chemische Industrie#

Chemical Industry: With a production value of ATS 103.7 billion (in 1998) and an 11% share of total industrial production, the chemical industry is the second largest of Austrian industry, coming after the electrical and electronic Industries. In 1998 455 firms with a total of 41,900 employees were active in the chemical industry. In recent years the chemical industry has seen a sharp rise in production and a decisive structural change in the wake of the re-structuring of the firm Chemie Linz AG; it has close connections abroad: exports make up around three-quarters of the turnover; main trading partners are other EU members (54.8 % of exports); a large part of chemical imports (around 78.1 %) also comes from EU countries. Environmental protection is especially important in the chemical industry: from the mid to late 1990s, the amount spent on environmental protection rose from ATS 2.5 billion to approx. ATS 5.5 billion, accounting for roughly 30% of total industrial expenditure on environmental protection. .

Amongst the most companies in the chemical industry and chemical products trade in Austria are: Agrolinz Melamin GmbH, Biochemie GmbH, Donau Chemie AG, DSM Fine Chemicals Austria GmbH, Herba Chemosan Apotheker-AG, Krems Chemie AG, F. Joh. Kwizda Ges. m. b. H., Neuber GmbH and OMV AG.