Electrical and electronics industry in Austria

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The electrical and electronics industry in Austria is the country's second largest industrial sector and exports around 70% of its production. In 2009, the production value was around € 10.9 billion and sales were around € 13.9 billion. In the first half of 2010, around 58,000 people were employed in the electrical and electronics industry. The electrical and electronics industry is one of the most innovative branches of industry in Austria and makes around a third of R&D investments. The interests of over 300 companies in the electrical and electronics industry are represented by the Association of the Electrical and Electronics Industry. The most important specialist areas in the electrical and electronics industry are power engineering , traffic engineering , lighting , consumer electronics , drive technology , information and communication technology , electronics and automation technology . The electrical industry is the branch of electrical engineering that was divided into high and low currents until the 1970s, a division that is rarely used today. The addition of the electronics industry to the electrical industry resulted from the rise of electronics, which in and of itself was and is a sub-area of ​​electrical engineering.

The beginnings up to the First World War

The beginning of the electrical and electronics industry in Austria made the first telegraph lines in the 1840s. The first wheel motor was developed in 1867, and Pfandler's DC machine in 1871 . The year 1883 was particularly important: the International Electrical Exhibition took place in Vienna, the Electrotechnical Association and the first chairs for electrical engineering were founded, and for the first time a large square (the ice skating club) was electrically illuminated. Up until the outbreak of World War I, there were many developments such as the first telephone in 1881, the first electric iron in 1888 or the first AC- powered railway in 1904. Large foreign companies settled here, small and medium-sized companies emerged, the center being the capital Vienna. By the First World War, the electrical industry grew into a large-scale industry and on June 26, 1914, it founded its own interest group .

The interwar period and the Second World War

After the First World War and the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy as well as the loss of territory under the Paris Peace Treaty, the electrical industry lacked raw materials and sales markets, most of the companies remained in Austria due to the concentration on the greater Vienna area. The electrification of the Austrian railways , which was enacted by law in 1920, the intensification of hydropower to compensate for the lack of energy generation resources, and the new technology of wireless sound transmission set new impulses. Exports to Central Eastern Europe and Western Europe were promoted, the first broadcasting station was a major achievement in 1923. The economic crisis of the 1930s led to a collapse in the electrical and electronics industry, and in 1938 the Austrian electrical and electronics industry became part of German industry after the annexation of Austria incorporated. In the war years it was mainly used for the war industry, for which prisoners of war, concentration camp inmates and forced laborers were also used. For this reason, the Association of the Electrical and Electronics Industry made a contribution to the restitution fund in the amount of ATS 16.4 million in 2001, which corresponds to 11.08% of the total income of the industry in Austria in 2000.

the post war period

Due to the war damage, the absolute collapse of the economy and the dismantling of the industrial facilities by the occupying forces, the electrical and electronics industry in fact almost came to a standstill in 1945 and had to be almost completely rebuilt. From 1948 onwards, this development was supported by the Marshall Plan and production had already returned to pre-war levels. Significant increases were recorded until 1963 and the low-voltage sector became synonymous with the high-voltage sector. Due to the Cold War, exports were almost exclusively concentrated in Western Europe and the USA.

The age of digitization

In addition to the rise of electronics , which is closely related to the advent and growth of the computer, the digitization of telephone networks from the beginning of the 1980s, which subsequently encompassed many other areas, was an important driver. The Austrian electrical and electronics industry has been supplying complex products for a globalized and networked world and increasingly offering services since the 1990s. In information and communication technology and nanotechnology , semiconductor products for MP3 players and cell phones as well as for broadband communication and WiFi chips are produced. With developments such as matrix turbines, control systems for wind power plants, automatic motor control to reduce energy consumption, photovoltaic systems, applications and components, and work on LED lamps, the Austrian electrical and electronics industry is working on energy-efficient and environmentally friendly products and systems. In order to respond to the changing energy demand, since electricity cannot be stored, so-called smart grid systems are designed that actively respond to current requirements in order to avoid over- and under-capacities. With eMaut and electronic traffic control systems, companies are developing the traffic systems of the future. In the eHealth area, they offer solutions such as the e-card or telecare systems and, together with the textile industry, they develop smart textiles solutions. Today the electrical and electronics industry is the most important infrastructure supplier in the areas of traffic, energy, communication and health and is omnipresent in everyday life with numerous other products and applications.

literature

  • Gerhard Geissl: The invention of the telephone and the development of telecommunications in Austria, Wiener Neustadt, 2006.
  • Franz Patzer: 150 years of railways in Austria, Vienna, 1987.
  • Exhibit world. Schauplatz Wien 1873. Exhibition catalog of the Technisches Museum Wien, 2004/2005.
  • Heinrichsequence: 100 years of electrical engineering in Austria, 1873–1973, Vienna, 1973. (Volume 3 of the series of the TH Vienna)
  • Siemens AG Austria: Festschrift for the 125th anniversary
  • Association of the electrical and electronics industry: 75 years of representation of the interests of the electrical industry, commemorative publication for the 75th anniversary.