Strabag denies Sochi building work delays

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Business

Strabag SE chief Hans Peter Haselsteiner has rubbished speculations construction projects in 2014 Olympics host city Sochi are running late.The businessman’s company is just one of a string of Austrian firms which were assigned to carry out building and infrastructure projects in the Russian Black Sea resort.Haselsteiner told the Kurier newspaper today (Thurs): “We are […]

GM Austria gets €50mn injection

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Business

A factory in Vienna has produced the 20-millionth gearbox for General Motors (GM), it emerged today (Thurs).GM Powertrain Austria boss Rudolf Hamp said GM decided to pour an additional 50 million Euros in the plant in Donaustadt district to improve the production process after the 20-millionth gearbox left the conveyor belt earlier this week.Hamp said […]

Polish €11mn order for Kapsch

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Business

Viennese technology company Kapsch TrafficCom AG (Kapsch) has bagged a major assignment in Poland.The road toll systems specialist said today (Thurs) it will set up a digital radio system on 84 kilometres of railway network in the country. The company, which is headed by Georg Kapsch, added the contract was worth 11 million Euros.Kapsch official […]

Air Berlin says 2010 loss likely

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Business

Air Berlin has suffered losses last year, according to estimations made yesterday evening (Weds).The airline, which cooperates with Austria’s FlyNiki, announced its could have suffered operative losses “of a one-digit million-Euro sum”. Air Berlin explained the extreme winter weather in November and December and the strike of air traffic controllers in Spain last month were […]

Overnight stays up with a little help from Vienna

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Business

A strong year on year surge of overnight stays in Vienna rescued the 2010 performance of the Austrian tourism industry.Figures presented by state agency Statistik Austria yesterday (Weds) show that hotels in the federal capital registered 10.86 million overnight stays last year, 10.3 per cent more than in 2009. The city’s tourism businesses also did […]

ÖBB to train rival’s staff

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Business

Federal Railways (ÖBB) boss Christian Kern has revealed that his firm will begin training the train drivers of a rival company.Businessman Hans Peter Haselsteiner and former ÖBB manager Stefan Wehinger’s Westbahn project will start offering around daily connections between Vienna and Salzburg this December. Wehinger recently told Die Presse newspaper: “We expect to achieve operative […]

Palmers finds things tight due to Lejaby takeover

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Business

Austrian lingerie manufacturer Palmers has warned it will try to withdraw the takeover of rival Lejaby amid suspicions its previous owner gave wrong information about its finances.Palmers boss Thomas Weber told business magazine Trend his firm was considering approaching US American Warnaco Group to discuss chances for a retroactive reduction of the takeover price of […]

ÖBB names new RCA chiefs

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Business

Bosses of struggling Federal Railways (ÖBB) have appointed two new heads for loss-making affiliated firm Rail Cargo Austria (RCA).ÖBB CEO Christian Kern decided in November to remove RCA co-chiefs Friedrich Macher and Günther Riessland from executive power as the company’s debts stopped soaring.Kern explained at that time that Macher and Riessland will keep working for […]

World economy’s recovery continues, says think tank

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Business

The global economy will grow strongly in the coming years, a Viennese think tank has predicted.The Institute for Economic Research (WIFO) said today (Mon) it expected the world economy to grow by 4.5 per cent every year until 2015. Austria’s economy will grow by 2.2 per cent every year until 2015, according to WIFO.WIFO announced […]

Lauda presents new sponsor among anti-gay dancing dispute

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Business

Niki Lauda has found a new “head sponsor”.The three-time Formula One (F1) champion almost died when his Ferrari caught fire at the Nürburgring racing course in Germany in 1976. “I didn’t want people looking at the black, burnt skin,” he explained when being asked why he decided to don a baseball cap. The businessman, who […]