AUSTRIA: Plasser & Theurer held a ground-breaking ceremony for a €60m track machine final assembly and commissioning facility at its Pummererstrasse site in Linz on September 11.
Production capacities that are currently separated will be brought closer together, with the integration of commissioning significantly increasing efficiency.
The 12 000 m2 facility will have 15 final assembly stations each 8·5 m by 30 m, with three 91 m tracks and one 56 m track for commissioning. There will be a photovoltaic system and a green roof providing thermal insulation to reduce energy required for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning.
The workshop is scheduled to be completed in July 2026 and go into operation in early 2027. It will support 180 jobs, 80 of which will be new.
Belief in Austria as a business location
Plasser & Theurer said this is the largest single investment in Austria in its more than 70-year history. It is being paid for from the private funds of the owning family, which does not wish to burden the company at a time when it is undertaking a cost reduction programme and multi-year transformation process.
‘Despite the extremely difficult economic situation in Oberösterreich, which is currently affecting many companies, including us, we are investing in our future right now and creating new jobs, making a commitment to our employees, our market and our customers’, said CEO Johannes Max-Theurer.
’Austria has come under severe pressure as a business location in recent years: comparatively high energy costs, rising non-wage labour costs, a shortage of skilled workers, and a massive increase in bureaucracy. Competition on the global markets, in particular, has recently become increasingly tough for strongly export-orientated companies like us. We feel it enormously, and this is where sensible policy with good judgement is required.
‘Our investments prove that we still believe in Austria as a business location. Although we have a shortage of skilled workers, we generally have very well-trained specialists, a high research quota, legal certainty and a high quality of life. These factors are important.’
