Greiner: Investing in Europe, Sustainability, and Employee Development Despite Challenges in Austria’s Business Landscape

The business location of Austria has recently come under scrutiny, with declining investments and a poor mood among companies. However, Greiner, an Upper Austrian plastics and foam company, is taking a different approach. In 2021, over 80 percent of Greiner’s total €138 million in investments flowed into European locations, with €56 million invested in Austria alone.

Greiner’s CEO Saori Dubourg emphasized the importance of staying anchored in Europe and committed to Austria as a location due to its favorable conditions for developing new technologies and products. Despite a challenging past year that saw a 9.1 percent decline in sales to €2.1 billion euros, finance director Hannes Moser described the results as solid. Signs of recovery are already apparent in the packaging sector for the current financial year, although the market environment remains challenging.

In 2022, Greiner acquired a Serbian recycling company as part of its sustainability strategy and commitment to the Circular economy. Company boss Dubourg highlighted progress in achieving EU recycling goals and discussed efforts to comply with the Supply Chain Act. The European Green Deal brings both regulations and opportunities, with potential for expanding markets and intensifying the economy.

Greiner is also investing heavily in its employees’ development, with a focus on artificial intelligence and sustainability. Efforts are being made to increase the proportion of women in management positions to 40 percent by 2030. Despite global labor shortages, Greiner increased its number of employees by 9.3 percent last year to 10,544 worldwide, with a slight increase in Austria to 2,050 employees. There are currently 190 vacant positions at Greiner, including 60 in Austria.