Green Austria

Vienna Region
Eisenstadt paved the way to
becoming a hi-tech location
focusing on IT and
communications technology by
attracting Nokia and eTel
to the city.
Diamond Aircraft Industries, an
international manufacturer of
lightweight glass fiber and
carbon fiber airplanes, employs
a staff of 500 in Wiener
Neustadt and is synonymous
with the appeal of the location.
With the construction of a
modern biotechnology centre, in
which a staff of 500 to 600 of
international biotechnology
company Baxter will be
employed, Vienna has further
established itself as an
appealing location for corporate
or regional headquarters.
HAIDEN-BAUMANN
BAXTER/BEZARD
Human Success Factor
The productivity of domestic employees is
based on an enormous willingness to perform,
high motivation and, above all, excellent
schooling. Foreign investors appreciate the
forceful combination of theory and practice
in the Austrian education system and the excellent
schooling of domestic technicians.
Furthermore, the Vienna Region is home to
the highest density of universities, technical
colleges and other educational institutes in
all of Austria. Austrian academics and engineers
form the backbone of Austria's appeal
as a location for research and development.
Domestic researchers are amongst the inter-
national elite in such diverse fields as green
technology, pharmaceuticals, vehicle construction,
optoelectronics, chemistry, biotechnology,
materials, IT, agricultural
biotechnology, microsystems technology,
electrochemistry, tribology, medical engineering
and regenerative medicines.
Ever more High Tech
The quality of the location is further evidenced
in the economic success of those sectors
located here. A definite sector for the future
is the automotive sector, for example, which
has made the Vienna Region the quickest growing
automotive region in Austria, employing
around 40,000 people. The foundation of the
Automotive Cluster Vienna Region (ACVR) in
2001 by the Viennese and Lower Austrian business
agencies (Vienna Business Agency and
ecoplus respectively) promotes the cooperation
between innovative enterprises that supply
auto parts, makes the most of the potential
for synergy and thus increases the competitiveness
of the region enormously. The promising
future of the sector is demonstrated by the
enormous capacity to produce vehicles in the
new EU member states (2008: 3.2 million cars
per year), 90 per cent of which are produced
within a 300 kilometer radius of Vienna.
The Life Science Austria Vienna Region (LISA
VR) network promotes the long-term settlement
of other enterprises in the Vienna region
in yet another high-tech sector, the life
sciences. Other examples include the IT network,
Vienna IT Enterprises (VITE), the Timber
Cluster Lower Austria, the Wellbeing Cluster
Lower Austria, the Green Building Cluster Lower
Austria and the Plastics Cluster.
Since 2004, ecoplus has placed further focus
on technology in Lower Austria with its technopol
program. The three technopol locations
in Krems, Tulln and Wiener Neustadt provide
high-tech companies with the necessary infrastructure
required by the sector. While Krems
focuses on medical biotechnology, Wiener Neustadt
provides locations for enterprises from
the ‘Modern Industrial Technologies’ sector
and Tulln provides agricultural and environmental
biotechnology firms with optimal locations.
These locations provide the opportunity
for research and development institutes to cooperate
with educational institutes and business.
The Vienna Region offers a wide range of
attractive locations, ranging from technology
parks equipped with cutting-edge facilities to
factory premises, business parks, turnkey
offices and retail outlets.
36 LOCATIONAUSTRIA 02/2006