profiles and contact data on Austrian
these events are announced on www.advancompanies in the database of the portal
tageaustria.org.
www.advantageaustria.org. The search funcwww.advantageaustria.org has detailed
tion allows you to pinpoint and choose the
information on the topics “Importing from
right business partner from any industry. FurAustria” and “Exporting to Austria”, as well
thermore there is also the option of searchas information on investment, financing and
ing for concrete business opportunities from
the legal framework. The service also offers
Austrian companies in your sector. You can
general information about the country itself
make direct contact to companies in Austria,
and everything you need to know when travall the information you need is on www.
elling to Austria. Visit www.advantageaustria.
advantageaustria.org. Another alternative is
org and find out about the international presto contact your local ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA
ence of Austrian companies and the benefits
office. Across the globe 780 employees and
of Austria as a business location. Be sure to
40 consultants are on hand to support foruse the portal to get in touch directly with
eign companies who are looking for Austrian
your local ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA office.
2015
ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA
Austrian Federal Economic Chamber
Wirtschaftskammer Österreich
Wiedner Hauptstraße 63
1045 Vienna, Austria
Email: [email protected]
www.advantageaustria.org
27
A BUSINESS SUCCESS STORY
A BUSINESS SUCCESS STORY
Austria is already a very successful country by many measures.
This is a snapshot of our achievements to date, from our Triple AAA
status to our very low levels of unemployment.
1
Over 10 %
Austrian companies are in the
Top10 globally for productivity**
50,000 or over 10% of all 450,000+
Austrian businesses export abroad
No.1
International trade is Austria’s primary source
of wealth creation, a key pillar of Austria’s economic
and social systems
6 out of every 10
Exports of goods and services account for 6 euros in
every 10 of Austria’s Gross Domestic Product
AAA
Austria continues to achieve overall AAA
status from the combination of scores from
three major rating agencies - Moody's, Fitch
and S&P
2nd
lowest
Austria has the 2nd lowest youth
unemployment rate in Europe, and the
lowest rate of unemployment overall
4
The KOF Index of Globalization, run by the
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, rates
Austria no.4 in the world, using a mix of
significant economic, social and political
measures
50%
Half of all Austrian jobs are directly or
indirectly dependent on our exports
* All numbers correct at June 2014
WO
RLD
CLASS
PART
NERS
www.advantageaustria.org
ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA is the official Austrian trade promotion
organisation. With more than 110 offices in over 70 countries
we help over 50,000 Austrian businesses develop their
international markets and promote their products and
services around the world. We provide hands-on, practical
support for international businesses wishing to build
partnerships with and invest in Austria.
Contact us at www.advantageaustria.org
“As well as being authentic
and confident buildings
must also enjoy a certain
presence. We achieved this
successfully in the case of
the DC Tower.”
Authentic
and
confident
buildings
A range of projects by
WED and BAI are having
a long-term impact on
Vienna’s cityscape.
While Vienna DC is
close to completion,
buildings in other parts
of the city are still under
construction.
• TEXT: Walter Senk
Interview with Thomas Jakoubek,
CEO of WED AG – Wiener
Entwicklungsgesellschaft für den
Donauraum AG – and the Managing
Director of BAI Bauträger Austria
Immobilien GmbH
30
It has taken WED just a few years to create an impressive new urban district in
the shape of VIENNA DC. Which further
steps are planned following the completion of the DC Tower, Austria’s highest
building?
Dominique Perrault’s masterplan envisages that the last vacant plot of the Donau
City will be occupied by a second 168-metre-high tower which will establish a dialogue with the DC Tower I. Alongside their
height and slenderness the striking thing
about the towers is their articulated façades. These embody a sort of momentary
quality which one never tires of looking at.
The DC Tower is not only a landmark
for Vienna DC – how important are such
landmarks for a city?
As well as being authentic and confident
buildings must also enjoy a certain presence. We achieved this successfully in the
case of the DC Tower. The international
response has been extraordinary. We are
winning architecture prizes and the reaction of the Viennese has also been extremely positive. The people of the city
are already proud of – are almost euphoric
about - their new landmark. In addition to
this, the DC Tower’s smart energy management is one of the building’s own trademarks. At the beginning of the year it was
awarded the LEED’s highest possible “platinum” Green Building certification.
As well as being the CEO of WED AG you
are also the Managing Director of BAI.
BAI’s projects range from important urban
development areas via office buildings,
shopping centres, hotels and university
buildings to the construction of a great variety of residential projects. What projects
are currently being implemented?
DC Living, a BAI project with 300 exclusive freehold apartments within VIENNA
DC, will be completed very soon. And
work is set to start on a new tower project which has the potential to become a
landmark and which is located in Vienna’s
third district next to the Gasometers and
to the Wiener Wohnen Customer Centre,
which was also realised by BAI. An EUwide selection process led to the appointment of Winy Maas, head architect of the
Rotterdam architectural office MVRDV.
The project is famous for its striking
“twisted hips” - the slender waistline of
the 110-metre-high tower. In addition to
this, 15 further BAI projects will soon be
realised.
How do you rate Vienna in comparison
with other European metropolises?
I see Vienna as the metropolis with the
highest quality of life but, above all, as
one whose real estate potential continues
to be underrated.
© www.mussil.com
2015
I H R NE UE R PL ATZ F ÜR H Ö C H ST L E IST U N G E N : D er D C
Wien. Österreichs höchstes Bürogebäude mit Weitblick,
Raumkonzept. Entworfen von Architekt Dominique
bester Anbindung. Mit Platz für Ihr Unternehmen auf
tausend Quadratmetern. GET INSIDE: +43 1 205
W
W
W
.
D
C
T
O
W
TO W E R 1 , La n d m a rk d es n eu en
Führungsanspruch und flexiblem
Pe r r a u l t . E i n z i g a r t i g u n d m i t
einigen hundert oder mehreren
215 O D E R O F F I C E @ B A R . A T
E
R
S
.
A
T
Great sociological
and cultural
diversity
What are the special features of the Austrian real
estate market? What major challenges are facing
urban planners? And what are the most important
residential trends? The futurologist Harry Gatterer
has some interesting thoughts …
• INTERVIEW: Helmut Wolf
“We have to learn that
the way we live is
always changing and
that needs are also
relatively easy
to identify.”
Despite global crises, international companies continue to find that Austria has a
healthy and dynamic economy and a high
quality of life. What makes Austria so
special - so “different” - in this respect?
People are always keen to live and work in
places with great sociological and cultural diversity. And, whatever one says about
Austria, it is clearly a country with a lot of
culture and which offers the opportunity
to live a relaxed, individual life. This, combined with the geographical location and
a relatively high level of education – and
here the word relatively should be understood as judgemental – can be a good mix
of requirements for a location.
32
Affordable housing and an economic office and real estate market have been
factors of stability in locations such as
Vienna and Salzburg for many years.
How does the market in Austria differ
from other European cities?
It doesn’t have these ‘hype’ districts: The
population is relatively well-mixed, as a
result of which the top speculators are
somewhat restrained. One could say: for
investors who seek to drive up prices the
city is too well mixed because Vienna
doesn’t have such a clear separation of
people of different cultures and origins.
This is certainly “different”. But in this
case also very positive – and this tends
to encourage price stability. The last few
years, however, have seen large increases
in the cost of land. And this also drives
prices strongly upwards…
Where do you see the great challenges
for the future in the areas of housing construction and urban planning?
We have to learn that the way we live is
always changing and that needs are also
relatively easy to identify. But implementing these changes in buildings always
takes ten to fifteen years. Slow public
authorities, cautious investors, expensive
sites, difficult legal situations – the reasons are manifold. But they slow down the
reaction to changing needs. We are thus
now building the homes that we needed
at the beginning of the last decade: smaller units, for example. The future will see
even more mixing of two things which
people used to keep strictly separate: private and public.
You are intensely involved with the subject of “new living”. Which residential
and real estate issues do you consider
as being amongst the most important
trends?
Personally, I find the new “community
building” very exciting. These are people
who decide to jointly realise a form of “cohousing”. This is not completely new and
actually dates from the 1960s. But now it
is becoming ever clearer that it is a real
“trend”. And our society is even witnessing forms of real estate development rooted in volatility: These are referred to as
‘pop-ups’: concepts, which are only available for a limited period. Such as concepts
for temporary living, hotels, restaurants,
shops. This idea will develop further and
become ever more established. Real estate projects for the volatility of our time.
Not a paradox, just an exciting future …
© Adrian Schmidt
2015
CHANCENLAND
VORARLBERG
MODERN INDUSTRIES
With relatively low energy costs, accurate security of supply and state-of-the-art
infrastructure Vorarlberg offers ideal
conditions for industries. Regional value
chains, qualified workforce as well as
top-suppliers push quality, production
efficiency and R&D.
STRONG BRANDS
In Vorarlberg successful firms
are in good company and boost
each other for best results.
LONDON
BERLIN
2 h flight
1,5 h flight
PARIS
STUTTGART
1,5 h flight
2,5 h drive
VIENNA
MUNICH
MEMMINGEN
1 h drive
ZURICH
1,5 h drive
6,5 h drive
2 h drive
0,5 h drive
AFEN
INNSBRUCK
1,5 h drive
CENTRALITY
MILANO
3,5 h drive
ROME
1,5 h flight
ht
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OCATION
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issengruber/A
MPANIES
HIGHTECH CO
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1,5 h flight
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LPLA, Michae
Vorarlberg offers
access to well-funded
markets and premium
partners. Seven
airports are located
within two hours
driving distance.
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Liebherr
(Cranes),
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have
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trading.
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to highly-developed countries have to be
from this region.
providers, creative partners and suppliers as
and
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AustriaWith
and Germany, the EFTA country Hilti (Construction Equipment)
actively
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cient
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have
operated
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in
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Switzerland
and
the
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country
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Liechtenstein,
four
the EU countries of Austria and
Strong Brands in Good Company
for over
35 years. Red
Bull (Energy
Drink), Rexam (Cans)
countries
and
three
economic
areas meet at Vorarlberg‘s
Germany, the
EFTA
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of
Vorarlberg‘s economic
structure
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Settlements
and Fibria
(Cellulose)
have settled
ininterested
the lastinyears.
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this
competition,“
says Joachim Heinzl,
Switzerland„And
and the
EEA
country
features dia remarkably
great variety
of
Companies
that are
settling and/
se
companies
appreciate
especially
the
low
energy
costs
rector
of
Vorarlberg‘s
business
promotion
agency
WISTO,
of Liechtenstein, four countries
industries and market leaders. ALPLA
or doing business in Vorarlberg find helpful
for production,
diligentat WISTO.
work force,
the
„ensures
an efficient
of resources by (Plastic
providing
and three economic
areasallocation
meet
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(Cable the qualified
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and support
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top-quality
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for process
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innovaat Vorarlberg‘s
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the
efficient
tions
bring economic
growth
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competition,“
says Joachim
Heinzl, and create prosperity.
OMICRON
(Electrical
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(founding,and
grants,
real estates
and
helps
government.
cal
arebusiness
experts
in continuous
Joachim Heinzl,
CEObusinesses
of Vorarlberg‘s
proing Equipment), Rauch (Fruit juices)
to build up valuable contacts and networks.
advancement
at a very
high an
level.“ CEO of WISTO
motion agency WISTO,
„ensures
and Wolford (Textiles) are some of
SUCCESSFUL SETTLEMENTS
of resources
by providing
Iteffiiscient
notallocation
by chance
that Vorarlberg
is the the strong brands and represent the diversity Companies that are interested in settling
stimuli for process
and product
innovations. and of products developed. Beside regionally
and/or doing business in Vorarlberg find
nationwide
champion
of innovation
These
innovations
bring
economic
growth
exports. World wide the alpine
region is founded companies an increasing number of helpful information and support at WISand
create prosperity.
The local businesses
in
seventh
place measured
by patent ap- international corporations settle in Vorarlberg TO. The agency offers consulting for all
are experts per
in continuous
advancein order to benefit from the attracaspects of settlements (founding, grants,
plications
capita. Vorarlberg‘s
stratement
at
a
very
high
level.“
tive conditions. Liebherr (Cranes),
real estates etc.) and helps to build up
gic position does not only provide stimuli
not by chance
VorarlHilti (Construction Equipment) and
valuable contacts and networks.
forIt is
innovation,
butthatalso
creates an atberg is the
nationwide
champion
Mondelez International (Milka Chocotractive
sales
market.
Approximately 70
of innovation
and exports.consumers
World
late) have
operated successfully in
Heinzl
million
well-funded
can be Dr. Joachim
Wirtschafts-Standort Vorarlberg GmbH (WISTO)
wide thedirectly
alpine region
in seventh
CEO ofVorarlberg
WISTO for over 35 years. Red Bull
served
fromisthis
region.
(Vorarlberg‘s business promotion agency)
http://bit.ly/1zOb1Zq
place measured by patent appli(Energy Drink), Rexam (Cans) and Fibcations
per
capita.
Vorarlberg‘s
straria (Cellulose) have settled in the last
STRONG BRANDS IN GOOD COMPANY
tegic position does
not only provide
stimulifeatures
years.
companies appreciate especially
Vorarlberg‘s
economic
structure
a These
remarkabfor
innovation,
but
also
creates
an
attractive
the
low
energy
costs for production, the qualily great variety of industries and market leaders. ALPLA
sales
market.
Approximately
70
million
wellfi
ed
and
diligent
work force, the top-quality
(Plastic Bottles), Doppelmayr (Cable Cars) Head (Sports
Hintere Achmühlerstrasse 1
6850 Dornbirn, Austria
[email protected], www.wisto.at
Equipment), OMICRON electronics (Electrical Testing EquipWirtschafts-Standort Vorarlberg GmbH (WISTO)
ment), Rauch (Fruit juices) and Wolford (Textiles) are some
PROMOTION (Vorarlberg‘s business promotion agency)
2015 and represent the diversity of products
of the strong brands
developed in Vorarlberg.
Hintere Achmühlerstrasse 1, 6850 Dornbirn, Austria
33
“We can continue to offer
a location with a stable,
top-quality business
environment.”
Renate Brauner is Vice Mayor of the City
of Vienna and Executive City Councillor for
Finance, Economic Affairs and Public Utilities
Quality is
the key to
Vienna’s
success
The federal capital can
offer relocating companies advantages that
they don’t find elsewhere. This means that
there are still many reasons why Vienna continues to be an attractive
location.
• TEXT: Walter Senk
34
Will Vienna continue to be able to maintain its role as an important economic
centre for the whole of Central and Eastern Europe?
I believe so, because we also have a solid
basis for doing so. Thanks to our headquarters strategy of the past few years,
Vienna is now home to the international
headquarters of around 300 companies.
Even if headquarters have lost some of
their traditional functions this doesn’t
change the fact that Vienna is still an
attractive location for many reasons: a
decisive role in this is played by the extremely highly qualified workforce and
by research and development – Vienna is
now the largest German-speaking university city.
What are the key parameters of your location policy?
We want to offer companies that which
they find in no other location – and perhaps a little more besides. In addition
to the above-mentioned workforce the
other key advantages of our city include
its excellent infrastructure and quality of
life. Furthermore, teams from the Vienna
Business Agency support, accompany
and advise international companies in all
matters related to corporate relocation.
The so-called “Location Initiative” also
makes financial support available to companies building a new facility or rebuilding an existing one in Vienna. I am particularly proud of the Business Agency’s
“Expat Center”, which offers an open ear
and a comprehensive range of services to
the employees of international companies
or so-called expats.
The economic crisis still has the whole of
Europe in its grip. What can Vienna do to
counteract this?
Brauner: Of course Vienna can’t fight the
global crisis alone. However, all our research shows that our public investments
have made an important contribution to
avoiding some of its worst effects. This
means that we can continue to offer a location with a stable, top-quality business
environment. We are also fully prepared
to take on a moderate amount of new debt
in order to ensure that Vienna’s economy
keeps moving. And I am hopeful that Europe has finally learnt that it is through
investment rather than through cuts that
it can find its way out of the crisis.
© david bohmann photography
2015
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2015
35
A good sign for the future
Austria’s capital Vienna offers a range of special location factors. This discussion
with the President of Vienna’s chamber of commerce and industry, Walter Ruck,
examines the particular advantages of the business location and asks why the metropolis on the Danube is considered by various Eastern European companies as a
launch pad for their expansion into the EU.
• INTERVIEW: Helmut Wolf
ternational companies this is maybe not
of first importance. Much more significant
are such locational factors as bureaucratic
barriers, tax rates, infrastructure, real estate prices and the workforce. Companies
don’t come to Vienna in order to enable
their managers to enjoy a good lifestyle
but in order to establish good business.
Unfortunately, the dissatisfaction of international headquarters with Vienna is
currently growing. The main reasons for
this are excessive bureaucracy and high
tax rates. In these aspects the city must
change course and become more business-friendly.
“The Vienna Region is –thanks to its rapidly growing
population – one of Europe’s most interesting
growing regions.”
What are the particular advantages of
Business Location Vienna?
Vienna features good location factors,
such as its geographical position as a
gateway to the CEE Region, its infrastructure and the fact that it is one of Europe’s
largest university cities and as well host
for almost 900 non-university research
institutions. Furthermore, Vienna’s economy is dominated by small and mediumsized enterprises which are export-orientated and creative as well as being both
innovative and rich in tradition. Many
36
Viennese companies are global leaders in
forward-looking sectors as ICT, creative
technologies, life sciences and modern urban technologies – and this is a good sign
for the future.
Vienna is especially associated with a
high quality of life, prosperity and culture.
How important do you consider these aspects regarding the decision of international companies to come to Austria?
It is good to live in one of the cities with
the highest quality of life. However, for in-
Every third Eastern European company
already uses Austria, respectively Vienna, as its launch pad into the EU. What, in
your opinion, makes our country better
than similar markets?
Firstly, Austrian service providers as
banks, insurance companies and lawyers
have excellent Eastern European know
how. In addition to this, Austria has a historically-developed cultural understanding of Eastern Europe. Political stability,
security and a transparent legal environment also make Austria an ideal hub between West and East. And, on top of this,
a large proportion of Austrian workers
have some knowledge of Eastern European languages.
Which arguments would you use to win
international companies for Vienna?
The Vienna Region is – partly thanks
to its rapidly growing population – one
of Europe’s most interesting growing regions. Vienna is a hub between East and
West, has an excellent infrastructure and
a modern, high-capacity airport with outstanding connections to the CEE Region
and the Middle as well as the Far East.
Vienna’s political stability, security and
quality of life offer an excellent environment for companies and their employees.
© WKW
2015
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Borealis, supplier of innovative solutions in the fields of polyolefins, basic chemicals and plant nutrients, opened the “Power Girls” project in
Linz with the aim of making the plastics industry more attractive to girls.
Austria as a dynamic
research landscape
Austria’s research landscape continues to be
dynamic and development-oriented. The Alpine
Republic is considered a particularly attractive
place for innovation in the fields of biotechnology, medical technology and cancer research.
• TEXT: Helmut Wolf
W
hen international companies are
asked about Austria’s strengths,
they consistently cite the fields of medical
technology, biotechnology or pharmaceuticals. But they are also increasingly likely
to mention such future sectors as environment & energy, information & communications technology and mobility & transport. Not without reason. Within Europe,
Austria has acquired a particularly good
reputation in these research-intensive
sectors in recent years. It is clear that
38
this is partly down to the number of universities, universities of applied science,
non-university research establishments
and innovative sectoral clusters. Just as
important, however, are the more than 30
targeted subsidies and other forms of financing for applied research and development (R&D) and basic research. In 2011,
R&D spending broke the eight billion euro
barrier for the first time. The largest share
- 3.7 billion euros - came from the private
sector, followed by 3.21 billion euros from
the public purse. In the same year, foreign
investors spent 1.34 billion euros on R&D
work in the Alpine Republic.
Observers of the Austrian research
landscape will know that a number of
R&D headquarters and subsidiaries of international companies have been based
here for many years – and that these
companies are highly satisfied. Top global
names such as Baxter, Infineon, Bionorica,
GlaxoSmithKline, Borealis, Bosch and
Magna value the highly qualified workforce, the good infrastructure and, not
least, the proximity of the Eastern and
Southeast European markets. This belief
in Austria is also demonstrated by the research spending of these companies: At
the end of 2011, 22 international top companies with Austrian operations including Baxter, NXP Semiconductors Austria,
Infineon and AT&S gave a “commitment”
to increase research spending by 20 per
cent by 2015. This means that these companies will, in future, finance a fifth of all
research in the country.
The excellent cooperation between science and business makes an equally important contribution to Austria’s position
as an attractive and dynamic R&D location. There are, for example, more than
2015
1,000 non-university facilities between
Vorarlberg and Lower Austria. Around 50
sectoral clusters involving 3,500 companies and 430,000 employees mean that
Austria is a truly exceptional innovation
location. A good example of the success
of such a dense network of international
R&D headquarters, SMEs or innovative
spin-offs is Life Science Austria Vienna
(LISAvienna). This platform brings together companies such as Boehringer
Ingelheim, Otto Bock and Baxter, which
research and produce innovative products and medicaments in Vienna, with
a total of 22 research institutes. In 2010
the approximately 9,000 highly qualified
specialists and scientists generated a
turnover of around 1.7 billion euros. Other
key drivers of innovation include Styria’s
“Eco World Austria” cluster or Upper Austria’s “mechatronic cluster”. Together, they
ensure that Austria will continue to be a
place of research excellence.
A number of R&D headquarters and subsidiaries of international companies, such as Baxter (photo), have been based in Austria for many years.
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© Jutta Fischl, AFFiRiS AG, Boehringer Ingelheim
2015
39
GUEST COMMENTARY
Taxes and R&D government incentives
© fotogestoeber/Fotolia
Austria offers very favorable tax rules and a host of government incentives.
Holding Companies
Any Austrian company can function as a
holding company, regardless of its other
business activities. Foreign dividends received are exempt from corporation tax
according to the international affiliation
privilege, if certain conditions are met.
The participation exemption of the international affiliation privilege is applicable
if the shareholding in the foreign company amounts to a minimum of 10% and if
the shares are held a minimum sustained
period of one year. Moreover, capital gains,
capital losses and write downs in the participation’s book value are tax neutral, unless the holding company opts for their
taxability. The participation exemption
will switch over to a credit method if the
foreign company earns mainly passive income and is taxed at a low rate (≤ 15%).
Dividends received from EU-companies
and from companies resident in states
which provide assistance in administration and recovery in tax claims to Austria, are tax exempt, irrespective of the
percentage of shareholding and the holding period. Portfolio dividends from low
tax jurisdictions within the EU (<15%) are
not exempt from corporation tax, however
there is also a switch over to the credit
method. Foreign dividends are not tax
40
48
exempt if the payment is tax deductible
at the level of the foreign company. Dividends received from other Austrian companies are also exempt irrespective of the
shareholding and of the holding period.
There are even more benefits for
Austrian holding companies:
• Tax deductibility of interest on leveraged acquisitions of participations,
provided that it is not an intragroup
acquisition
• Deductibility of interest for leveraged
dividend distributions of the holding
company
• A broad network of double tax treaties
• Possibility of tax neutral reorganizations under the Austrian Reorganization Tax Act, which applies to domestic
as well as to cross border reorganizations
Group Taxation
Austria provides for a group relief system,
under which profits and losses of the group
members as computed for corporation tax
purposes are attributed to the group parent
company. For the attribution of losses, the
group taxation concept is also applicable to
foreign subsidiaries, if they are directly or
indirectly controlled by the group parent or
a domestic group member and are resident
within the EU or in states which provide assistance in administration and recovery in
tax claims. As a consequence losses from
foreign subsidiaries can be offset against
the domestic group income in the amount
of the direct participation up to 75% of the
domestic group income. If the losses can
not be considered because of the 75% cap,
it is possible to claim a loss carry forward.
If these losses are utilized abroad in a later
year the losses will be recovered in Austria
at the level of the group parent. For a group
membership a direct or indirect majority in
the shareholding and in the voting rights of
the subsidiary are required.
R&D and Government Incentives
Austria provides a cash back tax incentive for R&D activities. The incentive is
available for all entities and includes a
10% refundable volume-based tax credit
on all qualified R&D related expenditures,
even in a tax loss or low profit position.
Additionally, attractive grant programs
exist for Materials and Production, Energy
and Environment, Life Sciences, Information and Communication Technology, Mobility, Safety and Security, as well as for
Human Resources. What is more, funding
is not restricted solely to these sectors.
Moreover, Austria is an active member of
the European Research Area, as well as a
proactive partner in bilateral R&D endeavors.
Herbert Kovar
Partner
Jan-Martin Freese
Manager
Tel:
+43 1 537 00 - 3600
Mobile:
+43 (0)664 80 537 3600
E-mail:
[email protected]
Tel:
+43 1 537 00 - 7770
Mobile:
+43 (0)664 80 537 7770
E-mail:
[email protected]
2015
Today, the Palace of Justice is home to the Supreme Court, the Procurator General’s
Office, the Vienna Higher Regional Court of Appeal and the Senior Public Prosecutor’s
Office for Vienna and the Vienna Regional Court for Civil Matters.
Excellent reputation
There are good reasons for relying on local law firms: Not only are they well
versed in legal matters, but they also have excellent networks. • TEXT: Walter Senk
H
e who wants to set up a business, settle or invest in Austria knows that he
is on the safe side. The Austrian legal system is not only well tried and tested, but
also safe. However, a secure legal system
has its "price" as, in most cases, only legal
professionals who are versed in the art
and complexity of legal matters and the
fiscal framework should be entrusted with
providing professional support. Due to numerous legislative changes, amendments
and regulations over the last decades the
domestic legal system has in fact changed
into a complex system. Local lawyers
are well trained to deal with the respective subject matter as those who wish to
practise law in Austria have to complete
a multi-faceted training and gain lengthy
practical experience. Thus, there is a wide
variety of excellent law firms whose employees provide its clients with clarity and
certainty in all areas of business law for
42
international businesses and companies.
They are also a guarantee for safe handling in terms of corporate and foundation law or when investing in real estate
concerning mergers and acquisitions,
restructuring and reorganization of the
company
CONSULTATION AND NETWORKS
Due to its stability, Austria is a popular
country with regard to real estate investment. As a legal advisor to the domestic
law firms also benefit their respective
contacts and networks and they can in
the given case, their clients are also tax
“Austrian lawyers have
performed pioneering work
in the development of highly
qualitative consultancy in
numerous countries.”
Peter Oberlechner
Partner in Wolf Theiss Law Firm
2015
consultants, civil engineers and architects
to the side. But very many lawyers have
appropriate contacts in the real estate industry and are therefore ideal partner in
terms of real estate and project development. As legal advisors, their appropriate
contacts and networks complement local
law firms and their clients by having tax
advisors, civil engineers or architects at
their disposal. Many lawyers also have the
necessary contacts within the real estate
industry and are therefore ideal partners
in real estate and project development.
EXCELLENT REPUTATION IN EUROPE
In these times of globalisation, Austria’s
lawyers have a further advantage: A lot of
“A real estate investment in
Austria is associated with a high
level of legal certainty.”
Stefan Artner
Partner in Dorda Brugger Jordis Attorneys at Law
firms are not only practising law for the
domestic market but also abroad, either
with offices or with the networks which
they have built up over the years. Thus,
the client who works together with the local lawyers also has the security of being
supported just as well abroad as in Austria. In the Central and Eastern European
countries in particular, Austrian lawyers
have absolute pioneers in the development of a higher quality consultancy work
and thereby acquired an excellent reputation in Europe.
© Gugerell, Wolf Theiss, Dorda Brugger Jordis
W I E N | B r at I s l ava
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43
Austria’s stations are becoming multimodal mobility hubs with
“bike and ride” and “park and ride” spaces and better coordinated connections with regional and local public transport.
Intelligently integrated
modes of transport
Urbanisation, demographic change and new mobility patterns. Demands
on infrastructure are growing – particularly in cities. Austria is addressing
these developments with coordinated measures and environmentallyfriendly incentives. • TEXT: Helmut Wolf
A
n examination of mobility requirements and the demands on infrastructure reveal a clear trend – both
people and goods are switching between
modes of transport with increased regularity. This is necessitating both a rethinking of the range of transport on offer
and a realignment of our infrastructure.
The focus of such efforts in Austria is the
effective coordination of the various road,
rail and river-based modes of transport.
In its transport mix, Austria is clearly
committed to sustainability: according to
Eurostat, 59 per cent of goods are transported by road, 37 per cent by rail and 4
per cent by river.
With its ideal geographical location, Vienna airport is seen by many companies
44
as the most important infrastructural
crossroads for the countries of Eastern and
Southeast Europe. Vienna Airport’s route
network covers around 40 destinations in
a total of 23 Central and Eastern European
countries. With around 550 flights departing for Eastern Europe every week, Vienna
Airport is the most important hub between
East and West for European airlines.
The far-reaching initiatives include
increased infrastructural expansion, a
wider range of options for using the railways and the intelligent integration of the
various modes of transport: stations are
becoming multimodal mobility hubs with
“bike and ride” and “park and ride” spaces
and better coordinated connections with
regional and local public transport.
It is in the transport of goods by rail
that Austria is particularly regarded as a
European model. In 2012 30 per cent of
internal goods traffic in Austria was already rail-based. The objective is to increase this share to 40 per cent by 2025,
a target which Alois Stöger, Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology, acknowledges as “ambitious” (see
interview on next Page. He goes further:
“If you say climate protection you must
think rail. The strength of our position
here is demonstrated not only in the way
we have made environmentally-friendly
rail traffic our clear priority but also by
our high level of investment.”
© OEBB / Roman Boensch, Flughafen Wien AG
2015
INTERVIEW
Providing for the future
In the following interview, Alois Stöger, Federal Minister for Transport, Innovation and Technology, emphasizes that, alongside other measures, Austria is focussing on environmentallyfriendly infrastructural investment in its railways and a broadband offensive. • INTERVIEW: Helmut Wolf
a leading EU country in both freight and
passenger transport. And another absolute priority for business is the broadband
offensive: In the coming years we will invest a billion euros supporting the “rollout” of high-performance broadband.
Austria’s Comprehensive Transport Plan
envisages making mobility both more social and more environmentally-friendly.
Where is the focus here?
Social and environmentally-friendly, safe
and efficient – these are the objectives.
Austria invests large amounts in its infrastructure. Austria-wide coordinated
regular timetables are being rolled out.
This will ensure that the railways are the
backbone of an environmentally friendly
transport system. In addition to this we
are introducing regionally comparable
standards for public transport provision.
And last but not least is our aim that
state-of-the art technologies – that is to
say intelligent transport systems – become fully established.
© Christian Herzenberger
The infrastructure that is being built
today will define the mobility of tomorrow. What are Austria’s infrastructural
focuses for the future?
Infrastructure policy is an active way of
providing for the future. The major challenge is to increase the mobility of people
and goods in a way which is environmentally and climate-friendly while also guaranteeing very high performance and efficiency. This is why Austria is focussing
on rail: We are building high-performance
routes while modernising the existing
network and facilities. In addition to this,
we are renewing stations while investing
large sums in freight terminals. With success, because Austria is already seen as
Alois Stöger
Federal Minister for
Transport, Innovation
and Technology
With around 550 flights departing for Eastern Europe every week,
Vienna Airport is the most important hub between East and West
for European airlines.
2015
45
INTERVIEW
Invest
in the “Airport City
Vienna”
The Airport City Vienna
has become the first
commercial district in
Austria to be honoured
for its commitment to
sustainability. The location also offers numerous opportunities to
investors
• INTERVIEW: Walter Senk
The Austrian Green Building Council
(ÖGNI) awards the first Austrian District Certificate for sustainable real estate development to Flughafen Wien AG
for its “Airport City Vienna” project.
Sustainability and ecological awareness
are central to our real estate strategy. As
part of this strategy we are creating over
70,000 m2 of office and conference space,
hotels, transport infrastructure and much
more as we develop the airport location
into a sustainable airport city. An energy
optimisation programme is currently being implemented with great success and
in 2015 we will also receive EMAS certification. We see this certificate as confirmation that we are on the right track.
What was decisive in your receipt of this
award?
The location was assessed in line with
a range of factors including ecological
and economic quality and socio-cultural
and functional features. The key to this
assessment process was its holistic approach: a wide range of aspects including
building and air-conditioning technology,
measures to reduce energy consumption,
the recreational and living space for the
people working at the location, transport
46
connections and many others were closely analysed and evaluated before these
outputs were combined to give a result for
the entire location.
events. Vienna Airport currently contains
around 84,000 m2 of office space and we
are also working on plans for Office Park 4.
What will be the next organisational
steps at Vienna Airport?
The objective is to establish the airport
as a multifunctional location known for
its energy-efficient and resource-saving
operation. There is a clear trend towards
“Airport Cities”. Airports bring together
many important services – from a range
of shops and restaurants and conference,
event and hotel facilities to new services
such as medical and fitness centres. Vienna Airport should also develop in this direction. A third of turnover already comes
from such non-aviation activities as parking, the letting of advertising space, shops
and restaurants.
What opportunities do you offer to companies who are interested in relocation?
Vienna Airport owns around 1,200 hectares of land. This offers enormous opportunities for commercial usage: for
example, one commercial plot of over
140,000 m2 at Fischamend is ideal for
companies such as logistics suppliers who
need to be very close to the airport.
In order to be able to offer an optimal infrastructure of overnight accommodation,
hotel capacity at the airport is also being
increased. This sector also offers opportunities for future investors.
In line with international requirements,
the airport is also interesting as an office
location
We offer attractive opportunities to the office sector: the office park buildings contain not only excellently equipped office
space but also conference facilities which
are ideal for both meetings and company
© Andreas Hofer
Günther Ofner
Board Member,
Flughafen Wien AG
2015
INTERVIEW
Campaign for quality
New stations, new trains, new service - the
ÖBB are shaping the future. Birgit Wagner,
member of the ÖBB-Personenverkehr AG
executive board speaks about the company’s
activities.
• INTERVIEW: Walter Senk
Vienna’s new main station opened at
end of 2014. Could you briefly say something about its key features?
With the opening of the Vienna Central
Station we are able to offer our passengers new connections and shorter travel
times. We are particularly proud of the
new long-distance connections from
Passau to Linz, and the connections from
Vienna-Meidling and Vienna Central
Station to the Vienna Airport. True to
the motto «from the train to the airport»,
travellers from Linz have only to change
once at Vienna Airport to get to New
York. Also new is the railjet service from
Graz main station to Prague via Vienna.
The travel time from Vienna to Prague
has been shortened by 39 minutes to 4
hours and 11 minutes. And we are offering our customers a lot at the train station itself, for example a new travel centre with customized services such as the
Timi Taurus Kids Corner for our youngest passengers.
Vienna is not the only new rail hub; there
are also new hubs in the West.
The modernization of the Salzburg
Central Station in December 2013 has
brought a much improved schedule service. Since then, there are a lot of new
travel options and connections for our
customers via Salzburg. The two-hourly
direct service from Vienna to Munich has
also been supplemented with addition of
a Euro-city train service to Munich in the
hours in the hour between. Another new
service is the Intercity train connection
on the Vienna to Salzburg line whereby passengers can now change to the
EuroCity trains between Klagenfurt and
Munich. Thus, Upper Austria is far better
connected to Chiemgau and Munich.
ÖBB raises the bar in intercity rail traffic
with the ÖBB-cityjet.
The ÖBB cityjet combines maximum
comfort, speed and attractive design. The
fully air-conditioned train is equipped
with comfortable seats, which were selected and manufactured based on feedback
from passenger surveys. Every seat is
equipped with a reading lamp, socket and
folding laptop table. As of late 2015, the
new trains will be gradually implemented
in the provinces of Vienna, Lower Austria,
Upper Austria and Styria.
In total, how much was invested in the
last ten years in the renewal of the fleet?
Over the past ten years, we have we invested more than two billion euros in the
modernization of our fleets, and thus in
more comfort for our passengers. We have
one of the most advanced train fleets in
Europe. We’re even modernizing our longdistance transport fleet. From December
2016 new railjet carriages will replace the
Intercity carriages on the western line.
What will be the main focus in the coming years?
Over the next few years we will continue
the quality campaign for our passengers.
This applies to the entire mobility chain
from travel planning to booking to alighting at the destination station. Currently we
are also working on integrating “Verbund”
tickets into the ticket shop range. The Upper Austrian Transport Association and
the Styrian Network Line are the pioneers
of this, we are looking forward to integrate
more regional networks. The other rail
associations are due to follow suit in the
coming years. Thus, purchasing tickets –
and travelling with public transports - will
be even easier.
“Over the past ten years,
we have we invested more
than two billion euros
in the modernization
of our fleets, and thus
in more comfort for our
passengers.”
© Petra Spiola
2015
47
In the “land of lakes and mountains”
more than 670 run-of-river power plants
and around 1,800 small hydroelectric
power plants are currently in operation.
A strong location
for renewable
energies
Hydroelectric, wind, photovoltaic, biomass
and geothermal energy: Austria is home to a
wealth of know-how acquired over many years
of developing environmentally-friendly energy
technology and is one of the European leaders
in the use of renewable energies. • Text: Helmut Wolf
Ö
sterreichs Energie is fully and enthusiastically committed to the economic and efficient use of energy”, declares
Barbara Schmidt, General Secretary of
Österreichs Energie, which lobbies on behalf of the Austrian electricity industry,
as she highlights the future plans of energy suppliers in the Alpine Republic. The
strategy for the next few years is clear:
the entire Austrian energy system is to
line up behind renewable energies. Today,
the country is already one of the top five
users of renewables.
This phased transition to environmen-
tally-friendly energy technologies will
be supported by the high general level of
(environmental) awareness of the business community and society in general.
This is also documented by a series of international studies. For instance, in 2012
the Alpine Republic was the 7th of the
132 countries listed in the “Environmental Performance Index” (EPI) of Yale University in Connecticut (USA). The EPI is
an international ranking which analyses
indicators related to climate and environmental protection. With an annual turnover of ten billion euros the green industry
Drees & Sommer is managing the
construction of the world’s largest
passive building - Wiener Netze Gmbh,
Austria’s Largest combined operator
of electrictiy, natural gas and district
heating networks, is building a new
corporate headquarters, the “Smart
Campus” in Vienna’s Simmering district.
is an important economic factor in Austria. Around 87,000 people work in the
“green energy” sector.
Long before dwindling resources and
climate change had become such key issues Austria was already home to many
companies which were working intensively
on the development of environmentallyfriendly technologies. In 2013, 75 per cent
of electricity in Austria was produced
from renewable sources. Most of this came
from hydroelectric power, the traditional
strength of the water-rich Alpine Republic.
In the “land of lakes and mountains” more
than 670 run-of-river power plants and
around 1,800 small hydroelectric power
plants are currently in operation. Austria is
one of the European leaders in the use of
this hydroelectric power. In recent years the
importance of bio-energy, wind power and
solar technology has also constantly increased. According to the Biomass Association, around 60 per cent of Austrian gross
domestic energy consumption in 2009 took
the form of renewable energy from biomass,
four-fifths of which was used to generate
heat. Wind energy is also on the upswing
with a large proportion of subsidised green
electricity already coming from wind power.
At the beginning of 2012 Austria had 656
operational wind power plants with a combined output of 1,084 megawatts.
The power of the sun is also employed in
the Alpine Republic. This is demonstrated
by the dynamic growth of the solar sector:
between just 2002 and 2010 the annual
production of solar collectors in Austria
almost quadrupled. At the end of 2012
4.5 million square metres of solar collectors were already generating almost 3,200
megawatts of heat from clean solar energy.
Incentives for the further spread of
green electricity installations were also
incorporated in Austria’s new green electricity law. In 2012 the volume of subsidies
grew to around 50 million euros. The aim
of this offensive is to raise the share of total electricity consumption coming from
renewable sources to 85 per cent by 2020.
Private households account for about a
third of Austrian electricity demand. The
aim is to equip 80 per cent of Austrian
households with smart meters in the next
few years. This will mean that technologies which optimally manage electricity
and improve the ecological balance will
continue to become more important in the
years to come.
© Österreichs Energie / Christian Fischer
48
2015
We are focussing on
energy-related services
The energy market is facing enormous change. Austria is making particularly
good progress as it makes the transition from fossil fuels to renewable sources of
energy. A conversation with Wolfgang Anzengruber, Chairman of the Managing
Board of Verbund AG, about areas of future growth and why energy efficiency is
important for not just ecological but also financial reasons. • Interview: Helmut Wolf
Climate protection, urbanisation, demographic change – the energy industry is
facing huge challenges. How are things
developing in Austria?
The energy market is undergoing radical change. The process of generation is
becoming smaller-scale and less centralized and consumers are becoming “prosumers”, feeding electricity into the network that they have produced themselves.
From our point of view, these changes offer great opportunities: we are focussing
on energy-related supplies and services
as future areas of growth.
Around 75 per cent of the electricity
generated in Austria already comes from
renewable sources. What measures are
required in order to ensure that the entire energy system is “renewable”?
Yes, as an alpine country with a lot of water Austria is in a very fortunate position.
In the area of electricity generation we
have already successfully undergone our
‘energy revolution’. Around 95 per cent of
the electricity generated by Verbund already comes from renewable sources. We
are making a phased exit from thermal
power and envisage being a 100 per cent
CO2-free producer in the medium to long
term.
Energy efficiency is moving centre stage
for not only ecological but also financial
reasons. What solutions are you offering
in this respect?
Verbund helps domestic customers to
manage energy consumption and to reach
the objectives of becoming more energy
independent and of sustainably generating and consuming their own energy. This
is the aim of the “Verbund Eco Package”,
which combines photovoltaic with battery
storage or heat pumps. In the same way
we support large industrial and commer-
2015
“We support large industrial and commercial consumers in the active and efficient management of
their own consumption and the marketing of flexibility options.”
cial consumers in the active and efficient
management of their own consumption
and the marketing of flexibility options.
Austria’s electricity grid is considered
to be one of the most secure in Europe.
What is needed to maintain these high
standards in the future?
Supply security in Austria is around 99.9
per cent – electricity cuts last year totalled just 50 minutes. But it is getting
harder. Networks are being increasingly
impacted by volatile supplies of electricity
from solar and wind sources. In the long
run there is no alternative to upgrading
the grid and its storage capacity.
How do you think the issue of e-mobility
will develop in the future?
I am a convinced supporter of e-mobility.
Electricity from renewable sources is the
fuel of the future. We have used our joint
venture with Siemens, SMATRICS, to
build an Austria-wide network of quickcharging stations. And because electromobility doesn’t end at the border we are
working closely with international partners through, for example, the EU’s Green
eMotion project to connect cross-border
charging grids and, thereby, guarantee
uninterrupted Europe-wide movement.
© Verbund AG
49
The Carinthian market town of Eisenkappel-Vellach is successfully putting its
faith in resource-saving mobility, such as shuttle services or e-car-sharing.
Climate-friendly
mobility concepts
The future belongs to environmentally-friendly
mobility concepts. This is also demonstrated
by the climate protection initiative “klimaaktiv
mobil”, which supports towns, villages and
tourist regions and companies in Austria in both
the planning and realisation of their work.
• TEXT: Helmut Wolf
50
“B
y offering soft mobility we have
been able not only to reduce the
number of kilometres covered by cars
and, consequently, their environmental
impact but also to attract many new visitors. This is a perfect win-win situation.”
Peter Brandauer, the Mayor of the village of Werfenweng, is rightly proud of
the development of the well-known tourist resort in the Province of Salzburg.
Werfenweng has been investing in zeroemission holiday fun for many years and,
as the “fi rst car-free tourist resort”, has
come to be seen as something of a pioneer in modern, green tourism in Austria.
The most important aspect of this policy
was the decision to avoid environmental
damage from the outset and to rely instead on intelligent, comfortable mobility
services.
For example, environmentally-friendly
travel in Werfenweng means that visitors
are invited in advance to arrive by train.
In the village they can make free use of
eco-shuttles, a range of fun e-cars or the
“smile-e” fleet of eco-cars. Mobility, cost
2015
The sustainable soft mobility measures of the village of Werfenweng
in Salzburg led to a disproportionately steep increase in visitor numbers.
effectiveness and environmental-friendliness go hand-in-hand and this led to
the village being awarded the “Tourism
for Tomorrow Award” in the category of
“Sustainable Destination Development”.
Resource-saving travel is in fashion.
This is why supporting tourist regions,
towns and villages across Austria is right
at the top of the agenda of the climate
protection initiative “klimaaktiv mobil”.
Established by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water
Management (BMLFUW), the initiative
engages directly with local authorities
through consultancy and fi nancial support, consciousness-raising measures
and the establishment of standards and
quality assurance programmes. The aim:
to offer every municipality the opportunity to show itself capable of being a
pioneer in the areas of environmentallyfriendly mobility concepts, climate protection and energy efficiency.
The Carinthian market town of Eisenkappel-Vellach also used “conversations
about the future” with the local popula-
2015
tion as a means of developing objectives
for resource-saving mobility concepts
and energy-saving. Data about electricity, heating and warm water consumption,
mobility, energy types and energy-saving
potential were collected for every house
in the municipality. The building of a district heating plant, a mobility concept
involving shuttles, e-car-sharing, the
conversion of the street lighting to LED
technology and the switch to green electricity enabled the share of fossil energy
sources to be more than halved.
Transport is responsible for around a
third of Austria’s total energy consumption.
This is why the “klimaaktiv mobil” initiative
aims, by 2020, not only to make an important contribution to CO2 reduction but also
to give a far-reaching boost to the economy
and to the creation of “green jobs” through
investment in subsidies for alternative vehicles and electromobility, cycling and mobility management. In 2014, more than 11
million euros were available to companies,
municipalities and regions through the “klimaaktiv mobil” support programme.
These supportive measures have already proved their worth in many of
the Alpine Republic’s municipalities and
tourist destinations. And the results are
there for all to see: the sustainable mobility measures of around 4,000 project
partners have led to an annual reduction of 540,000 tons in CO2 emissions.
As a result of this, the “klimaaktiv mobil” consultancy and support programme
was cited as an example of best practice
when it received a European “Public Sector Award”
Yet “climate-friendly mobility” contributes not only to a reduction in greenhouse
gas emissions and an improvement in
environmental protection but also to an
increase in value creation. For example,
the sustainable soft mobility measures of
the Salzburg village of Werfenweng led
to a disproportionately steep increase in
visitor numbers and, as a result, the creation of additional jobs.
© Friedrich Jamnig, Österreich Werbung
51
52
2015
© Harald Klemm
The Life Ball has
become a flagship
© Christoph Leder
For many years now,
Vienna’s Life Ball
has been successfully demonstrating that
the fight against AIDS
is compatible with a
positive, life-affirming
celebration. And, as
Life Ball founder Gery
Keszler confirms in the
following interview, the
annual charity event has
also become an important economic factor for
the City of Vienna.
How does one successfully bring such
important subjects as the fight against
AIDS to the attention of the public?
That is naturally a question which we are
often asked and which repeatedly poses
challenges to us in the area of communications. There is virtually no other situation in which HIV/AIDS plays such a central role. This is simply a subject which
otherwise doesn’t make headlines. The
presence of international multiplicators
and celebrities, all of whom appear free
of charge, increases media attention. And
this in turn interests our sponsors.
Life itself is full of contradictions: joy
and sorrow, life and death – they are very
close. Contradictions create suspense and
keep the Life Ball up-to-date. The one
feeds the other…with the result that millions are raised – and that is what it is all
about.
It is probably a global novelty: the staging of an ostentatious charity event in
a political building such as City Hall. Is
Vienna truly “different” here – could it
really be more “cosmopolitan” than other
metropolises?
Vienna City Hall and the Mayor have sup-
2015
© Markus Morianz
• TEXT: Helmut Wolf
Gery Keszler, Life Ball founder
and organiser:
“The Life Ball’s total gross value
creation of over 9.6 million euros
speaks for itself.”
ported us from the very start. I’m not sure
if that would have been possible in other
cities. In the meantime, the Life Ball has
become a flagship for the city and has
benefitted not only Vienna’s image but
also its economy. Total gross value creation of over 9.6 million euros speaks for
itself.
Despite the difficult environment, the
latest Life Ball was able to generate a net
profit of around 2.3 million euros. How
is it possible to maintain this high level
during such tough economic times?
It is true that budgets are tighter. This
demands huge creativity and effort from
our partners and ourselves in order
to continue finding attractive ways of
working together. The Life Ball’s sponsors don’t receive off-the-peg sponsoring
packages. Together with our partners we
develop individual solutions. We – and by
that I mean the projects which we support – are dependent upon income from
sponsors and we know how important it
is to offer something suitable in return.
The Life Ball has now been taking place
for over 20 years. Today it is seen as one
of the world’s most successful charity
events. Which “ingredients” are needed
in order to keep this ostentatious party
lively and interesting?
I think that the secrets are the spirit
which the Life Ball team has been putting into the fight against AIDS for more
than 20 years and the incredible commitment of our volunteers, without whose
support the Life Ball would simply not
exist.
53
1
Cultivated Austria – between the
Classic & the New Generation
Austria scores as a hub for a diverse lifestyle culture with a number of international events. The spectrum ranges from popular youth events in Vienna to
regional events and major festivals in Vienna, Graz and Salzburg. A ramble ...
• TEXT: Helmut Wolf
2
54
2015
3
“O
ver the centuries, Austrians have
learned how to deal with strangers
and to open their hearts to them,” says
cultural scientist Roland Girtler. The different cultural influences and styles that
were united in the multinational state of
100 years ago can still be seen and felt
today: a “Melange” from the Slavic soul
together ingredients and elements of
Hungarian, Czech and Italian way of life.
For “Mr and Mrs Austria” the German lectionary is supplemented with a jovial “let’s
take a look”. Above all, it is the lust for entertainment and serenity that Austrians
have always had at heart. Austria was
and is a meeting place of different cultural
styles and influences. Over the centuries,
these influences have manifested themselves in the form of folk culture, music,
ancient customs and festivals. Thus, a
wide variety of festivals and events have
established, the popularity of which continues unabated to this day. The music
scene in particular is where the “Austrian
soul” bears its diversity of character: The
repertoire ranges from classical music all
the way to folk music, avant-garde, jazz
and pop. Numerous events have become
renowned far beyond the country’s borders and are popular with both locals and
international guests.
He who observes the different cultural
and event formats in Austria will clearly
see: there is an exciting blend of tradition
and modernity. Between “New Generation”
and “Classic generation” one could also
say. A typical example of a New Generation Festival is without doubt the highly
2015
successful Vienna “Donauinselfest”. Taking place over three days in early summer, the annual festival offers a colourful
program for all ages and all tastes, from
pop and rock to electronic music, Austropop and cabaret to sports activities and
children’s programs with no charge for
admission. In 2014 alone, Europe’s largest
open-air festival on the “island” was visited by an impressive 3.2 million guests.
An analysis of the indirect profitability
has revealed that the Danube Island Festival contributes around 50 million euros
to Vienna’s economy. The 32nd Danube
Island Festival will take place at the end
of June 2015.
The series of events hosted during the
Mörbisch Lake Festival are a typical example of the “Classic Generation”. The
“biggest operetta genre festival in the
world” has been taking place annually in
the summer months since 1957 and impresses with its particularly opulent openair performances, but also with its specially developed broadcasting technology.
The clear “sound” and the unusual natural
backdrop of Lake Neusiedl contribute to a
very special experience for the audience.
Recently about 168,000 guests visited the
Lake Festival in Burgenland. Swinging
between the new & classic generations
is the “Bruckner Festival” in Linz, Upper Austria. The annual music event, the
name of which taken from the composer
Anton Bruckner, has a harmonious connection to the Linz “Ars Electronica” festival. The successful “Linzer Klangwolken”
(Linz Sound Cloud) was formed on the
1: The Mörbisch Lake Festival is the “biggest
festival in the world of the operetta genre”.
The specially developed broadcasting technology and the unusual natural backdrop of
Lake Neusiedl contribute to a very special
experience for the audience.
2: The successful “Linzer Klangwolken” (Linz
Sound Cloud) attracts some two million
listeners every year and has become a city
trademark in the meantime.
3: In 2014 alone, Europe’s largest open-air
festival on the “island” was visited by an
impressive 3.2 million guests.
© Popp G., Schwager, Jakwerth
back of this alliance which attracts some
two million listeners every year and has
become a city trademark in the meantime.
Petra Stolba, Managing Director of the
Austria Tourism Board, describes the importance of Austrian culture and cultural
events in a nutshell: “Austria’s strength is
the wide arc of suspense between tradition and innovation, the harmonious and
inspiring juxtaposition of museum and
contemporary”. 15 percent of Austria’s
visitors describe their stay explicitly as a
cultural holiday. Culture is the centrepiece
of a country and part of the lifestyle.
55
HOFBURG Vienna
one of Europe’s First Addresses
The festive halls where monarchs once held court and the Empress Maria Theresia resided
now host up to 350 events per year.
Corporate identity meets Viennese charm.
and political get-togethers will set the tone at
Multi-media presentations project flashing
the HOFBURG Vienna. Various leading lights
images in the magnificent imperial rooms
are also set to visit the venue for a series of
and in the new glass architecture. Every cofgalas, presentations and fairs.
fee break is a rendezvous with history. This
unmistakeable melange of contemporary
Responsible for organising around 350
events and historic flair can only be found
events each year, the HOFBURG Vienna’s
at the HOFBURG Vienna. In the heart of
event management team is one of the big
Vienna we offer a unique blend of imperial
players on the Austrian and international maratmosphere and state-of-the-art
ket. The range of services includes
conference and event technology.
bespoke solutions which are put
A total of 35 multi-purpose rooms
together in line with our professional
with capacities of between 50 and
approach to venue management.
4,900 people are available for conPlanning and devising custom media
gresses, conventions, exhibitions
set-ups play a major role in the way
http://bit.ly/1s5I4Fg
and banquets.
that each event is produced. “We
also act as a communication hub,
The strategic focus for the year 2015 is
offering comprehensive event management
on conferences and meetings as well as
packages for organisers who are looking for
maintaining a broad spectrum of events. After
that something extra in today’s digital world.
the popular ball season, a series of scientific
This includes turnkey solutions, provided
56
PROMOTION
where necessary with the support of our tried
and tested partners.”, argues the managing
director Ms. Alexandra Kaszay.
The website www.hofburg.com features
a gallery and multimedia downloads giving
an overview of the facilities of the Centre of
Excellence. Responsive design and putting
a stronger focus on mobile devices is a key
aspect of the HOFBURG Vienna’s innovative
approach.
HOFBURG Vienna
Magdalena Gurtner
Senior Manager Sales & Business Development
T + 43 1 587 36 66 610, F + 43 1 535 64 26
[email protected]
www.hofburg.com
2015
“Austria is a world champion of tourism. The sense
of service and charm
of Austrian hoteliers as
well as the varieties of
landscape are surely the
epitome of the hotel industry.”
“Positive
development in
overnight stays to
continue”
Martina Maly-Gärtner, Managing Director of
Michaeler & Partner, talks about the outlook for
2015, “Tourism World Champion Austria” and also
the potential of new openings on the hotel market.
• INTERVIEW: Patrick Baldia
Please give a brief outlook for 2015. Do
you expect a good year for the Austrian
hotel industry or will it be rather challenging in character?
In general, the trend towards a positive
development in overnight stays in Austria
is going to continue. Recent years have
proved this, even though some European
countries have run into economic difficulties. Thereby, tourism in the provincial
capitals has developed at a better pace
than in the federal provinces. Of course,
we notice the geopolitical crises. Overnight stays by Russian guests, which have
increased over the last five years by 100%
to two million, have drastically fallen
since the sanctions were imposed and the
2015
fall of the rouble. Instead we are seeing
a very positive development in overnight
stays from Asia which is compensating
for the slump.
What do you feel characterises the Austrian hotel industry on the international
market?
Austria is a world champion of tourism.
The sense of service and charm of Austrian hoteliers as well as the varieties of
landscape are surely the epitome of the
hotel industry. Added to that is the safety and cleanliness of the country. Once
again, Vienna is No.1 Wien for “Quality
of Living 2014” according to a survey by
Mercer and No.2 in the “Global Liveability Ranking” after Melbourne. Also in the
ICCA international top-rankings (International Congress and Convention Association) we occupy third place after Paris
and Madrid, which is particularly important for congress tourism. I think Austria
has some impressive awards to offer.
In which cities and which categories do
you see the greatest potential for new
openings for the Austrian hotel industry?
In my opinion, the only segment for which
there is room for development in Vienna
is in individual boutique hotels in decent
locations. As regards the issue of quality
beds, the city is on a very good level. I see
potential for development in all categories
of hotels in Innsbruck, Salzburg and Linz,
depending on their positioning.
57
The Palais Hansen
Kempinski on
Vienna’s Schottenring
celebrated its opening
in early 2013.
There is still potential
for new hotels
Despite a number of new openings in recent years experts continue to see
opportunities for new developments. But the location and concept must be right.
• TEXT: Patrick Baldia
T
ourism in Vienna is booming. The
11.2 million overnight stays recorded
between January and October 2014 represent an increase of 6.1 per cent on the
same period of the previous year. This
means that 2014 will, like 2013, be another record year, despite the continuing reduction in the number of overnight
stays enjoyed by Russian guests. In October alone the number of Russians visiting
the Austrian capital was around 25 per
cent down on the same month of the previous year. On balance, however, the hotel sector can celebrate: a provisional net
turnover generated by overnight stays of
480 million euros represents an increase
of around ten per cent on the period between January and October 2013.
As to the number of new hotel rooms,
several strong years in every quality seg-
58
ment have led to a certain sense of saturation. In 2014 1,400 units came onto
the market, which represents a 4.5 per
cent increase on the previous year. This
brought the number of rooms in Vienna to
33,000. Georg Muzicant, CEO of Colliers
International, confirms a clear reduction
in the number of planned new openings.
Amongst the most interesting establishments which opened in 2014 are the Ruby
Sofie Hotel in Vienna’s third district, the
Motel One opposite the State Opera and
the Park Hyatt in the city centre.
OVERSUPPLY IN VIENNA?
After a number of new openings many
observers speak of oversupply on the Vienna hotel market. The fact is, however,
that the number of beds rose by 53 per
cent between 2004 and 2013 and the
number of overnight stays by 51 per cent.
According to Kohl & Partner, one and
two-star hotels have achieved the greatest gains in market share in the last decade. In this market, the number of beds
rose by 82 per cent compared with a 125
per cent rise in the number of overnight
stays. “New concepts with reduced room
sizes and service offerings suit the current mood of modern travellers and are in
demand”, conclude tourism experts. This
can also be seen in the planned capacities
in this segment.
Kohl & Partner sees considerable potential for new projects. However, the
concept and the location must be perfect
if one wants to survive long-term on the
hard-fought tourist market. The problem:
after the many new developments of recent years, good locations are difficult to
2015
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59
One of three Motel Ones in Vienna: The low
budget design hotel Motel One Wien-Staatsoper
The four-star hotel Meliá Vienna is located in
the DC Tower, Austria’s highest building.
find. The solution: given the lack of optimal locations, existing objects can be relaunched. An example of this is the Hotel
Intercontinental on the Stadtpark. There
are also plans to open a new hotel in the
Palais Schwarzenberg in the near future.
The complex should also contain a casino.
It is above all in the luxury sector that
things have happened in recent years.
Since 2003, ten new hotels have come
onto the market increasing the number
of rooms by almost 50 per cent. Today,
there are 21 five-star hotels with a total
of 4,060 rooms. The hotels opened in recent years include the Ritz-Carlton, the
Palais Hansen Kempinski, the Park Hyatt Vienna and the Sans Souci. In 2013,
the top establishments enjoyed a market
share of around 12 per cent. “This means
that, statistically, every eighth overnight
stay in Vienna takes place in one of the
city’s five-star hotels” explains Lukas
Hochedlinger, Managing Director of the
hotel real estate specialists Christie + Co
Vienna.
SHAKING UP THE LUXURY MARKET
A recent study by Christie + Co addressed
the question of whether the luxury market in Vienna is saturated. Their approach
was to speak to most of the directors in
the five-star segment. The consensus was
that while the new openings of the past
few years had certainly shaken up the top
segment, this growth would be absorbed
by the market over the medium to long
term. They also view the current situation with a sense of positive reserve and
assume that the next few years will see
improved performance.
“On the basis of our analysis and
of the evaluation by the top
players, the long-term prospects
for the Vienna five-star hotel
market look positive.”
Lukas Hochedlinger
Managing Director of Christie + Co Vienna
The lobby of the Sans Souci Wien, a luxury hotel
in Vienna’s seventh district.
“On the basis of our analysis and of
the evaluation by the top players, the
long-term prospects for the Vienna fivestar hotel market look positive,” says
Hochedlinger. In 2014, the top segment
– in comparison with the overall market
which will probably break the record 12
million barrier – will experience a 2.5 per
cent decline in the number of overnight
stays. Over the long-term, however, the
average growth in the number of overnight stays has exceeded the growth in
rooms. And hotel performance has certainly improved. Room occupancy has
risen from 68.1 to 70.4 per cent and the
net price for a room from 171 to 182 euros.
Regarding hotel investment, the situation in Vienna remains conspicuously
calm – in contrast with European core
markets. In the third quarter alone, no
significant transaction took place while
the share of the entire investment volume was below one per cent. And even in
the two previous quarters the asset class
failed to exceed ten per cent. Indeed, after a number of strong years, the interest of investors appears to be gradually
receding. As a comparison: in 2012 and
2013 the share of the entire commercial
real estate market represented by hotel
investments was still around 20 per cent,
a figure which exceeded the European average of the time.
© Palais Hansen Kempinski Vienna, Philipp Derganz, Meliá Vienna, Gregor Titze
60
2015
Popular
amongst
students
Austrian universities
may not occupy the top
places in international
rankings but they remain
very popular amongst
international students.
• TEXT: Patrick Baldia
E
ven if various rankings show us every
year that Austria is one of the countries with the best quality of life worldwide
and even if the country is home to countless companies which are global market
leaders in their sectors and produces a
steady stream of award-winning scientists, our universities are not amongst
the global elite. According to the current
Times Higher Education World University
Ranking, the University of Vienna, which
it rates as Austria’s best, is down in 182nd
place. Not, of course, that one should forget that, at a time of overstretched public
budgets, public universities are bound to
lag behind generously funded top private
institutions.
A QUARTER OF STUDENTS FROM
ABROAD
It is clear that there is room for improvement. However, Austria remains extremely popular amongst international students
– according to Statistik Austria around
92,000 were registered at Austrian higher education institutions in the 2013/14
winter semester, a figure which represents
one quarter of all students. Around 90 per
cent come from Europe and three quarters are citizens of the EU. Around a quar-
2015
The new Vienna University of Economics and Business in the city’s
second district which was designed by five international star architects.
ter of these international students visited
a public university. The share attending
private universities was around 40 per
cent and the share attending universities
of applied science or teacher training colleges 15 and 6 per cent respectively. The
highest concentration of foreigners registered last year was in theological colleges
where the share of international students
was around 64 per cent.
Of the total of 377,000 students in Austria in the last winter semester the majority – almost 200,000 – were registered
at one of the 22 public universities while
a further 45,000 were registered at one
of the 21 universities of applied science
or related institutions. At the same time
around 3,000 students were attending
one of around two dozen private universities. Which courses are most popular?
Amongst the public universities law, medicine and bachelor courses in economic
and social studies are particularly popular whereas, amongst private universities,
social and economic studies, medicine
and artistic and scientific courses are the
most sought after. The most popular areas
of study in universities of applied sciences
are, on the other hand, concentrated in
the fields of business and technology.
A VIBRANT STUDENT COMMUNITY
With around 170,000 students, Vienna
is not only Austria’s most important university city but also the largest in the
entire German-speaking Region. One
international study shows that the Austrian federal capital, with its nine universities, six universities of applied science
and six private universities is one of the
most popular university cities anywhere.
In a relevant ranking by the British provider of educational services QS which
addresses such criteria as quality of life,
affordability, job prospects and student
communities, Vienna currently occupies
15th place. According to the ranking, “the
Austrian capital is certainly about more
than music, historic monuments and psychoanalysis”.
© Maclemo
“Vienna is about more
than music, historic
monuments and psychoanalysis.”
61
Vienna Stock Exchange is home to a considerable number of companies who are global
market leaders.
Investors overstate
Ukraine exposure
The Ukraine-Russia conflict has had a greater
impact the Vienna Stock Exchange in 2014 than
anything else. Should a sustainable solution be
found, experts see a ten to 15 percent correction.
• TEXT: Patrick Baldia
A
s with the previous year, 2014 was
a good year for the large and established global stock markets. While the
DAX, Dow Jones and S&P 500 were celebrating new record highs, for the Austrian
ATX things were not quite as good – instead, a decline of around ten percent has
been recorded for the full year. Fritz Mostböck, Head of Group Research at Erste
Group, attributes the underperformance,
alongside the corporate decrease in profits (2014: -14%), to the Ukraine-Russia
conflict in particular- "which is, however,
overestimated by investors."
Mostböck is not entirely wrong with
his assessment, because really only two
companies (Raiffeisen Bank International
(RBI) and IMMOFinanz), of the 20 listed
on the ATX, have been directly affected by
the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Alois Wögerbauer, Fund Manager and Managing Director of 3 Banken-Generali Investment-Gesellschaft, describes investor sentiment in
a nutshell: "As in the past, international investors see exposure to the East as the pri-
62
mary risk to the Vienna Stock Exchange."
However, the Vienna Stock Exchange has
not only to deal with the (overestimated)
exposure to Eastern Europe, but also, as
a small market place with a market capitalization is just under €90bn, it suffers
disproportionately in uncertain market
phases. Nevertheless, Wögerbauer is
relatively optimistic about 2015. "Assuming a sustainable solution to the crisis in
"The Vienna Stock
Exchange is an
interesting market
with some interesting
companies."
Alfred Reisenberger
Head of Investments,
Valartis Bank Austria AG
Ukraine arises, the ATX could well increase by ten to 15 percent," he says. He is
particularly positive about the European
Central Banks "money printing policy".
Postscript: "In the past, the stock exchanges where most of the money is
printed have always developed best."
ANALYSTS RECOMMEND
SHARES IN REAL ESTATE
How can you best describe the Vienna
Stock Exchange to foreign investors? "A
small market with some interesting companies," said Alfred Reisenberger, Head
of Investments at Valartis Bank Austria
AG. Indeed, quite a few companies that
are considered as global market leaders in
their niches are registered on the Vienna
exchange. These include Andritz, the plant
manufacturer, the RHI refractory group
and oil field equipment producer - Schoeller-Bleckmann Oilfield Equipment. These
names have been found in the portfolios
of international small-cap investors since
long ago, which emphasize its quality.
Which companies do experts have on
the bill for 2015? The Erste Group is putting its faith in real estate investment
companies such as Buwog, S Immo and
IMMOFInanz. They have clearly benefitted from the current low interest rates
and would also have an attractive dividend yield. Furthermore, the Erste Group
analysts also recommend companies that
benefit from a strong US dollar, weak oil
prices, or both developments. AT&S, the
PCB manufacture, and FACC, the aircraft
parts supplier, also count as major Austrian exports, alongside Andritz and RHI.
© Wiener Börse AG
2015
Export financing
• Export hedging • Documentary b
usiness • Syndication • Export package • Fore
ign participation • Supplier financing • Factoring
• International partners • Credit insurance • Cash
management • Cash poolin
g • Documentary service
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s of payment • Credit
assessments • Weak p
oint analysis • Trade C
onnect • Foreign trade
consulting • Correspon
dent banks • Export fi
Supplier financing • Factoring •
nancing • Export hedg
International partners • Credit i
ing • Documentary bu
nsurance • Cash management
siness • Syndication •
• Cash pooling • Documentary
Export package • Forei
service • Documentary credit •
gn participation • Sup
Credit and other me
plier financing • Factor
ans of payment • Cr
ing • International pa
edit assessments •
rtners • Credit insuran
Weak point analysis
ce • Cash manageme
• Trade Connect • Fo
nt • Cash pooling • Doc
reign trade consulti
umentary service • D
ng • Correspondent
ocumentary credit • Cr
banks • Export finan
edit and other means
cing • Export hedgin
of payment • Credit asse
ssments • Weak point analysis • Trade Connect • Foreign
trade consulting • Correspondent banks • Export fina
ncing • Export hedging • Documentary business
• Syndication • Export package • Foreig
n participation •
g•
Document
ary business • S
yndication • Export
package • Foreign part
icipation • Supplier finan
cing • Factoring • Internati
onal partners • Credit in
surance • Cash manag
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redit and other means
of payment • Credit as
sessments • Weak poin
t analysis • Trade Conn
ect • Foreign trade cons
ulting • Correspondent
banks • Export financi
ng • Export hedging • D
ocumentary business •
Syndication • Export p
ackage • Foreign partic
ipation • Supplier finan
cing • Factoring • Inter
national partners • Cre
dit insurance • Cash ma
nagement • Cash pooling
• Documentary service •
Documentary credit • C
redit and other mea
ns of payment •
Credit asses
smen
ts • Weak p
oint analysis • Tr
ade Connect • Forei
gn trade consulting • C
orrespondent banks • Ex
port financing • Export he
dging • Documentary b
usiness • Syndication •
Export package • Forei
gn participation • Expo
rt financing • Export he
dging • Documentary
business • Syndication
• Export package • Fore
ign participation • Supp
lier financing • Factorin
g • International partne
rs • Credit insurance • C
ash management • Cas
h pooling • Documenta
ry service • Document
ary credit • Credit and
other means of paym
ent • Credit assessmen
ts • Weak point analysi
s • Trade Connect • Forei
gn trade consulting • Corre
spondent banks • Export
financing • Export hed
ging • Documentar
y business • Syn
dication • E
xport package • Foreign
participation • Supplier fi
nancing • Factoring • Int
ernational partners • Cr
edit insurance • Cash
management • Cash p
ooling • Documentary
service • Documentar
y credit • Credit and o
ther means of paym
ent • Credit assessm
ents • Weak point a
nalysis • Trade Conn
ect • Foreign trade
consulting • Corres
pondent banks • E
xport financing •
Export hedging •
Documentary b
usiness • Syndic
ation •
Export package
• Foreign participatio
n • Supplier financing • F
actoring • International par
tners • Credit insurance • C
ash management • Cas
h pooling • Docume
ntary service
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www.rlbooe.at
I’m cautiously
optimistic
about 2015
Michael Buhl, CEO of the Vienna Stock Exchange
on the Austrian “Hidden Champions”, exposure
to the CEE of listed companies and a possible
comeback of the ATX in 2015.
• INTERVIEW: Patrick Baldia
"About three quarters
of transactions on the
Vienna Exchange are
currently made by
international trading
participants."
How do you introduce the Vienna Stock
Exchange to international investors on
the Roadshows?
We have a lot of attractive companies in
Austria - global players and hidden champions who hold their own superbly in their
niche on the global market. On this basis,
I am very comfortable approaching investors and presenting the Austrian financial
market. The Austrian capital market is
very receptive. Over the last year, a total
of five companies have provided a record-
64
ed volume of around four billion euros of
fresh equity. This is more than the last
four years put together.
mainly comes from France, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland.
Is there much need for explanation regarding exposure to Eastern Europe?
The success story of the Vienna Stock
Exchange is not only due to Eastern Europe. A lot of Austrian companies have
been benefitting from the Eastern Europe
hype for a long time. Currently, companies
involved in CEE and, above all, Russia are
under pressure and as a result the ATX
the also suffers. Higher levels of economic
growth are again predicted for Eastern
Europe for the next few years, from which
Austrian companies will certainly be able
to profit. In addition, many of our listed
companies are active worldwide and thus
less dependent on the region. We have
summarized all these companies in the
ATX Global Player Index.
The ATX has underperformed in 2014
due to the Ukraine crisis and declining
corporate profits. What suggests that
2015 will be a better year for the Austrian index?
I am cautiously optimistic for 2015 on
the assumption that the situation in the
Ukraine will stabilise. The indications
point towards continued low interest rates
and a light economic recovery. Austrian
companies have very healthy balance
sheets. Experts expect a good year for
shares on 2015, partly due to favourable
valuations. Thus we can assume that
there will almost be no investment alternative to shares in the next year also.
What is the current proportion of international investors on the Vienna Stock
Exchange and where exactly do they
come from?
Around three-quarters of all Exchange
transactions are currently made by international trading participants. The circle
of investors has increasingly broadened
in recent years and we are feeling a lot of
interest from foreign investors. With 23.4
percent US investors represent the largest group among institutional investors.
They are closely followed by institutional
investors from Austria (19.3 percent) and
Britain (14.8 percent). Within continental
Europe, the demand for Austrian shares
Last year the record sum of €7.2bn in
corporate bonds was floated on the Vienna Stock Exchange, will this positive
trend continue in 2015?
Due to low interest rates, corporate bonds
were again a popular financing alternative also in 2014. Companies took advantage of the low interest rate to render themselves less dependent on banks.
With a constant interest rate we expect
that companies will be want to continue
to finance themselves via bonds in 2015.
As corporate bonds are a good first step
towards the capital markets for most
companies, we are very pleased with
growth in this area.
© Wiener Börse AG
2015
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As Austria’s leading regional bank, Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich has a strong
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that is available locally yet also has access
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A strong partner for companies
For companies, Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich is the most important partner. Half of
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Upper Austrian bank to complete this test,
proving itself to be robust, resilient and crisis-resistant. The required core capital ratios
were exceeded in all calculation scenarios.
www.rlbooe.at
Good stress test results
Last year the European Central Bank very carefully tested the strength and stability of the
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The best for the best!
www.dmv-immobilien.at
Austria’s largest photovoltaic
plant: almost 900 households are
now being supplied with Austrian
green electricity from the roof of
Hofer’s regional headquarters in
Weißenbach.
A business location
on the rise
Austria’s southernmost province is the second
most successful in terms of corporate location.
Companies like it for the geographical position
and the business environment. • TEXT: Gisela Gary
I
n 2013 Entwicklungsagentur Kärnten
(Carinthia’s Development Agency) and
ABA Invest were responsible for 39 of the
46 corporate location projects in Carinthia.
This made it the second most successful
province after Vienna for the third year
in a row. “In such economically difficult
The Slovenian company OGK Zäune will soon
move to Carinthia. The cross-border groundbreaking ceremony for the new headquarters:
Benjamin Wakounig, President of Carinthia’s
Slovenian Business Club, Mayor Valentin Blaschitz,
Sabrina Schütz-Oberländer, Managing Director,
EAK, Zdenka Kocevar, Managing Director, and
Igor Birsa, Sales Manager, OGK Zäune, Provincial
Minister Christian Benger and Mayor Anton
Polessnig.
66
times each company coming to Carinthia
has a special significance. The choice of
Carinthia by Bifrangi S.p.A. and Industrie Plastiche Lombarde S.p.A. show that
we are attractive again as a business location. This has certainly been helped by
the new political orientation and the Provincial Governor’s strengthening of the relationship with neighbouring countries” is
the convinced opinion of Gaby Schaunig,
Carinthia’s Deputy Provincial Governor.
With more than 60 per cent of these
corporate locations, Italy remains the most
important investor in Carinthia, followed
by Slovenia and Germany. The development agency is currently supporting 75
projects involving Italian companies who
are considering such a move. “The influx
of companies in Carinthia’s core sectors
gives a particular boost to the further development of the province. In keeping with
the motto, ‘Quality before Quantity’, fewer
jobs may result but these are jobs which
are more sustainable and, hence, more
secure over the long-term” adds Sabrina
Schütz-Oberländer, explaining the new
strategic orientation of Entwicklungsagentur Kärnten.
CENTRAL LOCATION AND
BRIDGE TO SOUTHEAST EUROPE
The central location at the heart of the
Alpe-Adria Region and, hence, as both a
bridge to markets in Southern and Southeast Europe and a gateway to the strong
markets of Central Europe, the businessfriendly tax system (e.g. a uniform 25
per cent tax on profits, no business tax,
modern group tax etc.) and a stable legal
framework are Carinthia’s success factors. Competence centres such as CTR –
Carinthian Tech Research: a competence
centre for intelligent sensor and photovoltaic technology, KAI: a competence centre
for automobile and industrial electronics,
W3C – Wood Carinthian Competence
Center and Lakeside Labs: a platform for
information and communication technology offer companies attractive premises
and a perfect network.
The focuses of corporate relocations
are ICT (information and communications
technology), innovative production technology (across all sectors) and sustainability
(“green technologies”, renewable energy, environmental technologies, etc.). Carinthia
can point to a further top location in the
shape of the 160 hectare ALPLOG Carinthia, the home to 35 companies with around
1,000 employees.
The latest corporate location comes from
Slovenia: The company OGK Zäune GmbH
is creating 12 jobs by investing around 1.6
million euros in the building of production,
storage and exhibition areas totalling 2,000
square meters at the inter-communal industrial and business park (IGP Süd). The
company designs, produces, sells and erects
fences and gates for the owners of private
houses, companies and public bodies.
In Weißenbach, Austria’s largest photovoltaic plant, which will deliver Austrian
green electricity to around 900 households, has just been unveiled on the roof
of Hofer’s regional headquarters. Hermann
Moser, the Mayor of Weißenstein, is highly
enthusiastic about this commitment to
sustainability in his municipality.
© Hofer, Fritz-Press GmbH
PROVINCE OF CARINTHIA
Area in km²
Municipalities
Population
Companies
Persons employed
Gross value added
9,538.01
132
555,473
40,872
251,496
14,521 million euros
2015
From the solar cell via
the electricity grid to the
washing machine: power
semiconductors, micro
controllers and sensors
optimise the entire energy
supply chain.
Infineon builds
an “intelligent factory”
The attractiveness of a market is also reflected in the investment activity
of international companies. A good example of this is the German
semiconductor company Infineon which is investing a further 290 million
euros in its Austrian facility in Villach. • TEXT: Helmut Wolf
L
arge investments in local and longdistance public transport networks,
increasing urbanisation and new forms
of mobility are making it essential that
we develop intelligent technical solutions.
The German company Infineon develops
sophisticated semiconductor and system
solutions which meet the pressing requirements and needs of modern society.
These innovative semiconductor solutions play an important role in minimising
power loss because they increase the efficiency of the entire energy supply chain.
Alongside the mobility market of the future, Infineon also focuses on the areas of
energy efficiency and security.
One thing is already clear today: the
electricity networks of the future will be
intelligent and increasingly fed from renewable, decentralised energy sources
such as wind, sun and water. This means
that peaks and troughs in the power supply are inevitable. Intelligent electricity
networks – “smart grids” – will manage
energy supply and demand as a way of
2015
guaranteeing a reliable flow of electricity.
The German company Infineon develops
innovative semiconductor solutions which
make this possible. The central objective: the efficient transmission of energy
from the power station to the consumer –
across distances of thousands of kilometres. From the solar cell via the electricity
grid to the washing machine: power semiconductors, micro controllers and sensors
optimise the entire energy supply chain.
In this way these products form the basis for the “intelligent use” of energy resources: in industry as well as in private
households and cars.
Europe’s second largest semiconductor
company, with around 29,000 employees
worldwide has now decided to invest a further 290 million euros in its Villach facility. The focuses of the Carinthian plant are
research and development, microelectronics for the automobile industry and energy
efficiency. Infineon has around 3,100 employees in Austria. This major new phase
of development will result in the develop-
ment of a new building complex with innovative infrastructure, plant and logistics
– the so-called “Pilot Space for Industry
4.0”. The complex will contain 1,700 square
metres of cleanroom and around 1,800
square metres dedicated to measuring
technology. Innovative technologies will be
developed here to the point of being ready
to be put into production. Of the entire investment, around 45 million euros will flow
into research and development.
Infineon board chairman Sabine Herlitschka sees the enlargement of the Austrian facility at Villach as a way of sharpening its profile as a “knowledge location”.
The result will be an “intelligent factory”
with a highly flexible process which combines automated manufacturing systems
and digital information technologies. Infineon currently holds more than 18,650
patents and patent applications. Many
more such patents are now certain to
come from Austria.
© Infineon
67
founding
locating
innovating
cooperating
one-stop shop
real-estate management
© voestalpine Tubulars
location development
In AREA m styria investors will find collective knowledge of materials situated in a region
with a remarkably unique quality of living. The unmistakable affinity to high-technology
and a setting that is definitely pro-business are what create the ideal conditions for
innovative companies. The motivation and qualifications of staff in AREA m styria
businesses are a guarantee for the success of an enterprise.
AREA m styria GmbH
Koloman-Wallisch-Platz 1
A-8605 Kapfenberg
Austria
www.areamstyria.com
Innovation and
a high quality of life
Styria is known as Austria’s green lung. Graz attracts attention with its focus
on medicine but the province with the most competence centres is also a
leader in corporate relocation. • TEXT: Gisela Gary
T
he 4.7 per cent of GRP invested by
Styrian companies in research and
development is the highest in Austria.
“With this research ratio which already
exceeds our Europa 2020 target we are
one of Europe’s most innovative regions”
boasts Christian Buchmann, Provincial
Minister for Economic Affairs. Styrian
high tech companies have outposts across
the globe. Styria is also edging ahead in
the area of competence centres, with the
province investing a total of 140 million
euros in these hotbeds of innovation - 20
enterprises where science and business
work side-by-side.
The Urban Future Global Conference
which recently took place for the first time
in Graz also gazed far into the future. Organised in cooperation with UNECE, the
UN’s Economic Commission for Europe,
the international conference for sustainable urban development attracted more
than 1,000 participants and around 150
Austrian and international speakers. According to Gerald Sutter, Programme Director of the Urban Future Global Conference, “the principal objectives of the more
than 170 case studies and lectures in the
four focal areas of mobility, energy, living
& city planning and communications were
Christian Buchmann, Provincial Minister for
Economic Affairs: “With a research ratio which
already exceeds our Europa 2020 target we are
one of Europe’s most innovative regions.”
2015
The collective innovate energy of Styrian
Business was on display at the province’s
“Future Day” at which visitors were convinced about Business Location Styria.
to exchange ideas about success criteria
and avoid the need to constantly reinvent
the wheel.” The conference presented itself as the first point of contact for urban
decision makers in the area of sustainable
urban development.
BLOOD PRODUCTS FROM
THE LABORATORY
Health tech is one of the three core topics
of Styria’s Economic Strategy for 2020.
Graz already has an internationally acknowledged focus in the form of ZWT, the
Centre for Knowledge and Technology
Transfer in Medicine. ZWT is the first part
of the new Med Campus Graz, the core of
an entire urban district which, by 2016,
will cover over four hectares.
Working with a German team, researchers from the Medical University of Graz
have recently successfully completed a
notable experiment in which they extracted blood products from the blood of the
umbilical cord. Above all it is red blood
cells, the oxygen carriers, which are much
sought after worldwide and their biotechnological production could help overcome
the lack of blood donors. Demand for
blood products is high: according to Peter
Schlenke of the University Clinic for Blood
Group Serology and Transfusion Medicine
of the Medical University of Graz, 400,000
doses are required every year in Austria
alone for operations, accident victims and
the treatment of serious illnesses. Shortages are, however, common because products with red blood cells can be preserved
for no more than 42 days. In order to better meet this clinical demand, researchers
worldwide are attempting to produce blood
cells from stem cells in the laboratory.
Buchmann is convinced. “In recent
years Styria has developed into a Business Location with a global standing
and every day our companies are pushing back the barriers with their thoughts
and deeds. They are making their presence felt on international markets with
new products and services and are transforming Styria into a region which breaks
down barriers, in every sense of the word.”
© Fotoatelier Robert Frankl/SFG , Schiffer
PROVINCE OF STYRIA
Area in km²
Municipalities
Population
Companies
Persons employed
Gross domestic product
16,400
542
1,213,255
33,349
602,000
35,775 euros
69
INTERVIEW
Unique and original
Creativity is very important to Securo. By using decorative elements and high quality
workmanship, this Styrian company shows how well fences can also be used as railings,
room dividers or in landscape gardening. An interview with the Managing Director of
Securo: Eva Burtscher. • INTERVIEW: Helmut Wolf
The innovative “Securo Design” fence range
even appeals to architects and real-estate
developers. What are the priorities here?
We tend to deal with these groups regarding larger projects. These mainly include
requests for railings, balconies, facades
and also garden landscaping. Personal
consultation and planning with the architects and developers is of top priority to us.
We are not only producers; we are also a
primary a source of ideas.
Designer fences, gates and doors provide
a renaissance for quality traditional locksmith work. Where do you see further potential for quality products in the future?
We can imagine public sector projects becoming increasingly creative. For example:
designing different (nicer) highway fences,
combining utility with style. We hope that
more uniqueness will be allowed, instead of
only creating mass-production.
© J. Zugschwert
What is special about your fence systems?
Our fencing systems are unique and original. We haveve combined traditional ancient crafts together – lace-making and
wire-tying. We only produce unique pieces
tailored to the needs of customers. We are
also very conscious of the environment in
our work in comparison to other industrial
producers. In part, the materials used for
the design fences are residues from the
industrial production processes, such as
wires or templates, etc. The main special
feature of our systems is that we realise the
customer's ideas and desires together. Our
customers participate in the complete design process – right through to production.
Securo-Managing
Director Eva Burtscher
“We are not only
producers; we are also
a primary a source of
ideas.”
Geschäftsgebäude mit Landmark-Qualität
A2Z Business-Tower
Das A2Z wird ein neues Wahrzeichen für Graz
und damit für die gesamte Region. Das 21
Stockwerk hohe monolithische Gebäude liegt
optimal erschlossen an der Autobahneinfahrt
Graz-Ost in unmittelbarer Nähe zum Flughafen Graz (8 km), dem UPC Stadion (200 m),
dem Grazer Messezentrum (1km) sowie der
Grazer Altstadt, welche komfortabel durch die
direkt vor dem Gebäude gelegene Straßenbahnstation erreichbar ist.
Auf der rund 13.000 m² großen Nutzfläche ist
die Unterbringung von Hotel-, Büro- und
Dienstleistungsflächen vorgesehen.
Eigentümer
A2Z Projektentwicklungs GmbH
Ein Unternehmen der
WEGRAZ-Gruppe
Adresse
Liebenauer Tangente 8,
A-8041 Graz
Gebäudefläche (netto)
ca. 13.000 m² (teilbar)
WEGRAZ Gesellschaft für
Stadterneuerung und Assanierung m.b.H.
2015
Hartenaugasse 6a, A-8010 Graz, T 0316 / 38 49 09 - 00, F 0316 / 38 49 57-17, E-Mail: [email protected]
Geschoßzahl: 21
Gebäudehöhe: 75m
Parkmöglichkeiten:
Tiefgarage: ca. 190
Freiparkplätze: ca. 30
Projektvolumen:
rund € 41,000.000,00
Projektstatus:
Baugenehmigung liegt vor
71
www.wegraz.at
Innovation and growth
Burgenland is developing into Austria’s growth and innovation leader.
Regional economic performance is rising strongly – and this is making the
province more attractive to relocating companies. • TEXT: Gisela Gary
The new Culture and Congress Centre in Eisenstadt has
recently been awarded the Aluminium Architecture Prize.
W
ith economic growth of 4.3 per cent
in 2013, Burgenland was Austria’s
growth champion for the second year in
a row. Enough reason for Provincial Governor Hans Niessl to proudly note that,
“with the latest figure of 8.9 per cent we
have the strongest export growth of all
the provinces. Between 2007 and 2013
the number of people employed in the
Province grew by 10.5 per cent – despite
the economic crisis. The Austrian average was 4.3 per cent. Some experts speak
of a ‘Pannonian economic miracle’. Since
2013 we have been the first region in Europe to be autarkic in terms of electricity.
And Burgenland is increasingly becoming a knowledge and service society. Our
regional economic performance, income
levels and purchasing power have risen
the strongest. Burgenland has undoubtedly benefitted enormously from subsidies.
But without the hard work and commitment of the people of the Province and
without the innovative energy of our companies this successful development would
certainly not have been possible.”
The economic strategy “FTI Strategy
Burgenland 2025”, which was presented
a few weeks ago by Burgenland University of Applied Sciences and WiBAG,
Wirtschaftsservice Burgenland AG, pro-
72
poses to support research, technology
and innovation (FTI) even more strongly.
The aims are to boost research activities
and the research ratio, renewable energies, a sustainable quality of life and intelligent products and processes. A “Research Commissar for the Province of
Burgenland” and a “Board for Research,
Technology and Innovation”, made up
of well-known, independent experts, will
drive the implementation of the strategy.
The funds required for “more research”
should come in particular from the upcoming EU subsidy programme.
SUPPORTING COMPETITIVENESS
“Only one quarter of Burgenland’s companies currently carry out research and development” states WiBAG Board Member
Günter Perner. This was one of the most
striking results of the “Economic Radar”,
a representative survey carried out by the
Institute for Strategic Analysis as part of
a project by Burgenland University of Applied Sciences and WiBAG. “However, in
order to be able to develop and compete,
one quarter is far too few. That is exactly
where we want to - and where we will apply ourselves”, emphasised Perner. For
WiBAG it is essential that Burgenland
makes headway in the area of research
and development. An effort that started
during the most recent EU subsidy period
in the shape of such initiatives as “Good
Idea, Burgenland” and the Innovation
Prize should now be raised to a new level
as part of the joint FTI Strategy.
“The attractiveness of a business location also depends upon the speed with
which the necessary permits can be obtained – and for this reason I have joined
together with business to start a new initiative. The Province is investing more in
education and training than ever before.
And, last but not least, it is also very significant that there will continue to be adequate sources of funding in the coming
years, in order to ensure that investments
will continue to be made and jobs will
continue to be created for the people of
the Province”, continues Niessl.
EXCELLENT IDEAS
The most innovative company was
awarded the “Burgenland Innovation
Prize 2014” at the St. Martins Therme &
Lodge in Frauenkirchen. The 53 nominations represented another record number of participants and ChampionShips
Yachting GmbH from Neusiedl am See
was selected by an independent jury as
the main winner of the “Burgenland Innovation Prize 2014.”
WiBAG Director Franz Kast is convinced by the positive effects of the
business-friendly environment: “The start
of the ‘Good Idea, Burgenland’ innovation offensive in 2011 heralded a new
phase marked by tailor-made subsidies,
strengthened programmes of cooperation
and the support of innovation managers.”
© Roland Halbe/alufenster.at
PROVINCE OF BURGENLAND
Area in km²
Municipalities
Population
Companies
Persons employed
Gross regional product
3,962
171
286,691
10,110
66,824
87???????
2015
Full speed ahead
Provincial Governor Hans Niessl can be satisfied – Burgenland is increasing
in popularity. In this exclusive interview, Niessl reveals his ambitious plans for
Austria’s sunniest province. • INTERVIEW: Gisela Gary
What new ideas does Burgenland have
for increasing its attractiveness as a location even further in 2015?
2013 was the second year in a row in
which Burgenland was the province with
the strongest economic growth and, at
8.9 per cent, the strongest export growth.
With the help of EU subsidies we have,
in the last decade alone, created around
10,000 extra jobs in the province. In order
to increase its attractiveness as a location
even further, we want to entice companies with, on the one hand, new sources
of funding and, on the other hand, an optimal environment for relocating and expanding companies. It should, for example, be possible in future for entrepreneurs
to start their operations within eight days.
This will be facilitated by the “one-stopshop principle” – one application, one contact person and one decision. In the light
of the EU sanctions against Russia I have
also created an Economic Advisory Committee in order to ensure a permanent
exchange of information. The objective is
clear: we want to strengthen the location
even further and create more jobs for the
people of Burgenland.
What do you see as the most convincing
arguments for a company to come to Burgenland?
As a dynamic and ambitious region, Burgenland offers a very attractive economic
environment. I have worked tirelessly to ensure that good funding opportunities continue to be available in the province. The
result of this is that a total of 750 million
euros of subsidies are on offer for the new
funding period between now and 2020.
This means that the province continues
to offer Austria’s best funding framework,
alongside which the quality of Burgenland’s workforce is also excellent. And if a
company has special requirements for its
workforce, then subsidies are also available for the necessary training measures.
Statutory procedures are generally well
coordinated and speedily resolved in order to ensure that delays in this respect
are extremely rare. In this sense I am con-
2015
Provincial
Governor
Hans Niessl
with the
Manager of
the Outlet
Center Thomas
Reichenauer in
Parndorf.
vinced that Burgenland is highly fertile
ground for incoming companies.
The concept of business parks comes repeatedly under fire – but in Burgenland
it is clear that these work. What is your
recipe for success?
From north to south, Burgenland contains top quality business parks. We have
six technology centres, which offer an
extremely attractive environment. The
business parks offer plots which have
been specially developed for incoming
companies. The generous design makes
them both highly adaptable to the specific needs of companies and highly suitable
for potential long-term expansion. The
province also goes to great lengths to offer an up-to-date, modern infrastructure.
Energy efficiency – climate protection:
What projects are planned for the coming years?
Burgenland is an international pioneer in
the use of renewable energy. In September 2013 the province was able to meet
100 per cent of its electricity needs from
renewable sources – mostly wind power for the first time in its history. This not
only represents an important contribution
to climate protection. It also means that
numerous green jobs have been created
in the province. This is a fantastic success, but we are not resting on our laurels.
Our next major target in Burgenland is to
meet all our energy needs from renewable
sources by 2050.
More than 120 million euros will be
available for supporting house building
in Burgenland in 2015. Even in this field
our approach is ecological because we are
offering attractive subsidies for the use
of alternative energies and for refurbishment.
© rovincial Government of Burgenland, Mädl
73
INTERVIEW
Offering an outstanding network
accent Gründerservice supports start-ups at a very early phase. Services include intensive coaching, involvement in a professional network and tailored initial financing. accent
CEO Michael Moll confirms its success in the following interview. • INTERVIEW: Helmut Wolf
ence gained from supporting more than
80 successful start-ups.
Which business sectors are you particularly suited to?
We are open to all fields of technology.
Our current portfolio is derived from information and communication technology, bio and medical technology as well
as clean and green-tech projects. Projects
from the industrial and material research
sectors also make up our customer base.
We have also been active in the social entrepreneurship sector since last.
Are there also special support and funding possibilities?
We offer an outstanding network and access to a variety of funding instruments.
As regards R&D, we work together with all
of the universities as well as non-university research facilities such as the Austrian
Institute of Technology (AIT). Recently
we have even had an active cooperation
with “CERN”, thereby enabling our startups to have access to CERN know-how for
the further technological development of
their products.
Michael Moll
CEO of accent
Gründerservice:
“We make our network
and R&D institution
available and offer intensive assistance with
funding and financing.”
© ACCENT
What are the specifics of your activity as
a start-up service?
Most of the business ideas come to us at a
very early stage. Once we have recognised
a potential idea, we begin a very intensive
process: In doing so, the business idea is
honed and a business plan drafted. The
first phase is the so called “pre-incubation
phase”. If the business concept is plausible and comprehensible we present the
project to an independent advisory board
for approval. Then next phase begins, in
which we intensively engage the business
in establishing the enterprise. We make
our network and R&D institution available
and offer intensive assistance with funding and financing. In addition, we act as a
“buddy” with our continuous companionship providing our expertise and experi-
www.wibag.at
Burgenland – A Unique
Business Location
As a service provider for business relocations, subsidies, venture capital and other business services, Wirtschaftsservice Burgenland AG –
WiBAG offers comprehensive know-how to support you in realizing your projects.
Our Location Advantages:
> Attractive subsidies
> Venture capital for SMEs
> Excellent tourism products & services
St. Martins Therme & Lodge
> Top-quality business parks & technology centres
> Prime location near the borders of Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia
> High quality of life
Businesspark Neusiedl am See/Parndorf
Contact:
74
Wirtschaftsservice Burgenland AG – WiBAG
Technology Center
Marktstraße 3 · 7000 Eisenstadt
Phone: +43 (0) 59 010-210
2015
E-Mail: [email protected]
www.wibag.at
Danube in Austria between the cities of
Krems (left) and of Mautern (right) seen
from the Ferdinandswarte.
Cross-border
economic motor
Business Location Lower Austria is holding its ground against other provinces,
relationships with neighbours are being strengthened and there is a special
focus on a business-friendly environment. • TEXT: Gisela Gary
T
he recently presented Lower Austrian
Business Strategy contains a wealth
of new incentives and focal areas which
are especially designed to win over young
entrepreneurs. Provincial Minister for
Economic Affairs Petra Bohuslav explains
that, “such is its level of integration that
Lower Austria’s economy is more influenced than ever by national and international developments. This makes it even
more essential that our regional economic
policy provides impulses which give further targeted support to the competitiveness of our companies.” The Lower Austria
Business Strategy 2020 was developed in
2015
cooperation with a number of companies.
The package of measures includes four
core strategies: “Attractive locations”, “Research, development, market implementation”, “Sustainable corporate growth and
internationalisation” and “Forming companies with dynamic growth”. “The four
guiding principles: ‘Providing impulses
and accents’ ‘Strengthening openness,
cooperation and awareness’, ‘Guaranteeing the responsible use of resources’ and
‘Developing a service orientation’ are the
basis for all the activities of the Department of Economic Affairs”, emphasises
Bohuslav. Research and development
remains a key area, with a special focus
on the four Technopoles and market implementation. “2013 was the first year in
which Lower Austria was able to report
export volumes of over 20 billion euros.
This year we can already point to over
100 corporate relocations. And Lower
Austria is even the number one province
in terms of purchasing power,” reports Bohuslav enthusiastically.
2016 will mark the start of production
of Niemetz Schwedenbomben in the ecoplus business park in Wiener Neudorf. A
total of four million euros are being invested in the modification of the existing
75
The opening of the
new headquarters of
the Powerlines Group
and SPL Tele: Gerhard
Ehringer, CEO of the
Powerlines Group, Rudolf
Schütz, Founder and
Majority Owner of SPL
Tele, Provincial Governor
Erwin Pröll and Reinhard
Karl, Board Director of
Raiffeisenlandesbank
NÖ-Wien.
“M52” building and the addition of a new
hall. The company’s choice of the business
park underlines the high levels of interest
in Business Location Lower Austria. The
excellent level of cooperation between the
company on one side and the Provincial
Government of Lower Austria and the
ecoplus business agency on the other will
enable this project to be realized within a
very short timeframe.
RESEARCH AS FOCUS
Provincial Governor Erwin Pröll came to
see for himself and was more than impressed: a push of a button a few weeks
ago released the first particle beam to
be delivered in a treatment room at “MedAustron” in Wiener Neustadt. Pröll spoke
of an “historic moment”, and referred to
MedAustron as “a flagship project for science and research in Lower Austria”. In
the past few years the Provincial Government has invested 600 million euros
in connection with science and research
and, in addition to MedAustron, Pröll
spoke of projects such as Campus Krems,
IST Austria and UFZ Tulln.
In order to further intensify cooperation
between Austria and the Czech Republic,
the Foreign Ministers Sebastian Kurz and
H.E. PhDr. Lubomír Zaorálek joined Provincial and District Governors from the
neighbouring regions – including Erwin
Pröll, the Provincial Governor of Lower
Austria, Josef Pühringer, the Provincial
Governor of Upper Austria and Czech
representatives – at a working meeting at
Schloss Mikulov in the Czech Republic
© Wikicommons, NLK Johann Pfeiffer, Ernst Reinberger
PROVINCE OF LOWER AUSTRIA
Area in km²
Population
Companies
Persons employed
Gross regional product
19,177
1,611,981
41,868
580,084
45.5 billion euros
Ceremonial start of
work on Niemetz
Schwedenbomben’s
new facility which is due
to open in IZ NÖ-Süd in
Wiener Neudorf in 2016,
with the Chairman of the
Board of Management
of Heidi Chocolat AG
Gerald Neumair, Provincial
Governor Erwin Pröll,
Provincial Minister for
Economic Affairs Petra
Bohuslav and Gerhard
Schaller, Managing
Director of Heidi
Chocolat AG Niemetz
Schwedenbomben in
Austria.
76
2015
ecoplus.
opening
locations.
ecoplus. opening locations.
Whether your company intends to invest in an existing business location, or develop a new one,
ecoplus
supportintends
in all matters
related
to settlement
andlocation,
expansion.
Active ina all
parts
Whetherprovides
your company
to invest
in an existing
business
or develop
new
one,of
Lower Austria,
ecoplus
operates
17 business
parks
as owner orand
partner.
ecoplus
has the
space
ecoplus
provides
support
in all matters
related
to settlement
expansion.
Active
in all
parts of
to
help
your
company
achieve
its
goals.
Wherever
you
want
to
do
business.
Lower Austria, ecoplus operates 17 business parks as owner or partner. ecoplus has the space
ecoplus.
Opening
doors
in Lower
Austria.
to help your
company
achieve
its goals.
Wherever you want to do business.
ecoplus.
Opening doors in Lower Austria.
www.ecoplus.at
www.ecoplus.at
ecoplus. Niederösterreichs Wirtschaftsagentur GmbH, Niederösterreichring 2, Haus A, 3100 St. Pölten
ecoplus. Niederösterreichs Wirtschaftsagentur GmbH, Niederösterreichring 2, Haus A, 3100 St. Pölten
Pushing
new growth
markets
Erwin Pröll is working
intensely to internationalise
Lower Austria even further.
The CEE markets are a
particular focus. In this
interview he explains that
bureaucracy and other
hurdles must be simplified
and the emphasis on service
orientation strengthened
even further. • TEXT: Gisela Gary
To what extent does the intensified cooperation with the Czech Republic influence Lower Austria’s economic strategy?
The Czech Republic is one of Lower Austria’s focal markets. One can say that it is
both an “extended home market” but also
a “heavyweight” export market with an
export volume of goods of over one billion euros in 2013. This means that the
Czech Republic was Lower Austria’s third
most important export destination in
2013 after Germany and Italy. An office
of ecoplus International has represented
Lower Austria in Prague since 2004.
Here, Lower Austrian companies who are
looking to establish themselves in the
Czech Republic can find local support
and accompaniment. In the past decade
around 850 companies have turned to the
Prague office for assistance. One core element of Lower Austria’s new economic
strategy for 2020 is defined as “Sustainable corporate success and internationalisation”. In terms of internationalisation we
continue to focus on the “CEE Markets” of
the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Rumania. At the same time it
is also important to open up new “growth
markets” and since 2010 we have given
special attention to Russia, Turkey and
the United Arab Emirates.
How do you want to make Lower Austria
even more attractive – which incentives
78
could be offered to companies looking for
a new location?
A wide variety of criteria influence a company in its choice of a location. These can
include the area available, the price of the
land, the transport situation, Lower Austria’s speedy statutory procedures, the
good support from our business agency
ecoplus and even the excellent infrastructure which is on offer in the ecoplus business parks. At the four Technopoles at
Tulln, Krems, Wieselburg and Weiner Neustadt technology and research oriented
companies have access to not only appropriate research facilities but also a highly
qualified workforce.
The fact that our strategy is the right one
can be seen in the extremely impressive
record numbers of the first nine months of
2014: 96 relocation and expansion projects
were successfully completed. These translate into 1,000 newly created jobs and a
further 1,000 jobs whose future is secure.
Our new economic strategy consistently
maintains this successful approach: we
will also continue to develop the ecoplus
business parks and strengthen the Technopoles. A key point is the expansion of our
service orientation. Hurdles and barriers
must be dismantled even further. For example, the ecoplus investor service offers
a comprehensive range of services covering all aspects of corporate relocation and
expansion projects. An objective for the
future is to be even more targeted in the
way in which we actively approach and
support potential incoming investors and
their projects.
Have the subsidies offered to leading
companies as potential magnets proven
to be worthwhile?
Since the launch of the initiative we have
supported 35 companies with a total of
around 44 million euros. These sums were
used to both guarantee some locations
and boost growth – a factor in favour of
Business Location Lower Austria which
should not be underestimated in such
economically turbulent times. In saying
this it must be remembered that these
special subsidies to leading companies
were developed as an addition to the existing programme of subsidies.
Energy efficiency: Does Lower Austria
have trendsetting ideas in this field
which could become game changers in
the climate protection debate?
In 2011 Lower Austria became the first
province to pass its own “Lower Austria Energy Efficiency Law” and this has proven to
be very successful. Just as an example: The
Province of Lower Austria supports municipalities in the conversion of streetlamps
to modern LED technology. Within the first
three years 30,000 lights were upgraded.
A win-win situation: better quality light at
a lower cost. These 30,000 new LED lights
represent a reduction in electricity demand
equivalent to that of around 2,200 households as well as reducing the municipalities’
electricity bills by 1.4 million euros per year.
The fact that we in Lower Austria operate
in an energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly way is also shown by the CO2
balance. We have succeeded in decoupling
economic growth and CO2 emissions. Since
2005 we have reduced CO2 emissions by
14 per cent while increasing the BIP by 13
per cent. We will continue on this successful path in the years to come.
© Province of NÖ
2015
INTERVIEW
Established and new
In addition to its established attributes, the 7th phase of the WALTER BUSINESS PARK
incorporates some interesting innovations. • INTERVIEW: Walter Senk
When are you expecting completion?
Thanks to the good weather we have made
up a four-week delay caused by the need to
build a rainwater drain. We are expecting
completion in September/October 2015.
Have you made changes in comparison
with your previous concept or have you
remained faithful to your “office & warehouse” product?
We will make no fundamental changes to
our special “office & warehouse” product
which has established itself so well on the
Austrian commercial real estate market.
The keys to our product remain multifunctionality and the variety of ways in which
office and warehouse space can be combined. Nonetheless we have incorporated a
number of innovations into the design of
the new phase with the aim of increasing
user comfort for our tenants while helping
to reduce energy costs for both the tenants
and ourselves as operators.
The key innovations involve energy-efficient, state-of-the-art building technology in the form of industrial underfloor
heating in the warehouses and cooling
and heating ceilings in the offices. These
also enjoy additional ventilation, daylight-dependent lighting management,
generous “eat-in-kitchens”, a loggia for
every office unit, not only passenger lifts
but also a central goods lift in the “small
warehouse area” in the basement and the
elegant design of the entrances, façade
and external areas.
Gerhard Müller
Managing Director of
the WALTER BUSINESS
PARK
© WBP
How is the construction of the 7th phase
of the Walter Business Park going?
The shell of the building is growing. The
basement is complete, all columns are
in place and, to date, the concrete shells
of two of the five stair towers have been
completed. The façade contract is being
negotiated and the tenders for heating, air
conditioning, ventilation and the sanitary
areas are being prepared.
DIE ETWAS ANDERE ART,
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ETWAS
ANDERE
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IN IMMOBILIEN
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ZU INVESTIEREN.
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Ob bei der Entwicklung und Investition
in Wohn- und
oderInvestition
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in Wohnoder Bürohäuser, Einkaufszentren
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und Investition
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oderim
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so lässt
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ein Höchstmaß
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79
The Provincial
Government recently
presented its investment
programme. In 2015
Vorarlberg will provide
409 million euros
for investment and
investment-supporting
measures.
Austria’s
smallest province
as the growth leader
The province beyond the Arlberg leads
the national ranking. The economy has
experienced a powerful upturn. The recently
approved investment package promises to
strengthen business and increase Vorarlberg’s
attractiveness as a hub. • TEXT: Gisela Gary
S
elf-sufficient and yet, at the same time,
cosmopolitan, Vorarlberg is a unique
province at the heart of Europe. 80 per
cent of its 350 kilometre perimeter is made
up of national borders. Vorarlberg shares
frontiers with Switzerland, Germany, the
Principality of Liechtenstein and Tyrol. Divided amongst four countries, the region
around Lake Constance is one of Europe’s
most dynamic economic areas. “We are
facing significant challenges: protecting
our self-reliance and independence in a
networked and often crisis-ridden world,
creating a business environment which
supports our companies in the face of
tough international competition, ensuring social equilibrium and affordable living for all, courageously confronting the
challenges of education, migration and
demographic change and making a fair
80
contribution to defeating climate change”
explains Provincial Governor Markus
Wallner in his Working Programme for
2014 to 2019.
The Provincial Government recently
presented its investment programme. In
2015 Vorarlberg will provide 409 million
euros for investment and investment-supporting measures. “We see the strengthening of the location and targeted investment in the future as a common mission”,
emphasise Markus Wallner and Provincial
Minister Johannes Rauch.
Markedly competitive and highly innovative, Vorarlberg is one of Europe’s top
economic regions. The sectoral mix – of
countless successful small and mediumsized enterprises and leading industrial
companies, many of which are familyowned – is part of this success.
PROTECTING
ECONOMIC STRENGTHS
The main objective of Vorarlberg’s Provincial Government is to protect these economic strengths while ensuring that future
growth defends resources and is sustainable in the long-term. Wallner wants to
provide an economic environment which
continues to be optimal while further removing obstacles to growth. Vorarlberg’s
manufacturing sector is enormously important. Industry and manufacturing
companies are responsible for around 30
per cent of the province’s total economic
output. “This high productivity must be retained and strengthened in the future. In
order to support the longer-term development of our companies we must focus on
ensuring that enough commercial space
is available”, explains Wallner. More concretely, this involves the following tasks:
• improving the availability
of commercial space,
• developing and building trans-regional
commercial zones through a pilot
scheme for the sharing of local tax
income,
• active land-use management by the
provincial authorities and
• the protection of existing commercial
zones from encroaching development.
Wirtschafts-Standort Vorarlberg GmbH,
WISTO, supports companies in their relocation efforts with the objective of strengthening the economic and innovative energy
of the province.
© Thorbecke/Vorarlberg Tourismus
PROVINCE OF VORARLBERG
Area in km²
Population
Companies
Persons employed
Gross regional product
2,601
373,000
11,518
189,100
4.5 billion euros
2015
INTERVIEW
Flexibility and competitive strength
The services offered by Vorarlberg’s business promotion agency WISTO range from the
raising of funds for R&D projects to assistance in finding suitable partners.
In the following interview WISTO CEO
Dr Joachim Heinzl outlines the many
benefits of Vorarlberg, the westernmost
state of Austria.
What in particular characterises Vorarlberg as a business location in comparison
to the other Austrian federal states?
The strategic location of Vorarlberg is
certainly unique as well as the closedloop value chains at the location that allow for regional production of high-tech
products. A very well-educated, creative
and highly motivated workforce, which is
specialized in manufacturing of goods, is
jointly responsible for this. With an industry rate of almost 30 percent, the production sector is the core competence of the
economic region, and also basis for an
above-average competitive position.
What measures are implemented to facilitate and accelerate the establishment
of enterprises in Vorarlberg?
We are working intensively to guarantee
attractive business conditions for the local
companies also in future and offer support
in relevant areas. Our services range from
consultation when applying for grants or
realising investments to active help with
the recruitment of skilled workforce and
the finding of business partners.
In terms of innovation and “pioneering
spirit”, the westernmost province of the
Alpine republic is one of the forerunners.
Where does this creative atmosphere
come from?
In the midst of strong economic regions,
Vorarlberg had to be upfront to prevail
against the intense competition early on
and adapt quickly to changing market conditions due to the high focus on exports.
This ability to be flexible, open-minded and
competitive has been a great asset to the
domestic companies and a drive force for
innovation.
www.wisto.at
WISTO CEO
Dr Joachim Heinzl:
“Vorarlberg is an
interesting location for
those companies that
want to make use of the
advantages offered by
Austria and also exploit
the strong purchasing
power of the Southern
German markets (BadenWürttemberg) and
Eastern Switzerland.”
ok think act look think act look think act look think act look think act look th
Listen and repeat!
Greenorange is exclusively hosting IHRED!
2015
www.ihred.at81
www.greenorange.at
Armada Skis, an
American manufacturer
of freestyle skis, turned
its back on Zurich in order
to build its new European
headquarters in Innsbruck.
Cross-border
success strategy
Tyrol is one of Central Europe’s most dynamic
regions. With an economic structure characterised
by the manufacturing and service sectors, the
western province is home to industry and high
technology. • TEXT: Gisela Gary
T
he Province of Tyrol is in good economic shape and this means that we
can invest in the most important sectors
of tomorrow. For the attractiveness of our
province also depends upon the quality
of our research and education facilities,
the environmental-friendliness of our
transport infrastructure and the extent
to which social harmony is guaranteed”,
is the convinced opinion of Deputy Provincial Governor Ingrid Felipe. A new financial stimulus package was recently
agreed. Both employment and unemployment are rising. Growth is close to zero.
“We want to counter this with highly targeted investments which benefit the Tyrolean economy and, hence, the workers
of our province,” explains Provincial Governor Günther Platter. Around 320 million
euros will be provided for investment and
investment-supporting measures in the
next two years. Around 60 million euros
are annually available for the building of
roads and public buildings. 114 million euros are to be invested by the province’s
hospitals in constructional activities. The
non-income-related refurbishment offensive and broadband initiative are also to
be continued.
82
Tyrol, South Tyrol and Trentino are exploiting their proximity to promote joint
corporate strategies, reciprocal corporate
locations, exchange programmes for students and teachers, cross-border research
projects and Tyrol-wide competitions for
apprentices. Speaking at an economic
meeting of the Euregio region, Tyrol’s
Provincial Governor Günther Platter, his
South Tyrolean counterpart Arno Kompatscher and the Head of Trentino Province Ugo Rossi emphasized their desire
that the economies of the regions should
grow even closer together.
A PROVINCE OF HIGH TECHNOLOGY
AND INDUSTRY
Tyrol has established itself as a province
of high technology and industry. Despite
the strength of the tourism sector, industry is responsible for around 30 per cent
of wealth creation in Tyrol. More than
30,000 companies make use of the advantages of the location. These are particularly attractive to innovative small
and medium-sized companies: universities, universities of applied science and
competence centres, projects of cooperation and the active support of research &
development characterise Tyrol’s technology strategy. One of the latest projects is
the Competence Centre for Timber Building which is currently being built at Tyrol’s Vocational School for Wood Technology in Absam. This should include a CNC
assembly facility which is required for the
processing of constructional timber. The
machine is being provided by Innsbruck’s
Leopold Franzens University. Further cooperation partners are Tyrol’s Guild of
Timber Building and the company Hundegger.
Strong sectors include life sciences,
mechatronics, renewable energies, information technology and wellness. These
focal areas are reflected in Tyrol’s clusters
which bring together commercial companies and research and educational establishments in dense networks. The cluster
partners make use of common synergies
and innovative energy to improve competitiveness and value creation.
On Tyrol’s Innovation Day 2014 the
Provincial Minister for Economic Affairs Patrizia Zoller-Frischauf and Harald
Gohm, Managing Director of Standortagentur Tirol, presented a package of measures from Standortagentur Tirol which is
designed to support companies in the sustainable improvement of their productive
efficiency and competitiveness.
© Standortagentur Tirol
PROVINCE OF TYROL
Area in km²
Municipalities
Population
Companies
Persons employed
Gross domestic product
12,648
279
704,472
38,000
262,096
32,500 euros
2015
With entrepreneurial energy
Salzburg is putting its faith in the energy of entrepreneurs whose innovations
are enriching the province and invigorating its economy. The high quality of
life, purchasing power and level of security are only some of the advantages
of the location. • TEXT: Gisela Gary
C
ompanies create solutions for the
good of society as a whole. This is
why we need more innovative start-ups,
more successful companies, more hidden champions. Successful entrepreneurs show what the innovate spirit can
achieve”, pleaded Konrad Steindl, President of Salzburg’s Economic Chamber,
during the first “Austrian Business Opening” 2014, a joint meeting of all of Austria’s Economic Chambers. Small and medium-sized companies take centre stage
at the event. Around 350 top Austrian
companies and decision-makers from
business and politics met in the Salzburg
Economic Chamber’s new WIFI. Provincial Governor Wilfried Haslauer is convinced: “Only with entrepreneurial energy
can we hold on to jobs and prosperity.”
Despite the difficult financial background,
Salzburg’s Provincial Government is trying everything within its power – including a range of subsidies and support for
innovation - to improve the location.
The current economic climate, measures to reduce bureaucracy, criteria for
public tenders, the implementation of the
EU directive on professional qualifications, the airborne emissions law and the
extension of Austria’s broadband infrastructure were also amongst the focuses
of the conference of the economics ministers of Austria’s provinces. Hosted by
Haslauer, the meeting was a first. “A coordinated, joint approach by the federal and
provincial governments is essential if we
are to address today’s economic challenges and safeguard and strengthen Business Location Austria for the long term,”
he emphasised.
NATURE, CULTURE AND BUSINESS
Since the end of 2011 Salzburg’s Provincial Government and Economic Chamber
have been working hard to make public
tenders more regional and accessible to
middle-sized companies. One example of
this is the Fairness Catalogue agreed with
the Provincial Government. This foresees
both the renouncement of general contractor tenders and the introduction of
2015
Salzburg’s freshly
renovated Central
Station has recently
been reopened – as
a key hub for both
business and tourism.
criteria designed to strengthen SMEs and
regional companies.
StandortAgentur Salzburg supports
relocating companies. One example is the
Seekirchen food logistics specialist Frigologo which is building a state-of-the-art
storage and transhipment facility close
to the motorway junction at Voralpenkreuz. The heart of the complex is a huge
hall with four sections, each of which is
kept at a different temperature. This hall
with its four sections will be operating at
the new Sattledt location in March 2015.
Quehenberger Logistics, a company with
a long tradition, is also expanding. Quehenberger recently took over Günter Bauer Transportgesellschaft whose owner
Günter Bauer is joining the management
of Quehenberger’s Express Division. The
arguments in favour of the Salzburg loca-
tion are convincing: With its many lakes
and mountains and its stable economy
Salzburg has a perfect mix of nature,
culture and business – as well as being
Austria’s second most important banking
and financial centre. With a ten per cent
research premium and group taxation
which allows loss adjustment for foreign
subsidiaries the province is also attractive to young international companies.
© ÖBB/Konrad Kaiser
PROVINCE OF SALZBURG
Area in km²
Population
Companies
Persons employed
Gross regional product
7,154
534,270
20,371
242,821
22.5 billion euros
83
Exploiting synergies –
strengthening competitiveness
Upper Austria is Austria’s industrial and economic powerhouse.
International companies appreciate the location and the networking
opportunities that it offers. • TEXT: Gisela Gary
The Best Upper Austrian Company: Brau Union Österreich receives a Gold Austria’s Leading
Companies Award. Joachim Haindl-Grutsch, Managing Director of the Federation of Austrian Industries
in Upper Austria, Markus Liebl, General Director of Brau Union and Fritz Baumgartner, Managing
Director of PwC in Upper Austria at the award ceremony.
U
pper Austrian industry is responsible
for more than 30 per cent of Austrian
value creation as well as enjoying a 65 per
cent share of exports and 25 per cent of
all industry. One growth area is the Port of
Enns, a logistics facility which is already
home to around 50 companies and 1,600
employees. As a trimodal logistics hub
combining road, rail and river transport
connections this business park is extremely important for Business Location Upper
Austria and beyond.
Brau Union Österreich is this year’s winner of the Austria’s Leading Companies
competition, a prize which is awarded in
recognition of a company’s commitment
to a location, sustainable growth and solid
financial basis. Around 2,000 employees
across Austria ensure that beer is provided to around 49,000 customers. “The business award is a great honour for us. At the
same time, however, we don’t want to rest
on our laurels in our position as market
leader. In 2015 we want to continue stimu-
84
lating the beer market with strong brands,
great innovation and a focus on the culture
of beer”, explains Markus Liebl, General Director of Brau Union Österreich. Austria’s
Leading Companies distinguish themselves through sustainable growth coupled
with a sound financial basis. Hence, ALC
is not a beauty contest but rather an objective decision-making process based on
the economic performance of companies
as determined by a range of data from the
past four balance sheets.
MULTI-SECTOR NETWORKS
With 1.4 million inhabitants, Upper Austria
is Austria’s third largest province. It combines a number of locational advantages
with forward-looking investment and a
strong export economy. Companies, competence centres, universities and research
facilities ensure that it remains a top innovative region. Upper Austria places
great value on local, naturally produced
food of the highest quality. The strongest
business sectors are steel, plastics, environmental technology, mechatronics and
tourism. Very high environmental standards and the efficient and careful use of
energy mean that Upper Austria is a model region. A high-performance broadband
infrastructure, dense innovation networks
and speedy and uncomplicated administrative procedures have already convinced
such international companies as Google,
BMW and the truck manufacturers MAN
to choose Upper Austria. And SKF, Bombardier, Siemens, Roche, DSM and Fresenius also value the location.
Upper Austria promotes cooperative
networks and around 2,000 partners are
active in its cluster initiatives. Such cooperation exploits synergies and strengthens competitiveness. In order to further
strengthen the innovative performance
of people and companies in the province,
multi-sector networks in the fields of human resources and resource and energy
efficiency have been established.
The TMG Group is the business agency
of the province of Upper Austria. It offers
advice on the choice of location, sources
of financing and subsidy and the search
for and qualification of employees. “Short
statutory and approvals procedures – from
location decision to ground-breaking ceremony in just 90 days – the availability of
high quality land for industrial buildings
and first-class service and advice. Anyone
seeking to establish a business in Upper
Austria is in good hands at TMG”, confirms
Axel Kühner, CEO of Greiner Holding AG.
© WirtschaftsBlatt/Peroutka
PROVINCE OF UPPER AUSTRIA
Area in km²
Municipalities
Population
Companies
Persons employed
Gross regional product
12,000
444
1,410,403
80,192
595,966
45.7 billion euros
2015
Business Upper Austria –
Innovation is our Business
Innovation creates competitiveness creates added value and jobs. Business Upper Austria,
the new business agency of the Upper Austrian government, is an innovation driver and a
partner for site development, cooperation and public funding advisory services.
As a one-stop shop and full-service
provider, we assist our clients by supplying
tailor-made services and support them from
their first business idea to their eventual success on the market.
Our Responsibilities
• Securing, strengthening and enhancing
the business and employment location of
Upper Austria
• Positioning this location internationally
• Creation and continued development of
infrastructure to encourage investments,
innovation and technologies
• Promoting the settlement of companies as
well as expansion of existing businesses
• Promotion of innovation and technology
transfer
Our Mission: Innovation.
Innovation through strategies.
Business Upper Austria contributes its
know-how to develop regional strategies for
business location and boosting excellence in
innovation for Upper Austrian companies. We
coordinate national and international networking of Upper Austria, forging alliances in the
fields of research, technology and innovation.
Innovation through research promotion.
Whether you avail yourself of the innovation
2015
and research promotion for your
as well as employee and specialists
R&D projects or wish to revitalise
searches and qualification. Addiyour organisation through new
tionally, we facilitate access to varitechnology and research cooperaous industry networks via our own
tions - Business Upper Austria will
clusters and networks. Top quality
assist you comprehensively as an
company locations and infrastruchttp://bit.ly/1CiuXTu
expert for research promotion proture are developed, secured and
grammes, technology transfer and innovamarketed in teamwork with local authorities
tion management. As a partner in national
and private partners. In this manner, we are
and international technology networks, Busiable to offer you a full-coverage network of
ness Upper Austria will help you connect
approved properties.
with national and international knowledge
and technology partners.
Innovation through cooperation.
Clusterland is Business Upper Austria‘s
centre of competence for cross-company
cooperation in Upper Austria - and much
more. At present, more than 2,000 partners
are successfully collaborating with each
other. They are profiting from our professional, personalised support for knowledge
and project management as well as from
cooperative solutions tailor-made for their
specific needs.
Innovation creates investments.
Anyone wishing to invest in Upper Austria
will be comprehensively supported by Business Upper Austria. We provide: consulting
during location searches, contacts with the
authorities, financing and grant possibilities,
PROMOTION
Business Upper Austria
A-4020 Linz, Hafenstr. 47–51
Phone: +43 732 79810
Fax: +43 732 79810-5008
E-mail: [email protected]
www.biz-up.at
85
The hub for start-ups
on the Danube
VIERTEL ZWEI Plus: Building site
1 - office, student living, studios Architects Chaix & Morel
86
2015
Marxbox - Neu Marx
Vienna believes in the potential of the dynamic start-up scene. An offensive
launched in 2014 is designed to support growth-oriented innovators.
• TEXT: Patrick Baldia
E
ven if Vienna’s start-up scene remains
modest in comparison with some other
global cities, it is steadily developing into
an important economic driver for the
federal capital. Of the 8,403 companies
which, according to the “Start-up Location Vienna” study commissioned by the
Vienna Business Agency and the Vienna
Economic Chamber, were founded in 2013,
no fewer than 638 companies – or 7.6 per
cent of all newly established firms – were
classified as start-ups. In comparison, the
figure for 2010 was 5.2 per cent. It is not
without reason that Gerhard Hirczi, Managing Director of the Vienna Business
Agency, speaks of a “pioneering mood”.
“We want to strengthen and use this
favourable starting position as a way of
establishing Vienna as an international
hub for start-ups and, thereby, of attracting more investors”, says Hirczi. To
this end, innovators are to be supported
by a succession of measures and funding programmes. For example, as part of
the Start-up Offensive 2014, the business
development bank Wirtschaftsservice
GmbH (AWS) is making available 100
million euros. “In addition to a promising
idea there is something else that startups tend to share: limited access to bank
credit”, explains AWS Managing Director
Bernhard Sagmeister. This should be redressed by, among other things, the free
contact platform equityfinder.at, which
enables start-ups to network with venture capitalists and business angels as
a means of gaining access to alternative
forms of finance.
2015
70 PER CENT OF START-UPS IN VIENNA
As indicated by “Start-up Location Vienna”, Vienna – where 70 per cent of such
companies are active - is Austria’s most
important location for start-ups. These
newly-established, innovative and growthoriented companies are mostly found in
the IT and media, life sciences, technology and creative industries sectors. What
these sectors have in common is that they
develop much more dynamically than traditional sectors and spur innovations from
which the entire business location benefits.
It is also important to recognise that they
are job motors: according to the study a
third of all Austrian start-ups already
have employees when they are established
and two years later the employment share
has risen by 40 per cent.
The Pioneers Festival, which has been
held in Vienna for the past few years, is
one of the largest start-up events. Most recently, in October 2014, Vienna’s Hofburg
played host to 2,500 participants from
across the globe. For company founders
the event is an important platform for
presenting ideas and business models to
investors and raising desperately needed
funds. For René Siegl, Managing Director
of the Austrian business relocation agency ABA-Invest in Austria, the Pioneers
Festival – like the country’s dynamic
start-up scene – provides proof of the vibrancy and attractiveness of the location.
“We are also trying to attract more international start-ups”, he says. These efforts
have clearly reaped rewards: in 2014, for
example, the New York start-up “nextSociety”, which has developed a business
networking app, chose to locate a global
development centre in the federal capital.
Similarly, Lock8, developer of a smart bicycle lock, was also supported by ABAInvest as it set up its operations in Vienna.
© Viertel Zwei, Office Le Nomade,
“We want to establish Vienna
as an international hub for
start-ups”
Gerhard Hirczi
Managing Director, Vienna Business Agency
87
INTERVIEW
Urban
development at the
highest
level
Vienna is growing more
strongly than most major
European cities. Andreas
Trisko, Head of MA 18 –
Urban Development and
Urban Planning, explains
how the city is addressing this challenge.
• INTERVIEW: Walter Senk
What are the current planning focuses of
the City of Vienna?
We are continuing to focus on larger areas
such as the district around the new Main
Station, aspern Vienna’s Urban Lakeside
and the sites of the North and Northwest
Stations. At the same time, however, we
are also looking at the development of
smaller areas and at how to use the potential for densification.
What does this dynamic growth mean
for the city and for urban development?
Current figures show much higher levels of growth for Vienna and the Vienna
Region than were being predicted just a
few years ago. In terms of urban development, this means that we must create
the appropriate quality of housing, public space, mobility and social infrastructure for a considerably larger number of
88
“Cities represent change and, as we have already
shown, we know how to plan.”
people, without losing sight of our objective of establishing Vienna as a smart,
resource-saving, sustainable and social
city. Through such concepts as the STEP
2025 Urban Development Plan we have
set out the strategic framework according to which we can guarantee the quality of this growth over the long-term. This
objective is more concretely defined in a
series of concepts for individual specialist areas such as mobility and green and
open spaces.
The Smart City Vienna strategic framework – what are the key aspects of urban
development policy in reaching these objectives?
To put it simply: a Smart City is not about
a reduction in comfort but about intelligent solutions which save resources and
establish new qualities. In STEP 2025 we
contribute to meeting the objectives of
Smart City Vienna in every area. Reduced
travel distances, more compact urban
districts and measures to strengthen environmentally-friendly mobility: all these
help to make Vienna “smarter”. Or, more
tangibly: new areas for recreation such as
the Norbert Scheed Woods, where planting has already started, as well as innovative lighting concepts, the pedestrian and
pedestrian-favoured zones on Mariahilfer
Straße or multimodal transport planning
tools such as AnachB are all contributions to Smart City Vienna. Key aspects
of these for Vienna are the social approach and the reinforcement of participative elements at both the urban and the
international level.
What will be the major challenges to
Vienna’s urban planners in the years to
come?
Cities represent change and, as we have
already shown, we know how to plan. The
key thing for the future will be to make
full use of the opportunities represented by these coming changes – not only
growth but also social and environmental
change – and to properly communicate
them. This can be achieved by information and by participative processes in
which we involve and engage all players
– from citizens to project developers.
© MA 18, David Bohmann
2015
INTERVIEW
Mobility,
accommodation,
freedom
Vienna’s city authorities
are facing major challenges in the next few
years if they are to safeguard the three key factors which guarantee the
quality of life of a city.
• INTERVIEW: Walter Senk
What will be needed by the European
city of the future if it is to remain a city
worth living in?
Three factors are central to the future
quality of life of the European city. The
first concerns mobility. It must be possible for every man and woman to move
around comfortably and, above all, affordably. The second factor is affordable accommodation. I believe that the
wealth of a city – not just of the individual citizen but also of the local economy – is highly dependent upon rental
levels. If rents are reasonable then more
money is left at the end of the month
for spending on goods and services
and this will flow directly into the city’s
economy. And, for me, a third, crucial
issue is freedom: in order to be worth
living in a European city must organise
and offer a wide range of services – in
such areas as kindergartens, schools
and care for the elderly - to those sections of the population which cannot do so for themselves. At the same
time, however, we must also ensure that
those who can organise themselves are
free to do so. We must provide services
in such a way that diversification is automatic.
2015
“The urban districts which were built in the 1960s and
70s are often characterised by urban villas separated
by areas of greenery which are, in reality, unused
strips of grass.”
The speedy creation of affordable accommodation and the safeguarding of a high
quality of life in such a rapidly growing
city: How can these aims be combined?
Vienna has a tradition of high densities,
particularly in the subsidised housing sector. One doesn’t find the same suspicion of
high densities that exists in rural areas. On
the other hand, however, we need very clear
quality standards designed to ensure that
densely-built urban areas also have generous and accessible open spaces and that
such elements as balconies can be created.
Allow me to offer two examples. One objective is to ensure that an object contains
a mix of uses and that local services and
shopping facilities are available at ground
floor level. This is the case at the North Station where there is also active ground floor
management. What is the point of creating
small ground floor shops if no one is interested in moving in? In Vienna, this is the
way of ensuring both the success of new urban districts and better levels of utilisation.
You also want to improve the quality of life
of existing urban districts and to refurbish,
for example, those which were built in the
1960s and 70s.
The urban districts which were built in the
1960s and 70s are often characterised by
urban villas separated by areas of greenery
which are, in reality, unused strips of grass.
The term refurbishment is somewhat inadequate in such districts which, in truth, require
transformation. If we can densify such areas
and develop new concepts for improving the
public realm while combining new buildings
with refurbishment measures and aesthetic
improvements we will be able to decisively
transform the appearance of these districts
within the next two decades.
© Christian Anderl
89
petition. We are looking for
potential users of the historically protected buildings.
Developing
the future
The development
of urban districts,
project development,
construction project
management and real
estate management:
WSE Wiener
Standortentwicklung
GmbH enjoys a diverse
range of roles. An
interview with the
Managing Directors,
Josef Herwei and
Stephan Barasits.
• INTERVIEW: Walter Senk
90
What are the major challenges to the future development of urban districts?
Herwei: In developing these
areas we always keep an eye
on the Business Location
Vienna. Potential uses also
The Managing Directors of WSE Wiener Standortentwicklung
emerge from the economic
GmbH: Josef Herwei and Stephan Barasits.
and political strategies of
the city. Our role is to identify the optimum solution
on behalf of the population
while remaining commerWSE is currently working on a number of cially-minded at all times. One must be
projects on behalf of the City of Vienna. especially cautious when developing large
sites because the outcome will always
What are the focuses of your activities?
Stephan Barasits: We are currently busy have a major impact on both the surwith a range of projects across Vienna. rounding area and the entire city.
Amongst other things we are developing
the locations of Neu Leopoldau, the Otto The WSE’s know-how in real estate deWagner site and Neu Marx. We are work- velopment is also used by other public
ing for the City of Vienna on the expansion companies and institutions. Which proof a number of schools as well as many jects are in the pipeline or under conone-off projects such as Rathausstraße 1 struction for such clients?
and projects for the Vienna Hospital As- Herwei: We are working for the KAV on
concepts for reusing sites which are besociation (KAV).
coming vacant as a result of the Vienna
WSE is also developing some very excit- City Government’s reform of the hospital
and care sector. Tasks range from spatial
ing and historical industrial sites.
Josef Herwei: That’s right. In the past few planning and coordination with the hisyears more than 100 companies and in- toric buildings authorities and neighbours
stitutions have moved into Neu Marx, the to the sale of the properties.
City of Vienna’s former abattoir. Around
6,800 people are already living and work- Barasits: We are currently developing a
ing in this new urban district. However, concept for the future use of the historically
this development is not yet complete and protected areas and buildings of the Otto
the area still has a lot of potential which Wagner site. We are also implementing a
school expansion programme and other inwe want to exploit.
frastructure projects for the city authorities
Barasits: Neu Leopoldau, a former gas- together with the WIP Wiener Infrastruktur
works, covers an area of over 13 hectares Projekt GmbH. In 2015 we will carry out the
which contains 17 historically protected architectural competition for the remodelbuildings. A cooperative planning process ling of the Wien Museum.
has laid the foundations for its reuse. In
2015 we will carry out a developer com© Eva Kelety
2015
INTERVIEW
A special sort of urban district
One of Vienna’s most exciting current urban developments is the expansion of
VIERTEL ZWEI into a “feel-good living space”. • INTERVIEW: Walter Senk
In line with the notion of an urban district
there will be various residential typologies.
Whether student, young professional, single, family type or senior –VIERTEL ZWEI
Plus contains the suitable apartment for
everyone. We have generous terrace apartments in seven buildings overlooking the
open green spaces of the Prater, small studios with clever interior design and, finally,
350 MILESTONE student apartments,
immediately adjacent to the new campus
of the Vienna University of Business and
Economics.
What makes VIERTEL ZWEI so special
for you?
Principally, the combination of all our ideas, know-how and experience, especially
in the field of sustainability. On top of this
are the variety and ideal mix of living and
working spaces and the special design
of the main square as a dynamic center
point brings together quality of work and
quality of life, the highly-prized absence
of cars and the large areas of greenery
and water in such an urban setting. VIERTEL ZWEI thinks ahead and sets the
focus on people.
© IC Projektentwicklung
“10 sustainability principles” were developed for the current VIERTEL ZWEI Plus
project.
We gave ourselves the target of creating
new milestones in the areas of energy efficiency and sustainable building because
we are convinced that the construction
and real estate industries have a particularly strong influence on the sustainable
behaviour of society. Naturally, this is
first reflected in how we design individual
buildings but it also involves completely
separate ideas: We have large amounts
of green space because less than 50 per
cent of the available land is actually built
upon, distances in the district are short,
transport connections are excellent and,
beyond this, VIERTEL ZWEI is a car-free
zone.
Walter Hammertinger
CEO of IC Projektentwicklung GmbH and
responsible for the
new VIERTEL ZWEI Plus
urban district
Business Location Vienna.
The ideal location provides the best foundation. The Vienna Business Agency
therefore supports relocating and expanding companies.
Apply now for your funding at viennabusinessagency.at
Vienna supports economy.
2015
91
Smart
City
Pioneer
A large number of
Smart City projects
are currently being
implemented right
across Austria. Vienna is
particularly ambitious and
is seeking to play the role
of a global pioneer.
• TEXT: Patrick Baldia
92
A
ustria’s cities are growing and growing. By 2029, two million people will
be living in the capital Vienna. Over the
same period, the population of Styria’s
provincial capital Graz is set to grow by
40,000 to around 300,000. The picture
is the same in Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck – all over the country increasing
numbers of people are being attracted to
urban areas. This increasing urbanization
is accompanied by the challenge of how
to protect the quality of the environment.
The good news is that appropriate solutions have been under development in
Austria’s major cities for quite some time.
Smart City concepts, based on networked
green technologies, should guarantee sustainable urban development and a high
quality of life.
It goes without saying that cities – not
only in Austria, by the way – must change
in response to this population growth:
they are responsible for no less than 80
per cent of all CO2 emissions as well as
around three-quarters of energy consumption. This is why Smart City solutions so often revolve around the major
issues of energy and mobility. Put more
simply, one can speak of the ultimate networking between systems. Among others, digitalised systems such as energy
and water supply and the transport network are connected together to produce
a stream of data which can then be captured and analysed. Intelligent energy
networks make use of a range of energy
sources – including an increasing proportion of renewable ones – which are fed
in and supplied in line with demand. Of
course, many concrete applications are
still a long way off and this is why a considerable amount of research work is still
required.
INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
Austria’s achievements in the field of
Smart Cities do not go unnoticed – and
many observers speak of the country’s
2015
‘pioneering role’. In 2012, for example, Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute calculated
that every tenth Smart City Project in Europe was being implemented in Austria.
In 2011, the Austrian Institute of Technology was commissioned to draw up a
development plan for the Chinese city of
Nanchang. The resulting “Low Carbon
City Action Plan” for the capital of Jiangxi Province included energy technology measures aimed at increasing energy
efficiency, not least by incorporating renewable energy sources into the existing
energy network. At all events, CO2 emissions in the city should be substantially
reduced by 2020.
Particularly ambitious targets are being set in Vienna. The “Smart City Vienna” initiative was launched back in 2011.
The aim of the city authorities is that the
project, which brings together all relevant
areas of expertise and interest groups, will
exploit and expands the city’s strengths
and enable it to assume a leading role in
Europe in the areas of research and technological development. The first step was
the development of the “Smart Energy
Vision 2050” – a long-term plan for the
energy future of the city. After all, Vienna
still wants to be the city with the highest
quality of life worldwide in 2050. For example, the aim is that, by this date, private
cars should be a rarity. The reality should
be much more a mix of public and private
transport. At the same time, the buildings
of the city, taken together, should not use
more energy than they produce and the
overall share of renewable energy in the
energy mix should be over 50 per cent.
Supply security should be guaranteed by
intelligent energy networks which are in
permanent communication with the networks of other regions.
airfield in Vienna’s 22nd District. People
talk, not without reason, of Aspern being
a “real-time laboratory” because it is here
that Aspern Smart City Research GmbH
& Co KG, a research company supported
by, amongst others, Siemens and the energy supplier Wien Energie, is developing
smart solutions in the fields of energy, the
environment, building technology and
intelligent networks. The focuses of this
work are the user-behaviour of the residents and the network integration of various forms of generation and storage.
In the future, the lessons learned by the
research company should benefit not only
the residents of aspern Vienna’s Urban
Lakeside but also other cities. Research
activity is currently focussed on three different building complexes – more specifically: “aspern IQ” Technology Centre, a local educational campus and a residential
building with mixed office and residential
use. If the research work is successful it
will be possible, amongst other things, to
calculate the energy requirements of a
building several days in advance and to
react accordingly. This is made possible
by sensors which measure the heat stored
by the building in question. This infor-
mation is then compared with weather
forecasts from Vienna’s central weather
station.
Salzburg, Graz and Villach, amongst
other cities, are also charting a course in
the Smart City direction. For example, the
town of Hartberg in Eastern Styria is seeking to use intelligent green technology in
order to become a “Zero Emission City”
in the context of the “Città Slow Hartberg
meets Smart City” project. The ambitious
plan is being supported by the Climate
and Energy Fund. The “SmartCityRheintal” project, on the other hand, hopes to
create four emission-free cities or urban
districts in Bregenz, Hard and Feldkirch,
which will be connected by a smart grid
and a mobility-on-demand system. With a
population of around 240,000 the Rheintal
in Vorarlberg is one of the fastest growing
economic regions in Central Europe. It is
home to no fewer than 65 per cent of the
people of Vorarlberg, a fact that – at least
at present – is reflected in its level of energy consumption. By 2050, however, the region should be CO2 free and autonomous
in terms of energy.
© Peter Burgstaller, christian fuerthner/MA 18
THE ASPERN
“REAL-TIME LABORATORY”
Intense research into aspects of the Smart
City has been carried out since 2013 in
aspern Vienna’s Urban Lakeside, one of
the largest current urban development
projects in Europe. By 2028, no fewer
than 20,000 people should be living and
another 20,000 working on the former
2015
93
The Path
to the
Future
Wien Holding’s strategy
is to develop Business
Location Vienna in a way
that is both forward-looking and sustainable.
• TEXT: Walter Senk
Interview with Sigrid Oblak,
Managing Director, Wien Holding
What do you see as the major current
challenges to Business Location Vienna?
The City of Vienna remains one of Europe’s most attractive business locations
despite the global economic crisis, and it
is a city in which people are able to feel at
ease thanks to the extremely high standard of virtually everything: of infrastructure, educational opportunities and security and the city with the world’s best quality
of life. The target for the next few years is
to retain, and further strengthen this position. With its 75 companies in the fields of
cultural management, real estate, logistics,
environmental management and media,
Wien Holding is making a major and valuable contribution to achieving this target.
What will be the important steps for the
next few years?
Operating in a forward-looking and sustainable way while maintaining maximum
economic stability and keeping enough
room for investment – that is and will remain the strategy of Wien Holding. We
will also resolutely maintain our high level
of investment. Our group is set to invest
around 156 million euros in 2015 alone.
Wien Holding is developing a number
of properties in Vienna. What were last
year’s milestones?
2014 was a successful year for us. We
have opened two halls of residence, the
base22 and the Donaubase, and thus
created new living space for students. In
addition, as part of the school expansion
program from WIP Wiener Infrastruktur
94
“Operating in a forward-looking and sustainable way
while maintaining maximum economic stability and
maintaining enough room for investment – that is and
will remain the strategy of Wien Holding.”
Projekt GmbH five new school extensions
were built using a modern wood construction. A total of 27 new class rooms and 13
further rooms for exercise, workshops and
other uses were created. This year, a total
of eight extensions and one newly constructed building will be realised. In total,
58 new primary school class rooms and
numerous exercise and adjoining rooms
will therefore be created by autumn 2015.
What is your company planning for the
next few years?
We currently have around 15 real estate
projects on site or on the drawing board,
such as the project at Rathausstraße 1.
Here, in one of the city’s best locations,
we are building a new, modern office and
commercial building on the site of the
City of Vienna’s former data centre. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2016.
Another of our largest projects is on the
site of the former Leopoldau Gas Works.
Apartments, commercial space and large
amounts of green space are to be created
on an area of around 13.5 hectares surrounding the historically protected buildings. A two-phase development process in
cooperation with Wohnfonds Wien is due
to begin shortly. The start of construction
is also scheduled for 2016.
What will be the key components for a
prosperous business location?
The key will be to further develop the
high quality, which the City of Vienna already offers in virtually every field, as this
is precisely the advantage from which we
will continue to benefit in the future in
the competition between cities. The challenge for us at Wien Holding at a time of
relatively weak global economic growth
and tight budgetary constraints will be to
maintain our high level of investment.
© Eva Kelety
2015
© www.wulz.cc
Wien Holding
Approximately 75 companies in five business sectors under the umbrella of Wien Holding.
The group is owned by the City of Vienna
and organised as a commercial company
whose aim is to make profit while taking the
interests of society into account. It is a byword
for forward-looking projects which safeguard
the business location, stimulate growth, create
jobs and, in the process, improve the quality
of life of the population. A successful mix of
profitable commercial enterprises and those
with more social roles, coupled with the
strategy of entering partnerships with private
investors, are the foundations of this success.
The companies belonging to Wien Holding
employ around 2,900 people and generate
an annual turnover of around 500
million euros.
projects are currently either on the drawing
board or under construction, including a new
urban retail and office building at Rathausstraße
1 and the development of both the area around
the former Leopoldau Gas Works and of the
Neu Marx site. In addition to residential and
commercial real estate, the company also
focusses on thematic real estate projects such
as the biotechnology park in Muthgasse.
Logistics & Mobility
The focus of this sector is the Hafen Wien
Group. As regards passenger shipping, Wien
Holding has shares in Central Danube, the
Twin City Liners operator, and the
DDSG Blue Danube. In addition to
this, the group runs “tina vienna”, a
competence centre in the fields of
urban technologies and strategies.
Cultural Management
The Vereinigte Bühnen Wien and the
Wiener Stadthalle are the flagships
http://bit.ly/1eV3fT2
in this sector. Wien Holding also runs
Environmental Management
four museums. Wien-Ticket, one of
Vienna has an excellent reputation as
Austria’s largest ticketing service companies,
a model city concerning environmental matters.
also belongs to the group.
One of Wien Holding’s contributions to this is
the “ebswien” main sewage treatment plant,
Real Estate
where all of Vienna’s waste water is treated with
In the real estate sector, 15 large Wien Holding
the help of the very latest technology.
2015
PROMOTION
Media & Service
Among other things, WH Medien GmbH provides the basic programme package offered
by UPC Telekabel, is at the heart of the media
sector. WH Medien also operates the Vienna
City TV station W24, which is viewable on
the Vienna cable network and is increasingly
expanding towards a full programme package.
Wien Holding GmbH
1010 Vienna, Universitätsstr. 11
Phone: +43 1 408 25 69-0
Email: [email protected]
www.wienholding.at
www.facebook.com/WienHolding
twitter.com/WienHolding
95
INTERVIEW
Vienna
is unique
Vienna stands for tradition and centuries of culture – but Vienna is also
about innovation and the
dynamic present. Coupled
with stable economic conditions – a business location that is simply unique!
An interview with Gerhard
Hirczi, Managing Director
of the Vienna Business
Agency.
• INTERVIEW: Walter Senk
What distinguishes Vienna as an attractive business location?
Vienna is the city of short journeys: the
City Airport Train brings travellers directly from the city centre to the airport
in just 16 minutes and public transport is
reliable in all weathers with intervals between services of just 90 seconds at peak
times. Vienna is safe, offers high social
standards and is economically dynamic. In
recent years this has attracted more and
more businesses and a constantly increasing number of international companies
choose Vienna. As the home of more than
200 international headquarters, Vienna is
the most important hub between East and
West, right in the heart of Europe.
“The Vienna Business Agency offices targeted and
efficient support to companies as they relocate
and grow”
Where do you see the city’s potential?
Vienna is one of the most innovative and
smartest cities in the world, offers a highlyqualified workforce, a high research ratio
and is global number one in terms of quality of life. We focus on life sciences, ICT and
urban technologies as well as the creative
industries and we offer targeted support to
start-ups. International companies attest
to the fact that we are particularly quick
when it comes to the implementation of
projects. Last year we helped a key player
in the ICT sector to relocate in record time:
Only a few months after choosing Vienna,
construction works were able to start.
Amongst the new arrivals we are seeing a
clear trend towards technology companies
and service providers. This shows us that
we are on the right track.
What support can companies expect during their relocation to Vienna?
The team of the Vienna Business Agency
advises international companies individually, comprehensively and of course free of
charge in more than ten languages and supports international managers and specialists in all questions of daily life. We support
companies who realise projects in Vienna
with targeted financial contributions of up
to 500,000 euros. There are plenty of commercial properties available in the city – the
best example being aspern Vienna’s Urban
Lakeside. Europe’s largest urban development area is home to global companies such
as HOERBIGER as well as research facilities,
university spin-offs, and start-ups. Networking and the exchange of know-how is the top
priority of this innovation hotspot.
© Peter Rigaud, Schreinerkastler
96
2015
INTERVIEW
„Downsizing
of living
space must
come“
For Jörg Wippel, managing Director of wvg Bauträger Ges.m.b.H., the
Austrian housing development model could serve
as a „Best Practise
Model“, nevertheless,
there are still challenges.
• INTERVIEW: Walter Senk
How does Austria compare internationally with regard to housing development
and do you really see it as a role model for
others?
Compared on an international level, Austrian quantitative and qualitative housing
is outstanding the proportion of living
costs to disposable income in Austria is
considerably lower than most other nations. The reason for this is a political
housing law which has shielded house
prices from market-driven pricing for
some time, as well as a strong and efficient subsidy system, in other words the
housing subsidies from tax funds or construction and renovation. Austria’ very
special housing culture tradition can
certainly serve as an international “Best
Practice Model”, in particular, the nearly
100 year old success story of Vienna social housing. However, Austria is poised to
gamble on its function as a role model.
Where do you currently see the biggest
challenges for domestic housing and
which political measures are necessary
to deal with them?
There is a lack of research, innovation
and, above all, political creativity ranging
from an overdue holistic reform of housing law and a lack of sanctions for breach
of regional housing objectives to a nec-
2015
Jörg Wippel, Managing Partner of wvg Bauträger
Ges.m.b.H. and editor of the anthology “Wohnbaukultur in Österreich. Geschichte und Perspektiven”, Studienverlag 2014
essary reform of housing subsidies. The
biggest challenge is surely the maintenance and further development of social
“intermixing” in all the city districts and
regions of the country.
According to predictions, two million
people will be living in Vienna by 2029,
how will the city develop between now
and then and which urban development
measures are necessary?
Necessary: as much social housing as
promised and as many qualitative development areas as there have been to date
(i.e. Seestadt Aspern, Nordbahnhof, Sonnwendviertel).
Essential: by “social housing” I understand
that living costs shall remain affordable,
also for those with the lowest income.
This is only possible when future housing
subsidies are only understood as instruments of economic policy.
Which type of residential properties are
going to be in demand in the future?
We don’t know that. It’s all about an “educational program”: For ecological reasons,
there has to be a downsizing of living
space. Land is a finite commodity and
it is high-time that we deal with it more
diligently. In contrast, public spaces need
to be more invitingly configured. In the
“Post-Auto-Era” which has just begun,
people are going to want to spend more
time outside again, and one’s residence
will become more of a retreat.
Please describe your personal project
strategy in a few sentences and give us
an example or two.
In our houses, we focus on an architecture
that promotes togetherness and meeting
spaces i.e. via communal staircases which
connect apartment units with each other
and by avoiding over-fragmented forms
of access. We attempt to configure common areas in an attractive way (Garden
facilities, playground units for children,
community areas). An essential detail:
We do not install any fences, even for private gardens. Thereby, we want to show
that living is not all about boundaries and
compartmentalisation, but rather togetherness. We are currently building freehold
residential complexes with “joint ownership” in mind, whereby the owners thereof
share the responsibility together for their
investment.
97
Something for
everyone
There are a lot
of arguments for
investment in Austrian
real estate: Stability,
legal security and
above all the selection
of quality residential
projects.
• TEXT: Walter Senk
98
W
hen considering an investment in
residential real estate, the capital
city of Vienna is the first location that
interested buyers take into consideration.
Nearly a third of all apartments which
changed hands in Austria were in the federal capital, added to this are numerous
houses and villas. In recent years, high
demand has led to a price increase in the
residential segment in recent years, which
was very unusual for Vienna. However, the
“residential real estate radar” from Wiener
Private Bank refutes the theory that Vienna housing market may be experiencing a
price bubble. The price increases of recent
years have not been driven by lending and
speculation; instead they have been justified by rather more fundamental factors.
Meanwhile, prices have stabilized at a high
level and offer good investment opportunities for investors. This also has to do with
the fact that a population of 2 million by
2030 is predicted for Vienna, which is a
quarter of a million more than today. Living space is therefore required.
THE PRICES IN VIENNA
Within the Vienna ring road prices range
from a maximum of €5,000/m2 up to
7,000/m2 for a newly renovated loft conversion in the Josephstadt district. In the
meantime, the 2nd district has also broken through the €4k threshold and, according to www.immowelt.at, the average
price currently stands at around €4,108.
The greatest increases can be seen in the
21st and 22nd districts, which on the one
hand, can be attributed to the numerous
new buildings along the subway lines but
also to the very expensive properties in
the much sought-after Alten Donau area.
In cooperation with ARE Development,
Raiffeisen Evolution is currently constructing 138 freehold apartments for individual residential needs in the popular
neighbourhood.
2015
The magnificent building at
Hamerling Park continues to
radiate the impressive elegance of
the turn of the century even today.
“The Shore”, from Park Immobillien, offers one of the few
possibilities to live directly on the
water’s edge in Vienna.
THE CITY AND THE GREEN DISTRICTS
In principle, the City and some “green areas” form the high-priced segment. Despite the already extremely high square
metre prices, prices in the first district
have increased by further 17 percent and
currently average €13,049m2 though can
also run up to €30,000 in some cases. According to an international comparison of
Engel & Völkers this puts Vienna at 18th
place as far as prices for residential property is concerned. Nevertheless, in view
of the safety and quality of life, which the
city offers, many experts perceive these
prices as comparatively low.
That prices have increased again despite their already high price can be attributed to the numerous loft conversions.
As the often tend to luxury properties,
the prices tend to jump particularly high.
Despite this there is no shortage of interested buyers with a big budget. With
prices of €8,200/m2 detached properties
2015
and villas, Döbling is the most expensive
district in Vienna. Much like Hietzing, Döbling is particularly sought-after by buyers of highly-priced properties due to its
green surroundings.
LIVING IN THE HIGH-END SECTOR
There are also new projects for the international elite: The “Schillerplatz” project
from SEESTE AG offers a perfect place
for sophisticated living in the heart of the
City. A total of 17 of these properties on
two floors fulfil even the highest standards
and requirements due to their elegant configuration. The “Tuchlauben” project from
SIGNA is also one of the most attractive
offers in Vienna. These luxury apartments
have a floor space of 150 to 500m2. On
the attic floor of “Das Hamerling”, 23 Highend penthouses are available for purchase
with a view over the roof-tops of Vienna.
In 2013, the construction of a two-story
penthouse began set on top of the magnifi-
cent building at the Hamerling Park in the
Vienna Josephstadt. Equally central is the
“LIVING KOLIN” residential project from
6B47 Real Estate Investors, which will result in 4,000m2 of luxurious residential
unicum directly adjacent to the 1st district.
The “Beatrix Spa” project in the 3rd district, also from 6B47 Real Estate Investors,
is due to be ready for occupancy in the
summer of 2015.
An exceptional project directly on the
riverside is currently under development
Park Immobilien: The Shore offers luxury apartments in Kuchelau in the 19th
district. Apartments ranging from 70 to
330m2 will be availabel in the spring of
2016. Furthermore, a total of around 70
high-quality, privately financed freehold
apartments are due to be built by ÖSW
in the autumn of 2016 also close to the
Kuchelauer Harbour in the 19th district.
© Park Immobilien, APA-Fotoservice/Schedl
99
ARE Development’s “Das Hamerling”
project in the heart of the Josefstadt
district is a further example of
premium residential culture.
Living like High Society
Top locations, exclusive finishes, optimal infrastructure: Austria’s luxury real
estate leaves nothing to be desired. International demand is driving a booming market – especially in Vienna.
• TEXT: Vanessa Haidvogl
I
t is sought after as never before: luxury
real estate in Austria. Whether as an
investment or as a new home. This is also
confirmed by Daniela Steurer, Marketing Manager of SIGNA Development Immobilien Entwicklungs GmbH: “The high
demand knows no end. But on the supply
side, Vienna still has room for growth”.
Signa Development is already a successful name in the luxury segment. In
the heart of Vienna’s historic centre,
which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site,
it created the “Goldenes Quartier”. Stylish,
exclusive and cosmopolitan, it combines
contemporary architecture with a historically protected setting. With their generous terraces, high-quality finishes and
spectacular panoramic views the luxury
apartments are just a few steps from the
famous Kohlmarkt, Graben and Kärntner
Straße shopping boulevards.
100
In 2014 the “Goldenes Quartier” even
received the Vienna Economic Chamber’s
highly sought-after Tourism Prize in recognition of its special contribution to Vienna’s tourist economy.
Parkside apartments with a view of
the Belvedere Signa Development’s next
project is already in the starting blocks:
the development of around 340 parkside apartments and a 300-room hotel
in a prime location at Vienna’s Central
Station. Directly overlooking the worldfamous Schloss Belvedere, the project is
scheduled for completion in autumn 2017.
All of which begs the question: Who is
purchasing these luxury objects? According to the latest “European Cities Review”
from the British financial advisors Knight
Frank the highest demand for Vienna’s
top locations is from super-rich clients
from Russia and other CIS countries, fol-
lowed by Germany and Saudi Arabia. Vienna is, alongside Barcelona, one of the
smaller metropolises where Knight Frank
expects the highest growth amongst super-rich clients in the next few years.
CHRISTIE’S AS PARTNER
One specialist for potential international
purchasers is Avantgarde Properties. The
Vienna real estate agency recently became a partner of Christie’s International
Real Estate, a subsidiary of the auction
house. The idea behind the arrangement:
those who buy significant art also buy
significant properties. The aim is to shed
an international spotlight on luxury real
estate in Austria’s capital city.
One of Avantgarde Properties’ target
groups is Chinese luxury purchasers. To
date, only a few Chinese individuals have
been active on Vienna’s luxury market
2015
but the aim is that this should change: In
December 2014 the family company was
- for the second time - the only Austrian
representative at the Luxury Property
Showcase real estate fair in Shanghai.
The event’s motto: exclusive luxury real
estate meets China’s well-funded elite.
INTERNATIONAL DEMAND
The opinion that “luxury real estate is
a very interesting segment” is also confirmed by Peter Marschall of Marschall
Immobilien GmbH. “This is especially true
in Vienna because this market has also
strongly developed in recent years due to
international demand.”
A highly impressive ensemble in an elegant, historically protected building close
to the Naschmarkt and Museumsquartier
is currently awaiting a purchaser. This
stately apartment of almost 400 square
meters covers two levels and contains,
amongst other things, eleven elegant
rooms and four bathrooms.
LUXURY ROOFTOP APARTMENTS
ARE Development’s “Das Hamerling” project in the heart of the Josefstadt district
is a further example of premium residential culture. The luxury roof level is notable for its breathtaking view across Vien-
na’s rooftops to the hills overlooking the
city. With a floor-to-ceiling height which,
at 2.70 metres, is unusually generous for
rooftop apartments, the two upper levels
are the crowning jewel of the imposing
property. Loft-like floor plans, generous
private roof terraces, underfloor heating
and full-height windows combine to make
living in Hamerling an incomparable experience.
NO PRICE CEILING FOR LUXURY
APARTMENTS
Luxury also has its price. In keeping with
this healthy demand the price of luxury
real estate in Vienna should continue to
rise. In the first quarter of 2014 Knight
Frank reported a plus of around five per
cent which was only exceeded by London
and Dublin.
The German real estate agents Engel
& Völkers see developments similarly. Its
current ranking of the most exclusive locations reveals that up to 30,000 euros
per square metre are currently being demanded and paid. The list of the most exclusive homes is headed by the “Goldenes
Quartier”. This is followed by another location in the federal capital, “The Ring” on
Kärntner Ring (up to 26,000 euros), and
lakeside locations such as the Mondsee in
the Salzkammergut in Upper Austria (up
to 25,000 euros).
A PEACEFUL OASIS IN A GREEN SETTING
Hermann Klein, Managing Director of
IG Immobilien Management GmbH, sees
things somewhat differently: “Our view is
that demand for so-called luxury real estate
in Austria will not rise in the next few years
and will even probably slightly decline. At
the same time we also expect the overall
real estate price curve to flatten off.” His
clientele is also somewhat different. “The
majority of our top objects are acquired by
Austrian purchasers.” His objects are, on
the other hand, no less luxurious.
Comfortable residences with a breathtaking panoramic view are scheduled to
be completed by mid-2016 in Mödling’s
Brühler Straße, close to the Vienna
Woods. The “Gartenpark” residential project on the small Anninger hill is notable
for its modern design, exclusive finishes
and concierge service. Those seeking a
refuge from day-to-day stress will be able
to relax in the development’s own wellness oasis with its generous outdoor pool,
Finnish block sauna and infrared cabin
with quiet room.
© Das Hammerling, Marschall Immobilien
Luxury close to the City Centre:
Marschall Immobilien offers stately
apartments in a historically protected
building.
2015
101
“The View2Living over Salzburg” is
the only site in the Salzburg central
area dedicated specifically for
secondary residences.
Investments in prime locations
Alongside the Vienna capital, properties in the areas around the lakes and
in the winter resorts are also in great demand.
• TEXT: Walter Senk
A
study by Willhaben.at shows that
the projects are a wise investment:
whether Lech, Zürs, Kitzbuhel or Saalbach-Hinterglemm, the buyers were predominantly Austrian in contrast to some
media reports. At least two-thirds of buyers are from Austria, whereby, in the sophisticated “snowdorado” resorts of Lech
and Zürs Austrians enjoy a clear majority
with almost 90 percent. In second place
are German buyers, but since the real estate in Austria enjoys an excellent reputation abroad, interested parties came from
all over the world.
IN ADDITION TO THE SKI RESORTS …
Kitzbühel is still considered the No. 1 hotspot. In the district of Kitzbühel the price
range for the middle 50 percent stood at
€300,000 to €1.5mn. According to Engel
& Völkers, one can expect to pay to up to
€20mn for an exclusive Tyrolean-style
country house in the prime locations of
the swanky ski resort. In Lech prices of up
to €20,000/m2 are being realized and up
to €15,000/m2 in Zürs. Among the most
sought after objects in the winter sports
stronghold of Kitzbühel are those in at
Sonnberg, such as Römerweg for exam-
102
ple. The most sought after properties at
the foot of the Kitzbühel Horn are mainly
villas offering an unobstructed view of
the city and finishing slope of the Streif
(World famous Kitzbühel ski piste). New
construction in the high-demand locations is restricted as landscape reserves
are limited by nature and many areas
have been subordinated in favour of nature conservation. Therefore, the prices at
top locations for plots range from €3,500
to €4500/m2 .
… THE LAKE DISTRICTS ARE ALSO IN
GREAT DEMAND.
In addition to the ski resorts the properties around the local lakes, which are all
of drinking water quality, are also the subject of extreme interest. It is understandable that, after Vienna, the Austrian lakes
districts are counted among the most
expensive and sought after areas in the
country. Mondsee in Upper Austria is the
current market leader in the home waters
sector. It is not only one of the warmest
lakes in the Salzkammergut region, but
the real estate around it is also the most
expensive. Prices of up to €25,000/m2 are
paid for objects directly on the lake. The
Wörthersee in Carinthia is still popular
with residents and non-residents alike.
The fast connection to Vienna contributes to domestic demand in particular; a
similar situation is true for Long Island
near New Yorker, and the North German
island of Sylt near Hamburg. For objects
with lake access in the prime locations of
Velden am Wörthersee square meter prices of up to €20,000 can be achieved. Acquiring a lakeside plot right in the “front
row” is as good as extremely difficult at
the moment, as an owner doesn’t sell unless he’s is forced to. Apartments offer
themselves as an alternative, of course,
for beautiful apartments in the “front row”
on the Wörthersee prices are already at
€8,000 to €10,000.
THE MOST POPULAR PROVINCE
After Vienna, the city of Salzburg is one
of the cities that have recorded the most
demand from abroad. In Salzburg and
its surroundings, freehold apartments in
excellent locations are achieving an average of €4,236/m2 and around €3,328/m2
in good locations. According to market
analysts Hölzl & Hubner, the most expensive district is Nonntal, with a peak sale
2015
value €11,500/m2 for a newly constructed
apartment. An average of €1.2mn and the
significant maximum value of €3.5mn
were achieved for properties on the Salzburg villa marker.
UBM Real Estate Development Ltd has
built two new components for the Stern
Brewery Riedenburg project next to the
historic old town of Salzburg: Due to high
demand, a further project is now being
implemented on the 3.7 hectare site of the
former Riedenberg barracks comprising
of cubistic town houses grouped around
a central square. Another exiting design
which was launched in autumn of 2014 is:
“The View2Living over Salzburg” which
occupies an area of 17,000m2 and is located at the foot of the Gaisberg mountain
which is, in fact, the only site in the Salzburg central area dedicated specifically for
secondary residences. The “Project Koppl
Development Ltd” facilities boast two to
four bedroom apartments with sizes ranging from 45m2 to 120m2 , with gardens,
spacious terraces or balconies.
Following the huge success of the
Stern Brewery Riedenburg UBM is
planning a further exceptional project
for the provincial capital.
© Stiller & Hohla Immobilien, UBM
More than 50 years.
More than 50 residential and
commercial real estate experts.
Exclusive partner of Knight Frank in Austria.
We offer a comprehensive portfolio of
professional services in sustainable quality:
custom-tailored to your individual situation.
Implemented by our team of more than 50
real estate experts.
Letting
Sale
Property Management
Valuation
Research
Our hightest goal: Your satisfaction with a
perfect and highly efficient property.
Residential
Office and commercial
Investment
Professionally investigated market reports
Twice a year we offer all facts and figures
about the Viennese Office and Investment
Market and the special market for the
historic „Viennese Zinshaus“.
More information: [email protected]
2015
OTTO IMMOBILIEN GRUPPE
Riemergasse 8 | 1010 Wien
Tel. +43 1 512 77 77 | offi[email protected]
www.otto.at
103
Kolingasse
Objectives
and opportunities
The Austrian property market offers excellent prospects.
Much to the delight of its investors, 6B47 REAL ESTATE
INVESTORS was extremely successful in 2014 and the outlook for 2015 is equally promising. Chairman Peter Ulm talks
about the latest developments.
2015 will see the inauguration of a
whole new urban quarter in the district
of Leopoldau: CITY GATE. A convenient
shopping centre will be the beating heart
of this new residential area and right in
the middle of CITY GATE there is Leopold
Tower, which already had its topping out
ceremony in summer 2014.
This was an important step, because the
potential home buyers want to see something before investing. Since the topping out
ceremony, we also dispose of a furnished
model apartment inside the Leopold Tower,
which helped us to optimise our marketing
104
year. The building is divided into a low-rise
section with a floor space of about 5,000m2
and a high-rise section with another 5.000m².
We are developing a mixed-use property that
will meet the needs of the Wienerberg area.
The building is being renovated to a high
standard and in accordance with Heritage
Site Preservation Order.
Kolingasse, in the middle of Vienna, is
designed quite differently.
We are developing 4,000m2 of upmarket
to deluxe living space. This building is very
efforts and we are well ahead of our sales
special and each apartment will be unique: We
targets. We are experiencing the emerbenefit from a ceiling height of four meters and
gence of a real urban centre right
due to the location of the building the
next to the subway and we are also
apartments are all very bright. Every
noticing that people are “embracapartment disposes of a terrace or a
ing” this new location.
balcony and there are sufficient parking spaces within the building. The
The Phillip’s-Haus on the
building is located in a quiet area, but
http://bit.ly/1otGYhM
Wienerberg is another outonly a few steps away from the city
standing 6B47-project.
centre. It is unique.
We are not quite as far with the Phillip’s-Haus
as with the Leopold Tower, but the planning
What’s the demand like for this property?
is already well advanced and we want to start
The demand is very high. Although we are
with the construction in the middle of next
not on the market yet and haven’t advertised
PROMOTION
2015
Beatrix Spa
Philips Haus
the project either, there is already a great
interest. It has become common knowledge
that we are creating exceptional apartments
in here, which proves that living space of
superior quality is still highly sought after in
Vienna.
“Investors who invest
with us can benefit
enormously from our
know-how and our
networks in this market
situation.”
Peter Ulm, Chairman
of the Board of Directors of
6B47 Real Estate Investors
Other projects in Austria are already close
to completion.
The Beatrix Spa, in Vienna’s third district,
will be ready in the summer of 2015, and
we have two other projects in the Styrian
capital of Graz: The Alpha Tower and the
City Gate Graz. The Alpha Tower project,
in the "Jakomini" area (central VI District),
consists in the conversion and expansion of
the former student residence "Hafnerriegel"
into a residential tower with 81 units. With
a total floor space of almost 30.000m², the
City Gate Graz is a mixed-use development
located directly on the south-eastern access
road to Graz.
What kind of challenges are your projects
currently facing?
The market growth is not unlimited, and the
challenge consists in offering good quality,
2015
PROMOTION
Beatrix Spa
that meets the high expectations of the
consumers, at competitive prices. In addition
it is very difficult to find suitable plots of land
or existing properties that permit us to offer
these prices.
In the current market situation, our investors
are benefitting enormously from our knowhow and our excellent networks.
6B47 REAL ESTATE INVESTORS AG
Heiligenstädter Lände 29/4
1190 Vienna
Phone: +43-1-350 10 10-0
Fax: +43-1-350 10 10-50
Email: [email protected]
www.6B47.com
105
VIERTEL ZWEI – TOTAL LIVING
The VIERTEL ZWEI urban development area is more than the sum of its individual
buildings. It is a diverse and dynamic living space with a vision of the future.
STUDIO ZWEI
RONDO
Vienna’s most dynamic urban district is
STUDIO ZWEI to generous terrace apartbeing created in a unique location between
ments in the RONDO.
the Krieau, the Vienna University of Economics and Business and the wide open green
Responsibility for the future
spaces of the Prater. A balanced mix of new
“We at IC Projektentwicklung are convinced
apartments and offices – green, colourful
that the building and real estate industries
and lively and focused on a central ‘main
have a particularly strong influence on
square’. The complex forms an exciting
society’s success in acting sustainably. “This
interface between urbanity and nature in the
means that for us sustainable building also
heart of Vienna, and it is this that
begins very early in the project demakes the district so remarkable.
velopment process.” says Managing
In realising this vision for an
Director Walter Hammertinger. “We
entire urban district, the creation of
define project-specific sustainability
a lively ground floor zone through
objectives which guide our actions
the inclusion of retail and restauas early as the statutory Urban Planhttp://bit.ly/1lNwFTq
rant space and social infrastructure
ning Procedure and the architectural
is as important as architectural and
competition.” For the current VIERTEL
urban design quality. This is embodied in
ZWEI Plus project, for example, ‘10 Sustainthe consciously lower built density and the
ability Principles’ were developed. According
large amounts of open and green space
to Hammertinger, “these objectives and prinwhich combine to make living and working
ciples don’t end for us with the completion of
here something very special. The spaces
a building. We want to live and communicate
on offer range from flexible office areas in
sustainability, which means that it is important
DENK DREI and smart micro-apartments in
not only for us to design and build sustainably
2015
PROMOTION
DENK DREI
but also to ensure that our buildings are operated and used sustainably too.”
The new projects continue the success
story of the VIERTEL ZWEI Urban Development Area and the transformation of the working and office district into a true living space.
IC Projektentwicklung GmbH
Stella-Klein-Löw-Weg 8, 1020 Vienna
Phone: +43 (0)1 217 121
Email: [email protected]
www.icprojektentwicklung.at
www.viertel-zwei.at
www.facebook.com/viertelzwei
107
Business Park Vienna:
Offices on a high level
Business, shopping, gastronomy and leisure – in the Business Park Vienna everything is possible.
Business Park Vienna in the south of the
city is one of Vienna’s largest office and
business locations and enjoys excellent connections to the city centre, airport, motorway
and public transport network. Designed by
the Italian star architect Massimiliano Fuksas,
the office towers of the Vienna Twin Tower
shape the skyline and can be seen from far
and wide. The location is notable for its mix
of international companies, shops
and restaurants as well as a range
of leisure facilities which includes a
cinema, fitness studio, running track
and – just around the corner – golf
course.
ed together. In addition to the high-quality
technical infrastructure the space is notable
for its brightness and transparency.
On top of Vienna
Alongside its top location and first-class
range of offices, Business Park Vienna
can proudly point to two further exclusive
highlights: Located on the 22nd floor
of the IMMOFINANZ tower, the
restaurant “dasTurm” has been
awarded two stars by the gourmet
critics of Gault Millau. Whether for
a business lunch or dinner, the
chef Heinz Preschan and his team
http://bit.ly/5vrDki
offer top cooking of the highest
Prestigious office space
international quality. And while
The individual office buildings fulfill a wide
talking about high expectations, Business
range of requirements: wether you need a
Park Vienna is also home to ThirtyFive, one
hybrid or open-plan office for your company,
of the city’s most extraordinary locations.
Business Park Vienna can meet every tenWhether for a press conference, product
ant’s needs. Offices measuring from around
presentation or party – the 600 sqm event
300 sqm to 2,500 sqm are available on a
space offers a breathtaking panoramic view
single level; several floors can also be rentover the city.
108
PROMOTION
Location Vienna – at the Heart of Europe
International companies particularly appreciate the geographical location of Austria’s
capital town coupled with its special understanding for culture and language. And the
globally unique quality of life means that
Vienna is one of the most attractive business
locations at the heart of Europe.
Business Park Vienna
Offices on a high level
Phone: +43 (0) 1 88 090-2900
E-mail: [email protected]
www.businessparkvienna.com
2015
Prestigious office space
From around 350 to 2,500 sqm on every level.
Come and visit now!
Contact tel.: +43 (0)1 88090-2900
E-mail: [email protected]
Ing. Robert H. Friedl, CEO, GROHE Gesellschaft m.b.H.
Offices on a high level –
in the businesspark vienna
everything’s possible.
Your office, shop, restaurant and event.
Grohe is Europe’s largest and the world’s leading manufacturer of sanitary fittings. We put the greatest emphasis on technology, design,
responsibility and quality. All of this is also provided by the Business Park Vienna: perfect location, modern offices, excellent infrastructure
and in the close vicinity of the recreational area Wienerberg. The ideal location for top enterprises.
For more info go to www.businessparkvienna.com
The Vienna Business Park
developed by Immofinanz offers
131,000 square metres of office
and commercial space.
„The market is well covered“
Business-Parks in the Vienna area offer tenants a variety of advantages.
The mix of service and infrastructure has gone down well, which the number
and quality of tenants confirms.
• TEXT: Patrick Baldia
B
usiness-Parks in the Vienna area are
very popular, which is also confirmed
by the strong letting revenues. Many companies prefer modern space in the suburbs or on the outskirts of the Austrian
capital to an inner-city address. Alongside
the good traffic links, they appreciate the
connection to the public transport network within the city limits and the mix of
service and infrastructure which is ideally
complemented by shopping, gastronomy
and leisure facilities. Despite the obvious success of the business park product,
experts see no further demand for new
developments. The general conclusion is
“the market is well covered; expanding
the existing properties makes best sense”.
The Vienna Twin Towers have been protruding into the skies in the southern Favoriten district of Vienna since 2001. The
building complex, which measures 137m
at its highest point, represents the centrepiece of the Business Park Vienna devel-
110
oped by Immofinanz. Of the 230,000m2 of
total floor space, 131,000m2 are occupied
by office and commercial space. There is
also a congress and meeting centre catering for up to 400 persons as well as a cinema, and a four star hotel alongside shopping facilities and gastronomic services,
such as the double acclaimed “Das Turm”
restaurant. “Overall, one can certainly
speak of a self-contained location”, says
Stefan Höffinger, developer of the site.
FREE-SHUTTLE SERVICE
The experts see the absence of a connection to the public transport network
as an issue, namely that the Twin Towers
are not directly reachable via the underground, which is considered a benchmark
by companies seeking a location. However, the office cluster is very well accessed by trams and several bus lines. In
addition, a direct shuttle bus is provided,
free of charge, which commutes back and
2015
Office &
warehouse
in the south of Vienna
Variable
rental units
Office & warehouse
Own
motorway exit
A2 / IZ NÖ-Süd
61 top
companies
as neighbours
Free parking
directly in front
of your doorstep
AT-2355 Wiener Neudorf • Tel.: 02236 4020-0 • www.walter-business-park.com
The Vienna Twin Towers are
the centrepiece of the Vienna
Business Park at Wienerberg in
Vienna’s 10 th municipal district.
Since its completion in 2002 the
Euro Plaza in Vienna’s 12th district
has been continuously expanded.
112
forth between the Business Park Vienna
and the inner city of Vienna all day long.
Either way, the complete packet seems to
have convinced companies such as Adidas, ABB, Faber-Castell, Peugeot, Regus
and RHI PLC as well as Wienerberger, all
of which are current tenants.
“The more, the better”! Alexander Fenzl,
head of commercial real estate marketing for Otto Immobilien, describes what a
business park has to offer its tenants of
today. It’s important to have, at the very
least, shopping facilities and gastronomic
services. All of which is offered by the
Euro Plaza, which is to be found not far
away from the Business Park Vienna in
the 12th municipal district of Vienna. With
underground and comprehensive rail
links only a few minutes away, the location is of course much better connected
to the public transport network. Added to
this are tram and bus connections.
EURO PLAZA: NEXT PHASE OF
BUILDING
With names such as Coca-Cola, Danone,
Kapsch, L’Oréal, Microsoft and Nestlé,
Euro Plaza can also boast some interesting tenants. What’s more, the functionality of this site can also be confirmed by
the fact that it has been continuously
expanded since completion of the first
building phase in 2002. As Claus Stadler,
Managing Director of Strauss & Partner,
the project developers responsible for
Euro Plaza confirms, building phase number 5 has just come to completion. “Upon
realisation of building phase No. 6, the
Euro Plaza will have a total floor space of
200,000m2 divided between 14 buildings”.
“On the periphery, the user-mix is wide,
one could speak of a cluster formation”
says Stefan Wernhart, head of commercial properties at EHL Immobilien, the
fact is that there has been no particular
focus from one particular industry. Developments in rural areas portray a different image, where developers seek to
cater for specific industries and optimise
synergies. Whereby, companies can rent
considerably larger storage space to-
gether with office space. In contrast, the
“office-focussed” business parks of Vienna offer very little in the way of storage
space. For many companies, opting for
the Vienna suburbs is often influenced by
cost considerations. Compared to the city
business parks, space of a similar quality
costs 15-20% less.
OFFICE-STORAGE MIX
The tenants at the Walter Business-Park
in Wiener Neudorf are able to rent various
combinations of office and storage space,
whereby the main focus is on trading,
wholesale and distribution companies, according to CEO Gerhard Müller. The office spaces, which have a minimum size of
100m2 , are placed over the rented storage
space. The sizes of which start at 300m2
and are connected to each other by a
staircase. As Müller explains, the number
of pure office tenants has also risen in recent years. “This is mostly due to traffic
issues and a shortage of parking space
in Vienna” he says. Irrespective of which
space combination the companies finally
choose, the tenant emphasis is always on
a familiar atmosphere, personal service
as well as flexibility.
The Concorde Business Park in the
Schwechat Airport community is just
outside the city. This is the first development in the area to be built to international standards in the early 90’s.
Also here, the number and quality of
tenants is convincing. They benefit from a
flexible range of uses, totalling 60,000m2 of
floor space made up of office (26,000m2),
service (10,000 m2) and storage space
(21,500 m2) as well as show rooms and
special areas (2,500 m2). One is only five
minutes away from the Vienna International Airport thanks to direct access to the S1
main road and the A4 airport motorway
and fifteen minutes from the Vienna innercity. Even here, at the gates of Vienna, the
physical well-being of the tenants is cause
for concern, responsibility for which has
been assumed by an a la carte Restaurant.
© Immofinanz Group, AnnABlaU
2015
2015
113
The Erste Campus, the headquarters of
the Erste Group, will be completed at the
Quartier Belvedere at the end of 2015.
“The market should regain
momentum in 2017”
Vienna has one of Europe’s most stable office real estate markets. Experts
expect that the next few years will see a gentle fall in the vacancy rate from
its current level of 6.6 per cent.
• TEXT: Patrick Baldia
T
he Vienna office market has coped
well with the economic and financial crises of the past few years and, in
comparison with other European markets,
has proved itself to be very stable. The
vacancy rate remains at around 6.6 per
cent – unchanged from recent years - in
comparison with a European average of
around ten per cent. Only the Norwegian
capital of Oslo enjoys this same low level.
CBRE assumes that the vacancy rate will
remain below seven per cent over the long
term and even predicts a slight fall. The
reason for this is the high level of pre-lets
and owner-occupancy of the office projects currently being completed.
114
The range of newly built or fully refurbished office space currently available in
the Austrian capital is, indeed, extremely
restricted. The 209,000 square metres
which, according to CBRE, are due for
completion in 2015 are virtually entirely
pre-let or destined for owner occupation. According to Felix Zekely, Head of
Agency & GCS at CBRE Österreich, this
restricted offer is causing a particular
headache for potential tenants seeking
larger areas of between 5,000 and 10,000
square metres or more. “This situation will
also not change significantly in 2016,” he
reports. This view is shared by Dagmar
Oberhollenzer, Head of Office Real Estate
at Colliers International: “The market will
only regain some momentum after the
completion of a number of large projects
in 2017.”
A SMALL INCREASE IN PEAK RENTS
The total area of office space on the Vienna market at the end of the third quarter stood at 10.77 million square metres,
which is virtually the same as the year
before. According to an estimate from
CBRE, the letting performance for the
whole of 2014 totalled 250,000 square
metres, which represents a decrease of
45,000 square metres in comparison with
2013. Peak monthly rents, on the other
2015
epmedia
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hand, rose slightly from the level of the
previous year to 25.75 euros per square
metre. Monthly rents in good locations
were around 14.90 euros per square metre at the end of last year compared with
13.25 euros per square metre in average
locations.
The trend towards office clusters also
continued last year. Experts offer the examples of the First District, Donau City,
Euro Plaza, Central Station and Viertel
Zwei. Michael Zöchling, Managing Director
of Bareal, expects these locations to benefit from even more dynamic growth in the
coming years. “Companies favour these areas because of both the general business
climate and the presence of well-known
names,” he says. Zöchling is less positive,
however, about office projects which are
located outside these clusters – on the
edge of the city, for example – because few
companies are prepared to move there.
“Hence, investors such as funds and insurance companies are not very interested in
these locations,” he adds.
What distinguishes a top cluster?
Alongside their modern facilities and in-
telligent use of space they must also have
a good connection with the public transport network. “Above all it is the proximity of the underground which is one of the
most important factors for the success of
a location today”, says Falko Prinz, expert
for office real estate at RE/MAX Master
Agents. After all, constantly increasing
levels of traffic and the growing difficulty
in finding parking spaces are resulting in
ever fewer people driving to work. Prinz
speaks of real panic when people think
about the constant traffic jams of the Südosttangent trunk road which, with an average of 170,000 cars per day, is Austria’s
busiest road.
TOP LOCATION: CENTRAL STATION
One of the most spectacular completions
of 2014 was certainly the ÖBB tower at
Vienna Central Station. The new headquarters of the Austrian Federal Railways
(ÖBB), which was designed by the Vienna
architectural office of Zechner & Zechner,
contains a total of 46,000 square metres,
including 31,000 square metres of office
space. Another spectacular corporate
headquarters – the Erste Campus of the
leading Austrian bank the Erste Group
– is due for completion in the Quartier
Belvedere, not far away from the Central
Station, by the end of this year. Zöchling is
very positive about the cluster around the
Central Station. If enough office space is
eventually developed here this could even
result in the cannibalisation of the lesswell located Euro Plaza.
Those behind the Euro Plaza are, however, unimpressed by this opinion. The
12,000 square metres of phase five have
just been completed and the next two
phases which contain a total of 21,000
square metres of office space should follow between now and 2016. The business park, which is being developed by
Strauss & Partner, can already boast a
string of premium tenants. These include Hewlett Packard, L’Oreal, Magna,
Sony and Microsoft. It is not without
reason that the RE/MAX Master Agents
expert Prinz speaks from “excellent marketing by the developer”.
© www.zoomvp.at, AnnABlaU
Five phases of the Euro Plaza in Vienna’s
twelfth district have already been
completed and further ones will follow.
116
2015
AIRPORTCITY
VIENNA
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MY POINT OF VIEW. VIE – MORE THAN A BUSINESS LOCATION.
MAKE A DECISION. And make sure it’s the right one. Discover the advantages of the AirportCity- Vienna which boasts
the infrastructure of a small town: From a pharmacist’s to a supermarket that stays open until 10 at night. With quick
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solutions. Come to the AirportCity Vienna and bring your ideas with you.
PLEASE CONTACT: +43 1 7007-7007
www.airport-city.at, [email protected]
2015
117
Top logistics and industrial
space in St. Pölten-Wörth
Are you and your company looking to serve markets in both the East of Austria and neighbouring countries? Are you thinking about a location which is right at the heart of the region
which covers Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava and Prague? Are you interested in environmentally-friendly rail and river transport? And does your facility need to have a certain size? Then
ÖBB-Immobilien is the right partner for you!
ÖBB-Immobilienmanagement GmbH is
offering multi-modal industrial and logistics
space with a direct railway connection totalling around 228,000 m² in the Vienna and St.
Pölten Region. More specifically, the properties which are available for sale can be found
in the logistics and industrial park at Wörth, a
southern district of St. Pölten, the provincial
capital of Lower Austria. These are premium
plots for large and medium-sized companies
who do business in Austria and its Central
and Eastern European neighbours. The business park, which is zoned for both industrial
and logistics use, is located on the southern
edge of St. Pölten, a city of around 52,000 inhabitants. St. Pölten and the surrounding area
are growing and the city authorities are working hard to encourage companies to relocate
to the region. The city is located just 60
kilometres from Vienna, the federal capital,
which can be reached in just half an hour via
either the Western Motorway or a newly built
railway line. And Linz, the provincial capital
of Upper Austria, is also just over 60 minutes
away on the Western Motorway.
Industrial and
logistics space in
St. Pölten-Wörth
© ÖBB/Luftbildservice Redl
(VIE) at Vienna-Schwechat (a distance of just
90 kilometres). The ports at Enns, Austria’s
export port, Krems and Vienna, Austria’s
Hence, St. Pölten-Wörth is well connected
import port, three of the most efficient ports
not only with the Eastern Austrian market
on the River Danube, are also located within
of Lower Austria, Vienna and Burgenland,
a 100 kilometre radius of the business park.
with their high-tech, industrial and retail
“The strength of our plots lies in
companies and combined populathe combination of the strategition of around 3.7 million people,
cally advantageous location to the
but also with the industrial province
south of St. Pölten and the ready
of Upper Austria. In addition to this,
existence or creation of a highthe industrial and logistics park
quality transport infrastructure and,
is located at the very heart of the
http://bit.ly/1iV5JQD
in particular, of the connection with
Centrope Region (Czech Republic,
the Western Railway which is so
Slovakia, Hungary and Austria). The
close to these key urban regions”, reports
property is owned by the ÖBB and offers
DI Herbert Logar, Chief Executive Officer of
direct access to the ‘Weststrecke’ which, as
ÖBB-Immobilienmanagement GmbH. For
well as being Austria’s most efficient railway
industrial and retail companies and logistics
line, offers direct connections between the
and terminal operators who are planning to
industrial centres of Germany and Austria.
do business on a large scale using sustainAt the same time, it offers direct access to
able logistics, St. Pölten-Wörth is thus one of
the A1 Western Motorway which also brings
Austria’s prime locations.
it much closer to Vienna International Airport
118
PROMOTION
FACTS & FIGURES
•
•
•
•
•
Total site area: 540,000 m²
For sale: 200,000 m²
Already sold: 34,400 m²
Area under offer: 15,000 m²
Price: from EUR 65,-/m²
Contact:
Günther Sterlike
Project Leader St. Pölten-Wörth
Phone: +43 664 286 50 32
Email: [email protected]
immo.oebb.at
2015
New urban
districts on
old tracks
The North Station and Northwest
Station urban development district
© ÖBB/Luftbildservice Redl
Whether for singles, couples or families
- the consolidation of the ÖBB’s facilities
and the modernisation of operations which
are accompanying the station development
offensive mean that large areas in urban locations with excellent transport connections
will become available in the federal capital
over the course of the next few years. Entire
city districts are being built in top urban
locations.
Vienna Central Station –
a new city within the city
The 59 hectare former railway property
around Vienna’s new Central Station is
already home to a succession of modern
housing projects. Around 5,000 apartments
for 13,000 people are being built here and
the first tenants have already moved in. The
centrepiece and “green lung” of the new
district - “Helmut-Zilk Park” - invites visitors
for a stroll. With an area of eight hectares it
offers local residents a high quality of life.
The last empty plot is located to the northeast of the park. The urban design concept
for these 11 hectares was optimised with the
help of a cooperative process. The realisation of this vibrant district with around 1,500
apartments, offices, shops, restaurants, local
services and consulting and social facilities
will commence in 2017. The wide-ranging
redesign of the area around Vienna Central
2015
Vienna’s population is fast approaching two million – a mark which will be
reached within 15 years. This means
that Vienna is one of the fastest
growing cities in Central and Eastern
Europe. This strong influx of people
is also pushing up demand for new
living space. Between now and 2025
more than 25,000 apartments will be
built alongside offices, hotels, retail
and service space, parks and educational facilities on former ÖBB land.
Station is resulting in the freeing up of a
The Northwest Station is currently still befurther area of railway land – a nine hectare
ing used as a goods station but its phased
site close to Laxenburger Straße and Landdevelopment, which is being made posgutgasse - for urban development.
sible by the transfer of the freight
The unique location, the excellent
terminal to Vienna Inzersdorf, will
public transport connections and
commence in 2016. Between now
the proximity of the Central Station
and 2025 the 44 hectare site in
will combine to ensure that this will
Vienna’s 20th district will become
become an exciting and dynamic
a new urban district which will comhttp://bit.ly/NJhdMz
urban development area.
bine all the quality of downtown
living and working with exceptional
North Station and
opportunities for leisure and relaxation. The
Northwest Station –
Northwest Station urban development protwo top development areas in Vienna
ject also offers the opportunity to reunite the
The area around the Northwest Station and
two parts of Brigittenau district which have
the site of the North Station are amongst
long been separated by the railway tracks.
Vienna’s most important inner city development zones. Between now and 2025 the
North Station in Vienna’s second district
will undergo a phased transformation into
a new urban district with around 10,000
apartments, offices with around 10,000
workplaces, retail and service companies as
well as the corresponding infrastructure. Numerous residential and office buildings have
ÖBB-Immobilienmanagement GmbH
already been realised and the next phase
1020 Vienna, Nordbahnstraße 50
will involve the development and realisation
of a 35 hectare plot. The “Green Heart” - a
Phone +43 1 93000-44020 or 44022
ten hectare park – will provide sustainable
Email: [email protected]
support to social interaction and emphasise
the exceptional quality of life offered by the
immo.oebb.at
North Station.
PROMOTION
119
“We offer the space in which
the future of cities can be
reshaped!”
Development of the
urban district around
Vienna Central Station.
Creating entire urban
districts where the
trains once ran
Herbert Logar, the Chief Executive Officer of ÖBB
Immobilienmanagement GmbH about the central role of
the company in urban development and about projects in
Vienna and the provinces. • INTERVIEW: Walter Senk
The ÖBB’s large reserves of land are
enormously important for the forwardlooking future growth of Austria’s cities.
Which are the largest current projects in
Vienna?
The consolidation of the ÖBB’s facilities and the modernisation of operations
which are accompanying the station development offensive are freeing up large
urban areas with ideal transport connections. This has created a unique opportunity to develop new uses for land no
longer required for railway operations. In
Vienna alone there is a development potential of around two million square metres of gross floor area. The largest projects in Vienna – such as those around
Vienna Central Station, the former North
Station and the Northwest Station – offer
space for the realisation of forward-looking urban visions. Between now and 2025
around 25,000 apartments will be built on
former ÖBB land in Vienna.
120
Vienna Central Station has opened. A final plot to the northeast of Helmut Zilk
Park remains empty. What is the status
of the cooperative process for the Leben
am Helmut-Zilk-Park project?
The construction of Vienna Central Station and the BahnhofCity is, together with
the development of the surrounding urban
district, the largest infrastructure project
of the ÖBB and the City of Vienna. The
59 hectares of former ÖBB land surrounding the railway station are currently being
transformed into an entirely new urban district with a balanced mix of uses. The first
office buildings have already been built and
the first apartments occupied. The development of the final empty plot - the “Leben am
Helmut-Zilk-Park” urban district – will start
in 2015. The focus is on small structures.
The realisation of this vibrant district with
around 1,500 apartments, offices, shops,
restaurants, local services and consulting
and social facilities will commence in 2017.
You mentioned the North Station and
Northwest Station as one of the largest
urban development projects in Vienna.
What projects are there outside Vienna?
Amstetten, Graz and Feldkirch are just
some examples of locations outside Vienna where the ÖBB still owns large and
contiguous areas of land. These areas are
excellently connected with the public infrastructure. A high proportion of green
space and cultural facilities will ensure
that these new urban districts will present
a positive image for both the ÖBB and the
city. Our aim here is also to work closely
with municipalities to develop high quality living space and to sell this responsibly only to those investors who are committed to meeting the needs of the local
population.
With around 25,000 properties, the ÖBB
is one of Austria’s largest property owners. Which tasks are covered by the spectrum of services provided by the ÖBB?
ÖBB-Immobilienmanagement GmbH – a
subsidiary of ÖBB-Infrastruktur AG – is
an integrated real estate service provider
which works primarily for the ÖBB Group
but is also active on the free market. Our
spectrum of services covers the property
management and technical support of offices and apartments as well as railway
station management and the development and realisation of properties which
are not required for operational purposes.
We develop these properties to the point
at which they are ready for realisation and
administer an extensive portfolio of buildings including railway stations across
their entire lifecycle.
© ÖBB/Luftbildservice Redl, ÖBB/Stephan Huger
Herbert Logar, MRICS
Chief Executive
Officer of ÖBB-Immobilienmanagement GmbH
2015
INTERVIEW
Successful residential proposition
Dir. Ing. Hermann Klein, Managing Director of IG Immobilien,
on the successful concept of serviced apartments.
IG Immobilien has been focussing on serviced apartments since as early as 2006.
Yes, and the positive development of the
market eventually convinced us to expand
our offering in 2013 by adding the 36 serviced apartments in the Campus Lodge
residential project. The fact that our Campus Lodge Serviced Apartments were already fully occupied within six months of
their opening in May shows that our offer
responds precisely to the demand.
Why is Campus Lodge so successful?
Firstly, because of the modern furnishing
and excellent technical infrastructure of
the apartments, that are also equipped with
separate bedrooms and balconies. The
location is also perfect. The IG Serviced
Apartments Campus Lodge are situated in
Vienna’s dynamic 2nd district very close to
the Prater, but are also only eight minutes
away from the city centre via underground
railway. In addition to this, the in-house
concierge service, which offers a comprehensive range of support from restaurant
reservations to a laundry service, considerably eases the day-to-day lives of tenants.
An outdoor pool, fitness and wellness facilities and a ‘chilling lounge’ in the lobby also
contribute to the high feel-good factor.
Our experience in this area shows that
the concept of serviced apartments has
excellent prospects for success. Many
guests, especially those who spend a
number of months living in a different
city, place enormous value in finding the
individual living solutions offered by serviced apartments. This development is
also reflected by the increasing number
of providers in Vienna.
Are further projects being planned by IG
Immobilien?
Currently there are no concrete plans or
locations. However, we are committed to
continuing and expanding the concept of
serviced apartments.
Hermann Klein
Managing Director of
IG Immobilien.
The company has
offered serviced apartments in Vienna for the
past six years.
How do you assess the further development of “serviced apartments”?
www.erstegroupimmorent.com
Canon, Vienna
Spar, Upper Austria
With more than 40 years of experience Erste Group Immorent has
grown to become a leading service provider with comprehensive
expertise along the entire real estate and infrastructure value chain
and plays an active role in the economic development in Austria,
Central, Eastern and South-Eastern Europe. Erste Group Immorent
provides support for a wide variety of financing solutions for real
2015
© DBS
©
DBS
© Spar
© Paul Ott
Your partner for all your
real estate needs in Austria
Manner, Vienna
DB Schenker, Vorarlberg
estate and infrastructure projects and additionally accompanies
its clients throughout the entire real estate cycle – from the initial
planning to the turn-key sale. Our products are tailored to meet
the needs of corporates, specialised project developers, real estate
investors, municipalities and public institutions throughout the CEE
and SEE regions.
121
The MyPlace City Centre
is located in the heart of
downtown Vienna.
Living in one’s own
four walls
Austrian providers are responding to the strongly growing
market for “temporary living” by offering new locations
and differentiated concepts and ideas. • TEXT: Walter Senk
T
he trend towards “temporary living”
which international observers have
been following for a number of decades
has intensified in recent times due to the
increasing mobilisation and globalisation
of the economy. The demand for micro
apartments is a response to a series of social changes which have been triggered by,
amongst other things, the increasing flexibilisation of the labour market. The tendency of employees to spend their entire
working life with one company is largely a
thing of the past. When it comes to work,
people are becoming increasingly mobile
and this is creating a clientele for whom
fully furnished apartments which can be
let for short periods are optimal. In Vienna,
demand from tourists is another strong
driver of “temporary living”. More and
more people are looking for other – more
private – ways of living as an alternative to
the classic hotel.
In recent years the expectations of the
long-term guest have risen, most particularly in one area: more and more people are
coming to the metropolis on the Danube for
professional reasons and, for these business
customers, technology and, in particular,
the Internet is the number one concern.
122
Guests want to “stay connected”. Internetbased connectivity – in not only the living
space but also the breakfast area and all
general parts of an apartment – has grown
in importance to the point that it is now a
basic requirement. A solid Internet connection is important both for work and as
a means of keeping in contact with family
and friends. Guests are often connected via
a number of devices such as mobile phones,
computers and iPads. The increasing number of long-stay travellers also means that,
alongside such facilities as WLAN and
high-speed Internet, an ideal working environment in the apartment - good lighting, for example - is becoming increasingly
important. However, two things have not
changed: the need for space and an ideal
transport connection. Apartments should
at least offer more space than a normal hotel room and, as most visitors come from
out of town, a good public transport con-
The luxury apartment
estate Orchideenpark in
Vienna‘s finest district.
nection is also essential. The more efficient
the form of transport, the better – with priority given to a direct underground railway
connection.
While earlier users of the service tended
to come from countries such as Germany,
England, Holland, France and Italy where
the concept of the serviced apartment is
particularly well known, the circle of clients has widened. Business guests tend to
come from the Russian-speaking, Asian
and Arab Regions, with Russia and India
having become two of the most important
countries of origin.
Current visitor numbers highlight a relatively new group of clients which is testifying to the excellence of medical treatment
in Austria: Providers are noticing a rise
in the number of “medical tourists” from
Eastern and Southeast Europe and the
Arab World being treated in Vienna’s private clinics.
“Temporary living” offers such diverse
advantages to so many groups that around
80 per cent of the providers of serviced
apartments questioned in a German study
believe that the market will continue to
grow. Nobody thinks that it will decline. A
trend is becoming a megatrend.
© MyPlace, IG Immobilien Management Gmbh
When it comes to work, people are becoming increasingly
mobile and this is creating a clientele for whom fully furnished
apartments which can be let for short periods are optimal.
2015
Stay in Vienna boutique style!
MyPlace City Centre | Vorlaufstraße 3 | 1010 Vienna, Austria
www.my-place.at | [email protected] | Tel.: +43 (1) 317 17 17-75
Your home away from home.
MyPlace Riverside | Rossauer Lände 23 | 1090 Vienna, Austria
europa mitte
europe‘s heart
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You too can present your company in
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A passion for architecture
From Graz to the world: “LOVE architecture and urbanism” was established in
Styria’s provincial capital in 1998. Its areas of activity stretch from architecture
via urban and interior design to project development. In this interview, founding
member Mark Jenewein reveals more about the architectural office.
• INTERVIEW: Vanessa Haidvogl
What is the idea behind the name “LOVE
architecture and urbanism”?
The name embodies our passion for architecture. We are driven by every task, love
challenges, analyse, develop ideas, design
and create atmosphere, shape accessible
spaces, develop places. For me this is the
world’s most wonderful job!
The balconies are the
eye-catcher of the
Ragnitzstraße
residential project.
What are the challenges?
Every project brings new challenges. We
demand of ourselves that each of our projects comes with an exclamation mark. We
want to create something unique, something that will be recognised.
How do you create atmosphere?
One way of creating atmosphere is with materials. The most important question that I
must ask myself is: what do I have to mix
together in order to be sure that the cocktail tastes good? One example is glass.
Glass is expensive and not exactly the most
energy efficient material. It makes spaces
bright, friendly and open but also transparent and less intimate. Only the intelligent
use of materials brings success.
What are the current trends?
One megatrend is “affordable living”, which
means the creation of living spaces within
the financial means of users. But the fact
that something has to be built economically
doesn’t mean that it has to look ugly! Quite
the opposite, everyone benefits from a wellthought-out project: The developer distinguishes himself from the competition and
the occupants feel at ease and can afford
to live there.
You won the “Best Architects 15” prize for
the Ragnitzstraße project in Graz. What is
special about this project?
Here we succeeded in creating a disciplined
structure at a reasonable cost. The project
consists of a simple building volume made
attractive by sweeping balconies. Each balcony is three metres deep and partly covered and the balustrades are wooden. All
the apartments face south and enjoy views
2015
of the surrounding nature. One forgets that
one is living in the city. This means that one
can use simple devices to hugely increase
the residential quality.
How important is the subject of sustainability for you?
Very important. We must find intelligent,
well-thought-out ideas to answer today’s
challenges. Our prime example of sustainability is the climate protection supermarket in Graz, the first supermarket in
Austria to produce more energy than it
consumes. This was made possible by a
range of measures including a photovoltaic
plant, a highly-insulated building envelope
and state-of-the-art building technology. The building received gold certification
from ÖGNI (Austrian Sustainable Building Council) and was awarded the Iconic
Award 2013 and the Energy Globe 2013.
You opened an office in Berlin in 2013.
How did this come about?
Two years ago we won a competition for
the construction of an innovative corporate headquarters. The focus is on the
creation of flexible, versatile and individual
working spaces permeated by generous
open areas. This large project meant that
we had to have our own office in Berlin.
What direction should your company
take next?
Europe, Africa, Asia: We have already created projects in many countries and there
should be many more to come. We are
open for everything and remain mobile.
© Jasmin Schuller
Mark Jenewein
Founding member of
“LOVE architecture
and urbanism”
www.love-home.com
125
The value
of real estate
Those who want to buy a property or a portfolio of
property in Austria will find excellent appraisers here,
who ensure a professional and independent assessment
of the investment. • TEXT: Walter Senk
A
s a real estate location, Austria undoubtedly has particular advantages.
Stable political and legal systems promise
safety when investing in real estate and
portfolios. However, in times of economic
uncertainty the valuation of an investment in real estate is of particular importance as the real estate industry is a
key factor for any economy. In principle,
training, experience and independence
of the evaluators are the most important
factors for the valuation of a property, as
a property is only as good as its evaluation. Thus, a lot of attention is given to
property as investments in real estate
are actually considered to be “safe” in all
sectors. Austria’s property appraisers are
very familiar with the market and therefore able to determine a realistic value of
the property or the portfolio with the appropriate foresight into the future.
126
The biggest challenge when determining the value of property or portfolio is
in the collection of data, (mainly comparative data such as historical rents
and yields etc.). With the exception the
data given in the land register data, these
types of data are often unavailable to the
public. Thus, data which is generally considered to be confidential has to be determined by the expert appraiser; the results
can only be determined via discrete and
confidential communication with the respective market participants. Engaging
a professional appraiser prior to the purchase of the property can considerably
reduce the work-load not only in advance
of the transaction but also reduce stress
after the event.
Research and analyses of the building,
market, location, and the inventory situa-
“A high degree of technical expertise and knowledge of the market
is necessary for the evaluation of
property and portfolios.”
Martin Roth
Managing Director of Real Estate Rating Ltd.
2015
tion are, however, not the only determining
factors, but also the future development of
the market environment, as the value of an
investment falls and rises with it. Estimations of future market developments are,
in any case, to be left to the professionals
who are also integrated into the real estate
economy of the subject country. Thus, for
a complex evaluation of this nature, not
only is a good knowledge of the local market essential but also an understanding of
economic developments. Direct real estate investments are “immovable”, which is
why an overview of the immediate market
environment is of increasing importance.
For some time now the region itself has
become as crucial to the equation as the
country. The quality of the investment is
dependent on the economic situation of
the location of property.
Austria’s appraisers have gained an excellent reputation internationally and thus
are also in a position to support their clients with their own offices and networks
across the borders, should the necessity
arise.
“Only an independent specialist is
able to make a realistic evaluation
and assessment of potential
developments for each respective
property in future scenarios.”
Alfons Metzger
Managing Director of Metzger Real Estate Group
“Comprehensive data can only
be determined via discrete and
confidential communication with
the respective market participants.”
Michael Reinberg
Managing Director of Reinberg & Partner
© Avava/Fotolia, Real Estate Rating Ltd, Foto Wilke
REAL
ESTATE
SERVICES
EXCLUSIV
WESTCORE PARTNER
2015
- AQUISITION
- SURPLUS REAL ESTATE DISPOSAL
- SALE AND LEASEBACK
- EXIT MANAGEMENT
- LEASING VACANT SPACE
- PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
- PROPERTY & FINANCIAL REPORTING
- REDEVELOPMENT/REFURBISHMENT
- PROPERTY AUDIT
- LIQUIDITY BUDGETING
- FINANCING
www.westcore.eu
offi[email protected]
www.ivam.at
127
Real Estate, Valuations, Network
Those on the lookout for extraordinary properties have found the right partner in Spiegelfeld
Immobilien. But the company offers more than just real estate: It is also one of Austria’s top
ten property valuation companies and clients benefit from a social and professional network
which has been developed over decades.
Extraordinary real estate is the specialProperty valuation & expert reports
ity of Spiegelfeld Immobilien, which has
Spiegelfeld & Wohlgemuth Liegenschaftsbeen active on the Austrian and internabewertungen OG was established in 2002.
tional property market for almost
The company has a team of three
40 years. The company is one of
court-certified experts and real
very few in Austria which offers
estate specialists who are excluagricultural and forestry real estate
sively involved in the assessment
alongside hunting lodges, urban
and valuation of properties – and
and rural mansions and castles as
embody the determination of exact
http://bit.ly/1eV3nC5
well as former monasteries, villas,
values, optimal quality standards,
apartment buildings, sites in interindependent operation and national
esting locations and prime residential real
and international professional and sectoral
estate. In addition to this, the corporate portexpertise.
folio also includes industrial and production
facilities. Such properties demand specialist
Network – “Bright Minds”
know-how because they often involve legal,
The real estate professional and his wife
taxation or land use issues. The quality of
also successfully established the “Bright
Spiegelfeld Immobilien’s network ensures
Minds” Initiative, a think tank which adthat the right experts are always available in
dresses the subject of “Business Location
these fields.
Austria”. This was also an opportunity for the
Outside Austria, Spiegelfeld Immobilien
founder of the company Georg Spiegelfeld
also has subsidiaries and partner offices in
to widen his network, because the members
Germany, Hungary, Slovakia, the Ukraine,
of “Bright Minds” include the CEOs of major
Serbia, Rumania and England.
Austrian companies and other personali-
128
PROMOTION
ties from the fields of business and politics.
Spiegelfeld Immobilien’s clients are also
able to benefit from this network just as
they can benefit from the expertise of the
company’s employees.
KR Georg Spiegelfeld
Spiegelfeld Immobilien GmbH
Stubenring 20
A-1010 Vienna
Tel: +43 (1) 513 23 13-0
Fax: +43 (1) 513 23 13-23
www.spiegelfeld.eu
2015
INTERVIEW
Focussing on the essentials
In the current economic climate the strategic orientation of individual properties
or portfolios is important than ever. • INTERVIEW: Walter Senk
What services to they offer?
The spectrum of services range from the
preliminary consultation to the development of a common strategy all the way
through to the efficient management of
the properties. West Core and IVAM have
international network offices in London,
Geneva, Zurich, Berlin and Vienna and
are thus able to meet the specific requirements of large international customers.
Strategic management is one thing, what
about Exit Management?
The sale of fixed assets often represents
the most appropriate solution, however,
alternative divestiture strategies can also
be considered. Such alternatives could be
the packaging of assets in special funds
or the securitization of income, thus enabling the investor to benefit from the investment income whilst retaining control
of the property at the same time.
© Helmreich
What are the current biggest challenges
for businesses regarding the development of real estate strategies?
As economic and business environments
are constantly changing, it is necessary
for companies to review their properties
regularly and manage them strategically in order to achieve their business
goals. As strategic partners, Westcore
and IVAM possess the necessary expertise and experience to assist companies
in the development of flexible and efficient real estate strategies and thus to
reduce operating costs, increase investment yields and to support the principal
business
Ingo Bischof
Managing Director of
IVAM – Real Estate
Management & Asset
Management
Our X-ray vision to identify opportunities in real estate: economic,
technical, and ecological.
2015
129
10-13 MARCH 2015
PALAIS DES FESTIVALS
CANNES - FRANCE
DO GREAT MINDS REALLY “THINK ALIKE”?
Find out at MIPIM’S masterminds session
CHRISTOPHE CUVILLIER
CEO and Chairman of the Management Board,
Unibail-Rodamco
LUCIANO GABRIEL
CEO,
PSP Swiss Property AG
CHRIS GRIGG
Chief Executive,
British Land
SERGE GRZYBOWSKI
Chairman and CEO,
Icade
mipim.com
“MASTERMINDS CEO’S :
Growth of the European listed real estate sector”
Wednesday 11 March, 15.00
Where is my target group? Where do
my business idea and I actually belong?” The answers to such questions
can be found in our location analyses.
Freie Lokale in Vienna:
Is your idea looking for a home?
Having an idea is one thing but making a success out of it is another.
The right choice of location is decisive for the success of a company!
The Freie Lokale service from the Vienna
Economic Chamber helps start-ups and
more established companies in the search
for the right location in Vienna and
provides analyses in support of the
decision-making process.
answers to such questions can be found in
our location analyses. Information about the
demographics of the population, purchasing
power, sectoral mix, competitors,
numbers of passers-by or the accessibility of a planned location for
users of public transport provide
The search for premises
helpful numbers, information and
The Freie Lokale database of the
facts. These analyses can be used
http://bit.ly/1GokDdi
Vienna Economic Chamber provides
to support decisions and make it
access to information about vacant
easier to compare locations. Even
business premises as a means of helping
established companies must keep posing the
users to find the one suitable for them. Conlocation question and be able to answer it
tinuous monitoring ensures that the database,
with YES from the commercial point of view.
which can be found at www.freielokale.at, is
There must be harmony between the busialways up to date. After registering for free
ness idea and the location.
users receive information about location, size,
infrastructure and rental levels.
Advice and support in
the search for a location
Location analysis
The Freie Lokale team is available to offer
The fast pace of modern life, intense
personal advice - on site, on the phone or
competition and changing trends mean
by e-mail. Search criteria will be recorded
that founders of start-ups and other young
and a range of possible locations discussed
entrepreneurs must constantly ask questions:
and then the search agent will start provid“Where is my target group? Where do my
ing a continuous supply of real estate offers
business idea and I actually belong?” The
which fulfil the search criteria.
2015
PROMOTION
An overview of the advantages
• Support in the search for premises
• Analysis of the business idea
in a personal interview
• Location analyses
• Direct contact with real estate companies
• A network covering more than
80 shopping street organisations
• Marketing support to newly
locating companies
Wirtschaftskammer Wien
ServiceCenter Geschäftslokale
1130 Vienna, Hietzinger Kai 133
Phone: +43 1 514 50 6736
E-mail: [email protected]
www.freielokale.at
131
Building work on the transformation of the
HUMA shopping park into the federal capital’s
most up to date shopping centre began in
December 2014.
Seestadt Bregenz: On the shores of Lake
Constance in the heart of Vorarlberg’s provincial
capital. A construction start in early 2015 should
ensure an opening in 2017.
132
2015
CITYPARK in the Styrian
provincial capital Graz
Retail chains
are rushing to Austria
According to the experts, the shopping centre market in Austria is well
covered. While new space is in high demand from retailers,’ older properties,
on the other hand, are coming under increasing pressure.
• TEXT: Patrick Baldia
A
ustria is the focus of international
retail chains. A recent study by EHL
Real Estate confirmed the Alpine Republic as the world’s fourth most requested
target market after Germany, France and
England. The strong interest is easily explained: High purchasing power, booming
city tourism, its image as a safe country,
but also the backlog in demand for many
brands makes Austria a coveted place. In
2014 the US textile chain Gap, 7 for all
mankind and Massimo Dutti, the Inditex
subsidiary brand, opened their first flagship stores in Vienna.
With about 300m 2 per 1,000 inhabitants Austria is well in the lead as regards the supply of retail shopping
centre space, however, not in the international rankings. Shopping malls have
a total market share of 25 percent. By
comparison: This figure is closer to 50
percent at the international level. Nevertheless, experts see no need for new
shopping centres. “The market is well
covered both in major cities and in the
countryside,” says Walter Wölfler, Head
of Retail CEE at CBRE Austria. Eastern Austria in particular has a relatively high frequency of main shopping
streets, such as the Kärntner Straße and
the Mariahilferstrasse.
2015
FULLY LEASED BEFORE OPENING
The strong demand for retail space emphasises the fact that new shopping centres are
mostly fully leased before even opening. This
was the case with the Vienna Main Station
(BahnhofCity), which opened its doors in
October. Developed by the Austrian Federal
Railways (ÖBB) and managed by the ECE
Center, the “BahnhofCity” boasts 20,000m2
of retail space on two floors and currently
has 90 tenants. According EHL Immobilien, the Vienna “Citygate”, which isn’t due
to come to the market until 2015, is also reporting full occupancy. Another new shopping centre is Mariandl in Krems which was
opened in the spring and is managed SES.
Albeit that new objects are well received
by retail chains, older shopping centres are
coming under increasing pressure. Therefore, many operators have begun to optimize existing shopping centres by way of
restoration and renovation projects. The
Aufhofcenter, in the western part of Vienna
was re-opened in early November following a 10,000m2 expansion and now boasting 140 instead of 100 shops. 2015 will see
the completion of the refurbishment work at
the Grazer Citypark. Furthermore, the Fischapark in Wiener Neustadt and the PlusCity in Pasching near Linz are both currently
being extended.
“For sustainable success, ongoing optimization and continuous modernization
of the retail concept is absolutely indispensable in the highly competitive market
centres”, say the experts at EHL Immobilien in a nutshell. Ultimately, the growing
importance of online trading, which currently already commands a 10% share
of retail sales, makes a change in retail
space an absolute necessity. The classic
book and electrical good stores in particular are increasingly becoming a “pickup point” for online purchases. The result:
Space requirements for these industries
are declining. In contrast, textile chains
will require more retail space, explains
Wölfler. “Many customers peruse the internet and then buy in the store, which is
why the broadest possible range is necessary there,” he says.
© Chapman Taylor, Zechner Visualisierung, JHP Visualisierung
FACTS
High street prime rent:
310 Euros per square metre per month
High street prime yields: 3.95%
Shopping centre prime rent:
110 Euros per square metre per month
Shopping centre prime yields: 5.20%
133
Facade construction,
an important part of
project development
In times of energy-saving policies and efficiency measures
sustainable facade construction gains increasing importance.
• TEXT: Helmut Wolf
The high quality “Designer Fences” from
Securo impress with their creativity and
individuality - both in the interior living
space as well as on the facade.
I
t’s a short time before anyone who deals
with facade cladding of every type, is
confronted with the issue of sustainability. Ideally, “suspended rear-ventilated”
cladding, for example, which allows both
a reduction in heating costs as well as
an overall improvement in the optimal
interior environment. In addition, qualitative facades are weather resistant and
UV-resistant and last for many decades.
Another important aspect of sustainable
facade is the thermal insulation. In order
to obtain an effective and complete thermal insulation of the house facade, it’s not
only the basement and roof that must be
insulated; also the walls need some kind
of heat protection.
Generally speaking: A high-quality exterior coating requires technical knowledge
and a lot of craftsmanship. Depending on
the building and its location, requirements
134
for the facade construction design are always different. Proper planning and professionally competent workmanship together
with the use of high quality products are
equally important in project development.
However, it’s not only ecological, economic or artisanal aspects that play an
important role in the construction of a facade. Currently, where design possibilities
are concerned, there are equally as many
different approaches to achieve special
accents. Good examples of the high degree of individuality available are the
decorative products from Securo, in Styria. Under the direction of Eva Burtscher,
Securo, which originally specialized in
“classic” fencing systems for airports,
highways, sports arenas or race tracks,
has developed a quite reputation in the
architectural and real estate sector for its
creative solutions.
Securos’ high-quality “designer fences”
impress with their creativity and individuality. With their “Securo Design” line,
Mrs Burtscher, who actually studied art,
has proven how to harmoniously combine
functional quality and durability with the
decorative aesthetics of property and
interior living space. When used for real
estate and facade design as well as for
private spaces, the “designer fence” can
be implemented in an individual and in a
creative way. The modern and stylish effect is primarily achieved by combining
different materials such as steel, glass,
wood or stone. In the design and manufacturing of unconventional fencing solution, emphasis is placed on both economic
and ecological material processing.
© Securo
2015
New architectural highlight and
Welcome Center at the Red Bull
Ring: the voestalpine wing.
Greater international focus
In light of the inactivity on the domestic market, many Austrian steel
construction companies have focused on foreign markets - with success.
• TEXT: Patrick Baldia
T
here have been better times for the
Austrian steel construction industry.
The industry is also having to cope with
fierce rather poor at the same as a general
slow-down in orders. There is a particular lack of large construction projects, is
the general conclusion among companies.
The low prices attributable to the fierce
price war are another factor which makes
it hardly possible to make any profit. The
ever shorter “time to market” deadlines
don’t make things any easier for construction projects either as this makes it increasingly difficult for steel construction
companies to plan investments.
However, despite the difficult environment, one doesn’t completely want to
paint the Austrian Steel Construction
Association black. The new EU procurement policy for public contracts has been
well received. It specifies that where fu-
2015
ture public projects are concerned, the
cheapest offer will not get the nod, but
those companies that offer the best value
for money. Currently, the EU public procurement policy is at the implementation
phase in the Member States. A new federal procurement law or an amendment to
the current Federal Procurement Act can
be expected in Austria by spring 2016 at
the latest.
HIGH EXPORT QUOTAS
In view of the difficult order situation
many Austrian steel companies have had
to look beyond the country’s borders and
some have been extremely successfully
indeed. Today the Unger Steel Group and
Haslinger Steel Construction enjoy an
export share of no less than 70 percent.
In recent years Competitor Waagner-Biro
have pulled in more than 90 percent of
135
Vienna Central Station – The eye-catching diamond shaped roof of the
Central Railway Station, engineered by internationally operating Unger
Steel Group, is set to become a strong symbol of modernity and mobility.
sales from abroad, peaking with a share
of almost 96 percent in 2013. The Austrian steel manufacturers have left their
footprint throughout the world. The Middle East has emerged as the most important growth market of late where tenders
for interesting large projects are continuously invited.
Keyword “Middle East”: The construction industry is currently hard at work
on the Arabian Peninsula. In the summer, Waagner-Biro was able to secure
approximately two orders in Doha and
Dubai, with a volume of more than €15m.
The construction of the Seero Fi Al Ardh
Carousel in the Education City in Doha,
the capital of Qatar, has been confirmed
with a contract value of €7.9m. Revolving stages such as those implemented the
Linz State Theatre are to serve as a role
model for the technical construction the
company said. In turn, the company was
also able to secure the €6.8m bid for the
expansion of the Dubai Festival City.
SOUGHT-AFTER EXPERTISE
Incidentally, both projects are repeat
business. “This shows that our consolidated expertise brings success and our
customers rely on our sustainable expertise,” said CEO Thomas Jost. In the Dubai
Festival City, Waagner-Biro has already
built 14,000m2 of entertainment, dining, shopping, sports and residential and
office space. The current project, which
involves the modification of the Festival
Square facade, will add a further 5,500m2
to it. If all goes to plan, the work should be
completed by mid-March this year.
Recently, Unger Steel was able to secure an interesting major contract. In late
November, the company was awarded the
contract for the steel construction of six
large warehouses with a total length of
1.5 kilometres in Ras Al-Khair in Saudi
136
Arabia. Not less than 14,000 tons of steel
will have been processed by the scheduled project completion date in July 2016.
In 2006, Unger Steel founded a manufacturing facility in the United Arab Emirates practically in Sharjah, the only emirate that has access to the Indian Ocean.
Today 40,000 tons of steel are annually
produced there on a production area of
32,500m2.
EXCELLENT:
BAHNHOF-RAUTENDACH
Unger Steel has come in for a lot of attention recently due a project which they
realised in Vienna. Namely, the steel construction company is responsible for the
award-winning 31,000m2 of diamondshaped roof on top of the new Vienna Central Station in which 7,000 tons of steel
were used. Last March, they were also
entrusted with the roofing of North-West
forecourt of the Vienna Central Station.
Hardly any less spectacular than the diamond roof is the floating roof construction from star architect Zaha Hadid over
the Library & Learning Centres (LCC) at
the new Vienna University of Economics
campus, which rests on 350 tons of steel
girders.
Haslinger Stahlbau GmbH is also considered to be among the top players in the
Austrian steel construction market. The
Carinthian company has five facilities in
Austria, Germany and Hungary with 450
employees and currently processes approximately 40,000 tons of steel, with an
increasing volume tendency. Several years
ago, the company was focused on the German car industry and since then engine
works as well as production and assembly halls for BMW, Audi, VW, Porsche and
Daimler have been built. However, Haslinger Stahlbau GmbH also has bridges, lift
stations and columns props, aircraft hangars, shopping centres and roof structures
for football stadiums in its project portfolio. Last year, the steel fabricator has also
erected the prestigious “Welcome Center”
at the “Red Bull Ring” in Spielberg.
© Voestalpinge, ÖBB Roman Bönsch, BOA
WU-Wien
2015
ADVANTAGE AUSTRIA OFFICES ABROAD
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[email protected]
www.advantageaustria.org/dz
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www.advantageaustria.org/id
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[email protected]
www.advantageaustria.org/ro
Venezuela
[email protected]
www.advantageaustria.org/ve
Further information on Austrian companies: www.advantageaustria.org
INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
PAGE
SECTOR
COMPANY NAME
41
18-20
95
108-109
111
56
70
127
129
22-29
130
39
63, 65
U3
43
37
37
117
107
106
118-119
31
8
35
121
59
116
U2
103
128
10
104-105
68
71
74
77
85
91
33
123
131
Airline company
Shopping
Air China
ABA - Invest in Austria
Wien Holding GmbH
Business Park Vienna
WALTER BUSINESS-PARK GmbH
Wiener Kongresszentrum Hofburg BetriebsgesmbH
Securo Fachmarkt GmbH
IVAM – Immobilien Management & Asset Management GmbH
Drees & Sommer Projektmanagement und bautechnische Beratung GmbH
AUSSENWIRTSCHAFT AUSTRIA
Reed MIDEM
accent Gründerservice GmbH
Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich AG
ALUKÖNIGSTAHL GmbH
Nemetschke Huber Koloseus Rechtsanwälte GmbH
Neugebauer-Herl & Maier-Hülle Rechtsanwälte Partnerschaft GbR
GREENORANGE media marketing and publishing Ltd.
Flughafen Wien Aktiengesellschaft
IC Projektentwicklung GmbH
IG Immobilien Management GmbH
ÖBB-Immobilienmanagement GmbH
WED Wiener Entwicklungsgesellschaft für den Donauraum AG
WSE Wiener Standortentwicklung GmbH
Seeste AG
Erste Group Immorent AG
Michaeler & Partner GmbH Wien
Bondi Immobilien-Consulting GmbH
EHL Immobilien GmbH
OTTO Immobilien GmbH
Spiegelfeld Immobilien GmbH
ÖRAG Österreichische Realitäten AG
6B47 REAL ESTATE INVESTORS AG
AREA m styria GmbH
WEGRAZ Gesellschaft für Stadterneuerung und Assanierung m.b.H.
Wirtschaftsservice Burgenland AG
ecoplus. Niederösterreichs Wirtschaftsagentur GmbH
OÖ. Technologie- und Marketinggesellschaft mbH
Wirtschaftsagentur Wien. Ein Fonds der Stadt Wien.
Wirtschafts-Standort Vorarlberg Betriebsansiedlungs GmbH
Medox Restaurant- und Hotelbetriebs GmbH
Wiener Einkaufsstraßen-Management
Tax adviser
Deloitte Tax Wirtschaftsprüfungs GmbH
6
Austrian Business Agency
Business Location Vienna
Business Park
Business Park
Congress centre
Construction materials
Consulting
Consulting, surveying
Economic chambers
Exhibition centre
Expat advice
Finance
General construction Real Estate
Lawyer
Lawyer
Media agency
Project development
Project development
Project development
Project development
Project development
Project development
Project development
Project development
Project development in tourism
Property adviser
Property consulting
Property consulting
Property consulting
Property consulting
Property development
Regional development
Regional development
Regional development
Regional development
Regional development
Regional development
Regional development business settlement
Residential
IMPRINT
Media owner:
DMV – della lucia medien & verlags GmbH
A-1010 Wien, Riemergasse 9/4. Stock
Tel. +43 (0)1 997 43 16-0
Fax +43 (0)1 997 43 16-99
E-Mail: [email protected]
www.dmv-immobilien.at
Publisher:
Elisabeth Della Lucia
Chief editor:
Patrick Baldia
Editorial staff:
Patrick Baldia, Helmut Wolf, Gisela Gary, Walter Senk,
Vanessa Haidvogl
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Bernie Steinbach, Martin Weiß | pool2b.net
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Tamara Debenjak
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Cover:
Rivergate Wien © pool2b.net
MIPIM, EXPO REAL;
direct mail to companies in Europe,
the magazine can be found at hotel receptions
in Cannes during MIPIM
www.advantageaustria.org
Printing:
Samson Druck Ges.m.b.H.
A-5581 St. Margarethen 171
Translation:
Rupert Hebblethwaite, Peter Easterbrook
138
2015
Aluminium Façades
Innately efficient.
With its Schüco aluminium systems, ALUKÖNIGSTAHL helps to optimise the energy budget of a building through forward-looking measures from the
excellent thermal insulation of façades and opening elements to passive-house certified solutions. The combination with integrated photovoltaic plants,
multi-system automation, decentralised ventilation technology and perfect security further enhance the effectiveness of the properties of the system.
For more information and support please contact our technical sales force: tel 01/98 130-0 or www.alukoenigstahl.com
Economic Reports & Business Guide 2015