!!!Elektro- und Elektronikindustrie
Electrical and Electronic Industries: in Austria the first fields of
application of electricity were telegraph connections and railways. In
1847 the first telegraph connection (Vienna - Brno - Prague) started
operation. Austrian inventors played a considerable part in the
international development of this field (J. Kravogl: electric motor
1867; L. Pfaundler: direct-current generator 1871; R. von Lieben:
amplifier valve 1906, etc.). In 1883 the "Electronics Exhibition" took
place in Vienna, which stimulated the construction of electric power
stations and the first electric tramway (Moedling). Around 1913, 854
electric power stations supplied approximately 2,000 municipalities
with 570,000 kilowatt of electric current.
\\
After World War I, hydroelectric power stations had to be extended
since it was necessary to become independent from coal imports.
1918-1933 the total wattage of the power stations in Austria increased
from 240 to 725 MW. In 1918 V. Kaplan constructed his first
turbine, which revolutionised electricity generation. The electrical
industry experienced significant growth; but was mainly owned by
non-Austrian nationals at this time. World War II and its consequences
interrupted development in this field.
\\
Today, the electrical and electronic industry is a key industry, which
has considerable influence on overall economic development in Austria.
About 300 industrial enterprises in Austria produce highly developed
electrotechnical and electronic products, ranging from tiny microchips
to turnkey power plants. In 1993 total production of this branch of
industry was valued at approximately ATS 871 billion (a
growth rate of more than 100 % within 10 years). The
electrical and electronic industry employs approximately
70,000 people, and is the second largest industrial employer in
Austria. The Austrian electrical and electronic industry is highly
export-orientated - about two thirds of the products are exported
(1993: ATS 64.6 billion ); this is due to several factors,
such as the innovative work of Austrian enterprises in this field, the
excellent image Austrian products have abroad, and the organisation of
giant groups which is based on division of labour on an international
level. 66.1 % of exports go to member states of the EU. The main
customers of this industry in Austria are private households, capital
goods industries and, above all, the public sector. On account of the
industry´s importance in the field of domestic communications
engineering, the building activities of the federal, provincial and
municipal governments are equally important to the
electrical and electronic industries as some of the large
utilities and public enterprises (e.g. the electricity industry, the
Austrian Postal and Telegraph Administration and OeBB, the Austrian
Federal Railways). The largest branch of the Austrian
electrical and electronic industry is the consumer
electronics industry, with a proportion of 17 % of the total
production, followed by assembly and repair (15 %), components
(12 %), cables, lines and wires (10 %), communications and
information technology (9 %), power engineering (9 %),
domestic appliances and heating (7 %), immaterial services
(6 %) and lighting fixtures (4 %). Smaller sectors of the
electrical and electronic industry include accumulators (2 %),
installation materials (1 %) and electromedical instruments
(1 %). In this branch of industry, research and development are
of great significance (up to 15 % of total turnover, 40 % of
total Austrian research and development expenditure).
%%language
[Back to the Austrian Version|AEIOU/Elektro-_und_Elektronikindustrie|class='wikipage austrian']
%%
[{FreezeArticle author='AEIOU' template='Lexikon_1995_englisch'}]
[{ALLOW view All}][{ALLOW comment All}][{ALLOW edit FreezeAdmin}]