voestalpine Wire Rod Austria GmbH, a company of the Metal Engineering Division of voestalpine AG with sites in Donawitz, Bruck/Mur and Fürstenfeld, is relocating part of its production from Fürstenfeld to its site in Bruck/Mur by March 2024.
The branch in Fürstenfeld has been producing saw wires for the photovoltaic industry and other specialty wire products since 2012. Despite extensive restructuring measures and investments over several years, particularly in the area of research and development, the production of saw wires for the photovoltaic industry at the Fürstenfeld site is no longer economically viable. The migration of the European photovoltaic industry to China and, most recently, the massive rise in energy prices in Austria as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war have led to excessive cost increases and negative economic effects on the Fürstenfeld site. The saw wires produced in Fürstenfeld for the photovoltaic industry are therefore no longer internationally competitive. Production will therefore have to be discontinued by the end of the year. The production of special wire products (reed contacts) for the electronics industry will be relocated to the voestalpine Wire Austria GmbH site in Bruck/Mur. Continuing production in Fürstenfeld is no longer economically viable due to the low volume.
A total of 53 employees are affected by the relocation. voestalpine would like to offer each affected employee the best possible individual solution. All employees at the Fürstenfeld site will be offered a replacement job at the voestalpine Metal Engineering Division sites in Bruck/Mur, Leoben, Kindberg and Kapfenberg. Alternatively, employees for whom another location is not an option have the opportunity to join the voestalpine Steel Foundation in order to reorient themselves or continue their education. In addition, a social plan will be drawn up with the employee representatives in order to find a socially acceptable solution for all those affected.
The voestalpine Group's Metal Engineering Division is the global market leader for railroad infrastructure systems and signaling technology with its Railway Systems business unit. With its Industrial Systems business unit, the division is also the European market leader for quality wire and a global supplier of complete welding solutions. Seamless tubes are also supplied all over the world from the Kindberg site in Austria. Customers come from the railroad infrastructure, oil and gas, mechanical engineering, automotive and construction industries as well as the renewable energy sector. As part of greentec steel, the Metal Engineering Division is already working and researching intensively on various innovative, climate-friendly technologies and production processes. In the 2022/23 financial year, the division generated revenue of around EUR 4.3 billion with its Railway Systems and Industrial Systems business units, over 40% of which was generated outside Europe. The division thus generated an operating result (EBITDA) of EUR 586 million and employed around 14,000 people worldwide.
voestalpine is a globally leading steel and technology group with a unique combination of materials and processing expertise. voestalpine, which operates globally, has around 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 premium products and system solutions, voestalpine is a leading partner to the automotive and consumer goods industries, as well as to the aerospace and oil & natural gas industries. The company is also the global market leader in railway systems, tool steel, and special sections. voestalpine is committed to the global climate goals and has a clear plan for decarbonizing steel production with its greentec steel program. In the business year 2022/23, the Group generated revenue of EUR 18.2 billion, with an operating result (EBITDA) of EUR 2.5 billion; it has around 51,200 employees worldwide.
