Styria – a province full of enthusiasm

Stefan Stolitzka, President of the Styrian Federation of Industries, and Josef Herk, head of the Styrian Economic Chamber, speak about the province’s businesses and show their optimism.

After more than a year of Covid-induced crisis, Styrian businesses are enthusiastic, a trend survey by the Styrian Economic Chamber shows. All business indicators – from turnover to investments – are well into the black and the trend is pointing further upwards. The Styrian economy is on the up again, the numbers clearly show: Total turnover (+1.9 percentage points, compared to -36.2 in autumn 2020), order situation (+14.7 percentage points, in autumn -34.3), price level (+44.3 percentage points, in autumn -2.8), investments (+27.9 percentage points, in autumn -8.3) and employment (+6.7 percentage points, in autumn -8.6). The feedback from businesses was thus better than the Economic Chamber had hoped. The expectations for the months to come are also high for turnover (+42.4 percentage points), order situation (+35.2 percentage points), price level (+51.3 percentage points), investments (+25.7 percentage points) and employment (+21.9 percentage points). All figures are clearly pointing upwards. If no further Covid restrictions come, the Styrian Economic Chamber believes in a lasting path of growth.

Stefan Stolitzka, President of the Styrian Federation of Industries, and Josef Herk, head of the Styrian Economic Chamber, give further insights into Styria’s economy.

Mr Herk, Mr Stolitzka, how are Styrian businesses doing? Josef Herk: Considering all factors, they are doing well again. We went through a difficult time, the Covid pandemic turned all our lives upside down – in particular in the economic sector. We were confronted with restrictions that we could have never imagined. This resulted in a massive crisis that we have managed to overcome quite well thanks to comprehensive relief packages in which the Economic Chamber played an important part. We were able to avoid an economic domino effect. If there are no further restrictions now, we will have reached the light at the end of the tunnel. All business indicators in our trend survey are pointing upwards. 57.7 percent of all Styrian entrepreneurs believe in a better economic climate in the coming months while only 16.3 expect the situation to worsen. Stefan Stolitzka: Optimism is stronger than any crisis and we have a lot of optimism in Styria. Rightly so – the Styrian indus-

Josef Herk: „Our trend survey shows that all business indicators are pointing upwards again.“

trial sector kept the country up and running during the pandemic. Almost all areas within the industrial sector are back to the levels of before the economic crisis. That makes us very happy and we can thank the people working in the industrial sector for their staying power and innovative capacity. Global challenges such as volatile prices for raw materials and unreliable supply chains, but also the lack of skilled workers in Austria, burden our businesses. But we are optimistic in this regard, too. Styria is well-placed as a business location; we have excellent companies, making and selling goods that are internationally in demand. We can’t rest on these laurels but we can build upon them.

The number of vaccinations kept rising before the summer while the number of infections fell. We seem to have overcome the worst. But have we really? Is the crisis over? What do we need to look out for now? Herk: I truly hope that we are over the hill, and in reality, we are the masters of our own fate. Contrary to the situation last year, we now have effective vaccines. This is one of science’s great achievements and we have to utilise it. I therefore call on everyone to get vaccinated. That is the only way to get our freedom back and to protect others. Stolitzka: We have learnt a lot over the last few months and one important finding was not becoming too boisterous. I believe that we are on a good path to stop the pandemic in the long run but we need to remain vigilant and have to stay strong and responsible. Covid will still be around in the months to come but hopefully it will no longer dominate our lives. The industrial sector is prepared for any possible scenarios to protect its workers while keeping the business up and running. But I hope that we won’t need any emergency plans anymore.

We should always think positive – so what are the positive findings you are taking with you from the Covid crisis? Herk: Being a card-carrying optimist, you are preaching to the converted. And optimism has already returned among entrepreneurs, as our trend survey shows. Something we, the Styrian Economic Chamber, consider a positive effect of the crisis is a return to regional products and services. We can see a real

The Styrian Federation of Industries is fighting for a timely expansion of broadband and fibre optics coverage with gigabit speeds.

change of mindset; consumers are aware of the added value they create. And we want to build on this. Stolitzka: It is quite hard to find something positive in the last few months full of restrictions. But I am also an optimist and there is indeed an effect that can be considered positive despite all the tragedy that Covid brought: The increasing digitisation. The elephant in the room has become a guardian angel in a matter of weeks. Thanks to digitisation, we were able to teach our children at home, people could stay in touch with their families in retirement homes and the industrial sector kept its production up and running, securing thousands of jobs.

What is the Styrian Economic Chamber going to focus on in 2022? Herk: We are going to put the focus on securing skilled workers. It doesn’t matter which sector or which region I am visiting right now; everyone is saying the same thing to me: “We can’t find any staff…”. This is a truly paradoxical situation considering the current high unemployment figures, but offer and demand don’t seem to match in the job market. Therefore, we demand a better use of the existing potentials, for example by promoting cross-regional job placements or easier immigration for skilled workers. Otherwise, the lack of skilled workers will become the upswing’s bottleneck. The Styrian Economic Chamber is pulling out all stops to give skilled education the recognition it deserves – for example with the EuroSkills competition in autumn.

And what is the Styrian Federation of Industries planning for next year? Stolitzka: We are currently pursuing two paths with great intensity: One is the aforementioned digitisation, which we want to promote and improve. Being the representatives of the Styrian industrial sector, we are fighting for a timely expansion of broadband and fibre optics coverage with gigabit speeds – but also for teaching digital skills.

The second big topic is climate protection and the contribution that the Styrian businesses can make. The Styrian industrial sector plays an essential role in solving global climate issues. Efficient processes in domestic production already have a massive impact and our highly innovative products help reduce emissions massively all around the world. In this regard, Styria already is a world champion. ◆