Baxter to expand in Austria, Bohuslav claims
US pharmaceutical firm Baxter will expand its operations in Vienna and Orth an der Donau, Lower Austria, the Lower Austrian Economic Councillor Petra Bohuslav has said.The statement came today (Fri) following her return from a visit to Chicago, Illinois, where Baxter Internationals headquarters are located.Since Baxters Austrian locations were its most important in the area of bioscience and employed 700 people, she said, it was important for her to have made contact with Joy Amudson, the president of Baxter BioScience.Speaking yesterday in New York Bohuslav said that “it is a huge success for us when a worldwide firm invests more money in Austria” without mentioning a figure for Baxters future investment in the country.Bohuslav noted that some of Baxters production lines would be transferred from the US state of Maryland to Orth an der Donau in the coming months.Amudson said that “Baxters activity in Austria has played an important role in our success and will continue to do so.”Bohuslav and Amudson met at the annual convention of the Biotechnology Industry Organisation (BIO) in Chicago.Austrian Consul General Thomas Schnöll in Chicago said that 23 Austrian firms had participated in the convention from 4 to 6 May, “an absolute record.”Bohuslav went to New York from Chicago for the opening of the “Austria Uncorked” wine fair featuring around 100 exhibitors, of whom half were from Lower Austria. “Without Lower Austria, the fair would not have occurred,” she said.She noted the importance of wine as a “door opener” for other sectors such as tourism and the culinary industry. “Lower Austria is positioning itself as a land of bon vivants, for which wine is essential,” she said.