Austrias motorway operator auctions off snow ploughs and lorries

Categories
General News

ASFINAG has auctioned off 200 vehicles and pieces of equipment in Graz-Raaba (Styria) yesterday (Wednesday) to finance a new car pool. The 200 pieces that went to auction – ranging from small cars to snow ploughs and lawnmowers – were used by ASFINAG, who is responsible for planning, building, maintaining and operating motorways in many […]

Styrias Andritz in 50 Millionen-Euro deal with China

Categories
Business

The Styrian mechanical engineering firm Andritz has secured a 50 million Euro deal in China. The stock-listed company is to deliver ovens and equipment for the “Tangshan Iron and Steel Group”. The new tempering lines are for the production of highly resistant steel goods to be used in the automobile industry. The Styrian firm will […]

Swarovski invest in India

Categories
Business

Austrian crystal maker Swarovski has snapped up a share in the Indian jewellery firm Tara Jewels. According to information from inside the company the deal was signed in December by the Swarovski investment firm Crystalon Finanz AG based at Meilen in Switzerland. The jeweller based in Mumbai employs 1,740 staff and has 30 stores in […]

Parliament to be renovated for 500m

Categories
Politics

The search has begun for a contractor to take responsibility for the 500 million euro renovation of Vienna’s historic parliamentary building. According to a government spokesman the successful contractor will be sought by inviting tenders from across Europe. Specifications for the contract will be made available in the middle of next month. In the first […]

Vir Gin backs down over spirited row with Branson firm

Categories
Culinary Guide

Lawyers for Richard Branson’s Virgin firm have forced a small Alpine spirit maker to change the name of their gin after claiming it breached copyright. Austrian Anton Vogl from Guglhof in Hallein, Austria, had patented the name of his “Vir Gin” with the Austrian patenting authorities in 2010 and started putting it on the market […]

ÖBB safety fears over outsourcing of rolling stock

Categories
Business

Austria’s state railway system could be facing a multi-million pound bill if Italian officials are correct and that many of its goods wagons have got faulty wheels thanks to outsourcing in eastern Europe. According to a report on the Austrian state broadcaster the ORF, a Slovakian subsidiary firm of the rail company is responsible for […]

Butchers stole tons of meat to sell to Czech mates

Categories
General News

Austrian police have arrested two butchers from the Czech Republic who worked in a meat packaging plant on the border who used to sneak out into the car park at the back of their firm and throw meat over the fence where accomplices would load into the car and sell it across the border to […]

Andritz named by Jagger over rain forest dam plan

Categories
Green Austria

The first wife of Mick Jagger who is now a European goodwill ambassador has come to Vienna to highlight the fact that the Austrian firm Andritz is involved in a controversial project to build a huge dam in the Amazon rainforest. Bianca met husband to be Mick Jagger at a party after a Rolling Stones […]

AUA under pressure as pilots quit

Categories
Business

The number of pilots and stewardesses leaving Austrian Airlines (AUA) because of the upcoming pay cuts is on the rise. The works council announced yesterday (Tues) that 110 pilots and 200 stewards and stewardesses quit in the past weeks. They did so to evade the enforced salary cuts, according to staff representatives. Final figures for […]

ÖBB ticket prices could climb

Categories
Business

Federal Railways (ÖBB) tickets could be more expensive later this year. ÖBB CEO Christian Kern refused to rule out price hikes yesterday (Thurs). Kern pointed out that ÖBB did not up passenger tickets in the past four years. “We are not a charity organisation,” he said. Kern underlined that a further improvement of services was […]