Best Practice world shaping companies within the Vienna Region
Most people know that American companies like McDonald’s, Coca Cola or Microsoft can be found all over the world. But what only few people know is that there are also famous world shaping Austrian companies. Let’s take a look at some famous examples of companies that were found within the Vienna Region.
Piatnik
This family business started out as a company designing playing cards in 1824 and was one of the leading playing card companies by the turn of the century. People knew that buying Piatnik products were products of high quality. After WW2 the company had lost everything, including their factories. But they had not lost their belief in games. This belief combined with their reputation led to building a new company. This time, the company did not only focus on playing cards. In 1956 Piatnik expanded its portfolio by offering board games, followed by jigsaw puzzles in 1966. Today Piatnik is one of the most popular game companies within Europe with branch offices in Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic as well as the USA. Check your cupboard where you store your collection of board games. Maybe you can find one board game in your games cupboard that has the Piatnik logo on it. Now you know where the idea for this game has come from.
Manner
Most people know the pink square packet containing delicious wafers filled with chocolate-hazelnut cream. The family company started out with the dream of one man, Josef Manner I, in 1890. Josef Manner wanted to produce chocolate snacks of nutritional value. He wanted ingredients of the best quality. When suppliers could not offer him the quality he wanted, he opened his own shop. Within 7 years the company had grown substantially to 100 employees. In 1898 the well-known Manner wafers in the square packaging were put on the market. Ever since its existence the format as well as the logo and the small print of St. Stephen’s Cathedral have been Manner’s trademark.
Today the company is the leading manufacturer of wafers, sugar-coated candy and aerated confectionery and operates from two locations in Vienna Region selling the brands Manner, Casali, Napoli, Ildefonso and Victor Schmidt. One location is found in Vienna’s 17th district, the second one is situated in Wolkersdorf in Lower Austria, making it a company that is connected to two regions of Vienna Region.
A few years back, Manner decided to implement vertical manufacturing in their location in Vienna. Vertical manufacturing means that companies produce as much as they can themselves. In Manner’s situation this means that the company has started not only to produce the wafers and the filling onsite, but also the single packages for the wafers and the cardboard boxes. The company is also handling their own logistics and warehouse.
The Manner products are exported to more than 70 locations around the globe. So the next time you enjoy Manner sweets, you know that you hold one of Vienna Region’s treasures in your hand.
Ottakringer Brewery
Although Austria is mainly famous for wine, there is a well-known brewery based in Vienna up until today. The success story of the Ottakringer Brewery started about 180 years ago. The still family-run company is the last remaining brewery within Vienna and one of the largest breweries within Austria. Starting out in a suburb, the brewery is nowadays situated in the 16th Viennese district. Its approximately 150 employees make sure that the beer is of the highest quality using spring water from the onsite well and the finest hop and barley. Over the years many changes have been made introducing a number of new, even alcohol-free products, an on-premise shop as well as the option to use the brewery as a very fine event location. The next time you toast someone with a beer, check if it is a beer of one of the best breweries in Vienna Region.
Vossen
This successful company has been producing terry towel products for more than 50 years. Several tons of yarn are needed every year in order to produce the more than 6 million towels, bathrobes and bath mats. The company is proud to offer to customers terry cloth products of best quality, while focussing on sustainability and fair working conditions. The company is constantly looking into the improvement of their products and keeps looking for more innovative methods. Vossen is proud to have established a new type of towels by using airpillow technology. The company is also proud of the high absorbency as well as of the lint-freeness of their products. The high quality of Vossen terry cloth is known within Vienna Region as well as around the globe. Maybe the next time you stay in a comfortable hotel, you will find yourself drying off in one of those luxurious Vossen towels.
Felix Austria
For more than 60 years this medium sized Austrian company situated in Mattersburg has been the most popular food producer for groceries and for the food service industry within Austria. Nowadays the Felix products are sold not only in Austria, but also in more than 20 European countries. The company was founded in 1958 and has been part of the Norwegian consortium called Orkla ASA since 1995.
Mostly known for the production of Ketchup, Felix offers a great range of other products such as mayonnaise, pasta sauce, gherkins, salads and vegetables. Enjoying ketchup with your fries? Take a look, maybe you hold an original treasure from Vienna Region in your hands.
Waldquelle
This mineral water was first used in 1830 and has been on the market ever since. Waldquelle is the second best-selling mineral water on the Austrian market. The well can be found at the foot of Pauliberg, which is the youngest of Austria’s dead volcanoes. The mineral water is collected underground, where the water is enriched with natural carbonic acid. Waldquelle is filled into bottles right next to the well, as this is the only way to keep its high quality and freshness. The products range from sparkling to still mineral water as well as water with fruity tastes such as strawberry & raspberry or pear & elderflower. Since 2008 the Czech company Carlsbader is the new owner of Waldquelle. The Czech company hopes to further the export of their products to the Czech Republic, Germany as well as other European countries. Who knows, your next refreshing beverage might have come from this hilly county in Vienna Region.
Sonnentor Tea and herbs
The story of this family business started in 1988. Johannes Gutmann was supposed to take over the family business, but he had a different idea and wanted to market organic herbs. In the 1980s the term organic was not used when referring to food. Gutmann offered his goods on regional markets, his trademark being an old pair of leather trousers and a red round pair of glasses. Soon he was known everywhere and word-of-mouth recommendation helped him to slowly win over farmers and partners for his company. Today more than 300 farmers all over the world are the basic network that help to market Sonnentor products. Besides organic tea and herbs, the products range from coffee and cocoa to sweets and little knick-knacks such as lavender soap or warm herbal cushions. In all, Sonnentor offers its customers more than 900 products. These products can be bought in the various shops all over Vienna Region. You can also buy online and have the goods shipped to you, making it possible to enjoy organic products from Vienna Region wherever you are.
NÖM Lower Austria Dairy Cooperative
This dairy company was founded in 1898 by Franz von Pirko and started operating 2 years later. In its more than 100 years of existence, the company has gone through many changes from expansions and mergers to modernisation and going public. The first famous yoghurt in the 1920s was called fru fru, which is sour cream with jam. This product is still available today.
Since 2009 NÖM has used only genetically unmodified ingredients for their products. Since the year 2000 milk, cheese, sour cream, yoghurt and all the other products are exported world-wide, still guaranteeing the freshest and best quality of the products. Have a look in your supermarket and taste dairy freshness from Vienna Region.
Austrotherm Dämmstoffe
This company is the Austrian pioneer in the thermal insulation sector. Being situated in Burgenland as well as in Lower Austria, it is the perfect example of how the single counties of the Vienna Region can work together successfully. Founded in 1953, the company focused on the production of styrofoam. Soon the founder Oswald Nowotny realised the potential of styrofoam as material for insulation. In 1964 the first factory opened in Purbach, less than 20 years later a second factory in Pinkafeld. These factories started producing best quality styrofoam tiles for insulation. The great success led to the expansion in neighbouring countries such as Hungary and Poland.
Until today, the company’s headquarter is situated in Waldegg in Lower Austria, the production sites can still be found in Pinkafeld and in Purbach, both located in Burgenland.
