Greiner, a plastics and foam company based in Austria, has recently announced that it will remain firmly anchored in Europe despite challenges faced by the business location. Despite poor mood among companies and declining investments in other parts of Europe, Greiner has invested over 80 percent of its total 138 million euros into European locations, with 56 million euros going specifically into Austria. The company’s CEO, Saori Dubourg, emphasized the favorable conditions for developing new technologies and products in Austria as a key reason for their commitment to the country.
Despite facing geopolitical tensions and cost increases last year, Greiner’s finance director Hannes Moser described the result as solid. Although sales declined by 9.1 percent to 2.1 billion euros, signs of recovery are already appearing in the packaging sector for the current financial year. However, the market environment remains challenging overall.
In addition to their focus on Europe as a business location, Greiner is also committed to sustainability and compliance with regulations such as the Supply Chain Act and EU recycling goals. Last year they acquired a Serbian recycling company as part of their sustainability strategy and have made progress towards achieving these goals. Dubourg highlighted this progress during her discussion of the European Green Deal and its potential to bring both regulations and opportunities for expanding markets and intensifying the economy.
Greiner is also investing heavily in employee 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. Despite this challenge, Greiner was able to increase its number of employees worldwide by 9.3 percent last year to a total of 10,544 employees – including an increase of just under 2% in Austria itself – with currently over 190 vacant positions at the company globally (60 of which are in Austria).