OMV boss rejects Libya pull-out appeals

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Business

OMV chief Wolfgang Ruttenstorfer has made clear a retreat from Libya is not on the firm’s agenda.The Austrian company is one of a few firms which are still getting oil from the North African country where the troops of political leader Muammar al-Gaddafi are combating opposition groups calling for democracy.Ruttenstorfer said yesterday (Weds) OMV would […]

BMW recalls around 1,200 motorcycles

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Business

BMW Austria – the Austrian branch of German car and motorcycle producer BMW – is calling back more than 1,000 motorbikes.Drivers association ÖAMTC said today (Weds) the company decided to recall 1,191 motorcycles of various series due to problems with their back-wheel suspensions. The organisation said all owners have already been informed. ÖAMTC added it […]

Porr may leave Hungary

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Business

Porr AG chairman Karl-Heinz Strauss has said the construction firm may stop operating in Hungary.The Hungarian government has criticised the quality of a motorway recently built by the Viennese company. Strauss pointed out today (Tues) that the problems were “of political nature”.The businessman said: “We may have to withdraw from Hungary. I think (the situation […]

Austrian tourism sector less competitive

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Business

The Austrian tourism branch has suffered in competitiveness, according to a survey presented today (Tues).The World Economic Forum (WEF) listed Austria in fourth in its latest Global Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Monitor, down two spots compared to the 2009 edition of the study.Switzerland heads the chart which features 219 countries and considers federal tourisms’ sustainability […]

Zumtobel shines as turnover jumps

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Business

Lighting systems producer Zumtobel AG has managed to improve its turnover by more than 10 per cent.The company, with its headquarters in the Vorarlberg city of Dornbirn, said today (Mon) it achieved a turnover of 908.9 million Euros in the first three quarters of its 2010/2011 business year. The firm emphasised this was a 10.2 […]

First female head for TU

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Business

A German-born academic has become the third woman to head a state-owned university in Austria.The board of the Vienna University of Technology (TU) said today (Fri) it unanimously elected Sabine Seidler as new chief of the institution.The 49-year-old married mother-of-two will take over from Peter Skalicky in October. Skalicky has headed the university since 1991. […]

RHI delivered fire-proof performance in 2010, analysts say

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Business

Fireproofing products maker RHI AG’s earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) could have been almost 150 per cent higher last year than in 2009, according to analysts.Market experts said today (Fri) that the Vienna-based firm – which will present its annual business performance figures next Tuesday – may have achieved Ebit of 134.5 million Euros […]

WIFO warns building firms of a tough time

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Business

Austrian construction companies are in for a difficult year, a leading think tank has warned.The Institute for Economic Research (WIFO) announced today (Fri) that it expected investments in the domestic building sector to grow by just 0.7 per cent year on year. The think tank pointed out that the Austrian gross domestic product (GDP) was […]

Red Bull hires Pirker

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Business

Former Styria Media Group boss Horst Pirker has joined Red Bull.The energy drink giant said today (Thurs) that the businessman took over its affiliated company Red Bull Media House as of 1 March. Pirker surprisingly resigned as head of Styria Media Group – an internationally operating publishing firm – in September.Red Bull founder and chief […]

Hungarians buy sugar in bulk

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Business

Shops in eastern Austria have reported that Hungarians are engaging in panic-buying of sugar.Several managers of supermarkets and groceries in the Austrian province of Burgenland told local media today (Thurs) that their stocks of the product were sold out due to recent developments.Branch experts explain that Hungarians have started to cross the border to purchase […]