© HPhoto Hannes Pacheiner

INVESTING

INVEST. WHERE VISIONS BECOME REALITY

THIS IS WHERE THE TIME-HONORED OLD ECONOMY MEETS THE PROSPEROUS NEW ECONOMY.

As one of the well-established hubs of the vibrant Alps-Adriatic economic region, the City of Villach has long positioned itself as a helpful pioneer and innovative incubator for technological advancement. Here in the tri-border region of Austria, Italy, and Slovenia, intercultural living meets a large pool of well-educated specialists as well as a special commitment to a culture of cooperation in politics and management, which extends across many industries and borders.

© RVT | Michael Stabentheiner

In recent years, the €1.6 billion investment in Europe’s most modern microchip factory by Infineon Technologies Austria and being chosen as one of only three locations of Silicon Austria Labs show how important the region has become in the European technology scene. Large and established multinational corporations such as 3M, Imerys, Flowserve and Lam Research, as well as innovative small- and medium-sized companies in the technology and service sectors, characterize the diversified economic structure.

© Hannes Pacheiner

INFINEON’S €1.6B INVESTMENT IN NUMBERS:

 

EXPANSION: RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

  • Area: 20,000 m2
  • Employees: 600
  • Started operations in 2020
     

NEW CONSTRUCTION: EUROPE’S MOST MODERN MICROCHIP FACTORY

  • Technology: 300 mm wafer
  • Area: 60,000 m2
  • Employees: 400
  • Production Launch: Fall 2021

Villach as a Business Hub in Numbers


2.784 businesses with 33,000 employees
27.7% of businesses are in the manufacturing sector
(of which 16.2% are in the technology sector)
72.1% are in the service sector
(of which 7.3% are skilled services & 4.7% tourism)
251 new businesses founded in 2020

RELOCATION SERVICES & SUPPORT AND FUNDING PROGRAMS

As companies are being established or developed they can benefit from the specially developed funding and other support programs and the one-stop-service approach of the City of Villach. With consultations and advice tailored to the individual requirements of each company, the team in Villach’s city hall ensures engaged and flexible support. This can help start-ups as well as long-established manufacturers, small boutique hotels, or large commercial enterprises.

The support extends from the preparation of comprehensive information about the location, to the identification of concrete site suggestions with city and transport planners, to the accompaniment on site visits. This includes both city-owned business development areas as well as promising privately-owned properties.

A key part of the First Stop Relocation Service is the coordination of all contact persons who are important in the approval process, and subsequently, connecting with relevant development partners. Depending on the field, this could be research centers, educational institutions, or organizations, for example Villach’s city marketing office, the Economic Chambers (Wirtschaftskammer), or the Carinthian International Center.

© RVT | Adrian Hipp
Lupe

VILLACH’S OFFERING TO COMPANIES AT A GLANCE:

 

FIRST STOP RELOCATION SERVICE

  • High-quality service – contact partners in the city hall provide multilingual and competent support with:

ATTRACTIVE AND TARGETED SUPPORT & FUNDING OFFERINGS

  • Villach supports diversity
  • Structural change funding
  • Villach’s outdoor spaces 2021
  • General investment support
  • Funding for tourism infrastructure and events
     

DOWNTOWN EXPERIENCE

  • Villach’s city marketing office (Stadtmarketing Villach) advises and provides services and information about properties in the city center as well as a variety of communications and networking activities.


Contact Information for the Office of Economic Development of the City of Villach: wirtschaft@villach.at

Lupe

In terms of infrastructure, this city on the Drau has long shown that it easily meets the expectations for future-oriented investments. Villach has always been exceptionally well connected. In the past it was by rail, and today it is by fiber-optic networks and 220/110 Kv power lines, which contribute to a secure energy supply, as well as by international freeway connections, which turn the region into a highly-frequented transportation junction.

 

© Stadt Villach | Karin Wernig

The major investment in a new power substation has ensured future energy supply reliability and voltage quality. Through clean and sustainable hydropower electricity production and a powerful grid support infrastructure, Carinthia is well-prepared for steadily growing energy demands. Additionally, the availability of stable, interference-free, and high-quality communications technology is being continuously expanded. Extensive measures for the provision of ultrafast broadband internet as well as wireless communications networks are already quite advanced.

© RVT | Michael Stabentheiner

NUMBERS & FACTS ABOUT VILLACH’S INFRASTRUCTURE:

 

ELECTRICITY & DATA

  • INTERNET IN VILLACH
    • Complete coverage of the city with  >100Mbit (A1)
    • In cooperation with the energy company Kelag, in many places in Villach it is possible to get FTTH (fiber to the home)
    • Promising next generation technology
    • Speeds up to 1000 Mbit/s 
    • Less susceptible to problems
    • Consistent connection speeds independent of the number of users 
    • Perfect for triple play - telephone, internet, and TV (IPTV)
    • Ideal for data-intensive applications
    • Radiation-free and sustainable regardless of weather conditions
    • ​Internet exchange ViX  (Vienna) / SIX Ljubljana (SLO) are very close
    • Low-latency WAN

       
  • ELECTRICITY - KELAG
    • Electricity 100% from hydropower and green energy sources - clean power for a climate-friendly Austria, today and in the future.
    • No CO2 emissions or radioactive wastes are produced in the generation of the supplier fuel mix
    • Hydropower (84.15%)
    • Wind energy (10.85%)
    • Solid/liquid biomass (2.75%)
    • Solar power (1.25%)
    • Miscellaneous green energy sources (1%)

 

LOGISTICS CENTRE AUSTRIA SOUTH

  • Approx. 150 hectares total area at the junction of two European transport corridors (Pan-European Corridor and Baltic-Adriatic Corridor)
  • 56.2 hectares of undeveloped area available
  • Cargo handling and intermodal platform
  • Efficient road and rail connections to North Adriatic ports
  • 1,000 km radius encompasses the whole of Central Europe and large CEE markets
  • 60 million people with a 500 km radius 
  • Daily capacity of approx. 3,200 railroad cars in the shunting yard

PLENTY OF SPACE FOR INNOVATIVE IDEAS

The open technology laboratory OTELO serves as an experimental and free space in the technology scene. Attractive co-working spaces facilitate straightforward working and networking from the old town (Co-Quartier) to the more rural outskirts of the city (BizFarmPGQ3). Working at the lake is also possible with the Business Beach, and the “Gründergarage” provides comprehensive infrastructure for start-ups.

© Arnold Pöschl

PULLING TOGETHER

More than 20 years ago the “Stadt-Umland-Regionalkooperation” project was established - a cooperative effort between the City of Villach and nearby towns in the region - which has been able to guide, support, co-develop, and advise 110 projects in the Villach region since then. With this regional management strategy, the City of Villach and the 19 surrounding communities have created a platform which pools resources, optimizes the cooperation between municipalities, and strengthens the region. The goal of this cooperative project is to carry out cross-community projects and to create recreational opportunities and living spaces.

© Karin Wernig
© Stadt Villach | Karin Wernig

Stadt-Umland-Regionalkooperation


20 member municipalities
1999 year established
10.144 km2 area
126.624 residents (1.1.2018)