World Champion Austria Lower Austria
Lower Austria – companies full of optimism Thomas Salzer, President of the Lower Austrian Federation of Industries, and Wolfgang Ecker, head of the Lower Austrian Economic Chamber, speak about the essentials for the business location.
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© Andi Bruckner
he optimism among Lower Austrian businesses is increasing. Almost every other company – 47 percent in fact – expect there will be higher turnovers over the next twelve months, says an economic trend survey by the Lower Austrian Economic Chamber. The same survey from last winter showed that back then only 20 percent of businesses expected increased turnovers over the next twelve months.
Thomas Salzer, President of the Lower Austrian Federation of Industries
Only 15 percent of businesses expect falling turnovers; in winter 2020 more than double as many (36 percent) thought so. The rising expectations are reflected by the willingness to invest. Three quarters of those surveyed believe there will be rising (30 percent) or constant (45 percent) investment volumes. Last winter less than half of all businesses thought so. The leading reason for investments is digitisation projects (59 percent), followed by capacity utilisation (50 percent), a positive business outlook and investments into green technologies (49 percent each). Thomas Salzer, President of the Lower Austrian Federation of Industries, and Wolfgang Ecker, head of the Lower Austrian Economic Chamber, know more about the economic situation in Lower Austria. Mr Ecker, Mr Salzer, how are the Lower Austrian businesses doing? Wolfgang Ecker: Many companies have used their time wisely to develop new strategies and roadmaps for the years to come. They pooled their resources and developed new ideas. This was reflected by the number of projects submitted to our Encouragement Initiative 2021. It proved how creativity can give businesses a huge boost for their economic success. The diverse mix of different industries in Lower Austria has also been a major advantage. We managed to overcome the economic crisis better by being so diversified. Some businesses, however, are still working on their economic comeback. Thomas Salzer: We see a spirit of optimism right now. Businesses have done their homework and are confidently looking forward. The in-house Covid test centres at the companies were important to come through these difficult times. In May, in-house vaccinations started. Unfortunately, we still need to convince some staff to get
