The corporate culture at voestalpine makes it a great place for engineers

voestalpine is valued as an innovative employer, especially by graduates of technical universities and universities of applied sciences. The company provides them with an exceptionally positive working environment in which they can perform to the best of their abilities, as well as offering attractive opportunities for professional development and advancement.

Around 10,200 engineers work for voestalpine around the world. Although qualified across a whole range of different specialisms, including chemistry, physics, electrical engineering, mining, mechanical engineering, mechatronics, and computer sciences, they all play a vital role in driving the technical developments which make voestalpine an international technology and quality leader.

Highly respected within the Group

It’s this extraordinary drive to continually create customer value which leads to innovation and long-term competitive advantages. Above all, however, it’s working on state-of-the-art facilities, and continuously enhancing them in order to maximize quantity and quality, that provides engineers with a highly stimulating working environment.

As well as “traditional” opportunities for advancement, voestalpine also offers the chance for a career as an “expert” which brings numerous benefits such as involvement in strategic projects. Many of the Group’s executives are engineers, and engineers are also strongly represented amongst the top management. Herbert Eibensteiner, Peter Schwab, Franz Rotter, Franz Kainersdorfer, and Robert Ottel, five members of the voestalpine AG Management Board, are all graduate engineers who started in, and have managed, quality, research, production, and maintenance departments at voestalpine.

The lion’s share of top research

Engineers account for the lion’s share of voestalpine’s capacity for innovation. Not only is their input in demand in production, sales, and customer service, they are also a cornerstone of research and development. For years voestalpine has been one of Austria’s most research-intensive enterprises, investing EUR 172.5 million in research in the current business year alone.

Research and development is going on apace at 75 sites around the world, often in cooperation with university institutes and customers. None of the pioneering developments such as phs lightweight construction technology, tube steels, life cycle-optimized turnouts including diagnostics systems, and ultra-high strength wires and rails, would be possible without engineers. Promising projects such as additive manufacturing and H2FUTURE (electrolysis to produce hydrogen) also rely on their input. The proximity between R&D and state-of-the-art production facilities, as well as close cooperation between departments, are the key factors behind successful innovations.

Advancing through professional development

The international nature of voestalpine, with its more than 500 Group companies and sites in 50 countries around the world, provides an inspiring setting for engineers. Time spent working abroad to set up new and international plants, and cooperation with colleagues from many different countries are an everyday occurrence at voestalpine. Anyone wishing to learn more is encouraged to join one of the many professional development programs offered by voestalpine. Experts are also invited to share their knowledge: the Group’s engineers are in frequent demand as teachers and speakers at educational institutions and at conferences, both in Austria and abroad.

Freedom for engineers

There are solid reasons for the success of engineers at voestalpine, namely that voestalpine is known for its corporate culture of focusing on people. The company provides its employees with the framework conditions needed to continually explore uncharted territory, and to push technological limits, allowing them to actively practice the voestalpine claim of being “one step ahead”.

Practicing our corporate philosophy

The Group not only demands, but also enables and encourages team spirit, independent work, and taking a broader view. This is the voestalpine corporate philosophy in practice. The many opportunities for each employee to enhance their abilities in areas such as employee management, negotiating skills, or dealing with stressful situations are of immeasurable value for their personal development.