voestalpine Winter Games: employees from over 40 nations competing in Spielberg

29 January 2018 |

Exactly two weeks before the start of the Olympic Winter Games 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea, the voestalpine Winter Games were celebrated for the first time at the Red Bull Ring over the weekend: 120 employees from over 40 countries and 90 Group companies met on January 26 and 27 to compete against one another in five winter sport disciplines. The focus of the event was on employee networking right across the Group. More than 50,000 people work for voestalpine around the world, with the employee participation plan making them the Group’s second-largest shareholder.

Employee development and motivation have long been important to the globally active voestalpine Group. Following the voestalpine Employee World Championships 2013 in Schladming and the voestalpine Grand Prix 2015 in Spielberg, the voestalpine Winter Games 2018 was the third international employee event of its type to be held in Styria. The event location was once again the Red Bull Ring where voestalpine has been a Projekt Spielberg partner for around the past four years, contributing the voestalpine wing—an architectural highlight and Welcome Center.

voestalpine’s economic success and power to innovate are, to a large extent, reliant on the hard work and commitment demonstrated by our employees on a daily basis. The voestalpine Winter Games are designed to express our appreciation, as well as to provide the opportunity to meet and talk to colleagues from locations around the world, away from the daily routine of work.

Wolfgang Eder, Chairman of the Management Board of voestalpine AG

Participants from Argentina to China

Participants from countries including Argentina, the USA, Columbia, Canada, Brazil, China, Mexico, Malaysia, South Africa, Venezuela, Iran, India, Pakistan, Russia, and the Philippines symbolized the global presence of the voestalpine Group with its 500 Group companies on all five continents. Thirty four-person teams competed against one another in ice hockey, curling, downhill skiing, and bobsledding. The final event was a biathlon relay for which the athletes had trained at the Nordic sports training center in Eisenerz.

Employees as shareholders

During the current business year voestalpine exceeded the 50,000 employee mark for the first time; over 50 percent of its employees work outside Austria. The employee participation plan, in which employees hold around 14.5% of the company’s shares, is regarded as a model of its type in Europe. voestalpine also invests over EUR 50 million each year in its employees’ professional development. The in-house training of skilled employees is also a top priority. Currently 1,320 youngsters in 50 different occupations and spread over 20 countries are completing an apprenticeship at voestalpine. voestalpine invests around EUR 70,000 in training each skilled employee over the term of their apprenticeship.

The voestalpine Group

In its business segments, voestalpine is a globally leading technology and capital goods group with a unique combination of materials and processing expertise. This global Group comprises about 500 Group companies and locations in more than 50 countries on all five continents. It has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1995. With its top-quality products and system solutions using steel and other metals, the voestalpine Group is one of the leading partners of the automotive and consumer goods industries in Europe as well as the aerospace and oil & natural gas industries worldwide. voestalpine is also the world market leader in turnout technology, special rails, tool steel, and special sections. In the business year 2016/17, the Group generated revenue of EUR 11.3 billion, with an operating result (EBITDA) of EUR 1.54 billion; it had about 50,000 employees worldwide.