Which is the most important economic powerhouse in Austria?
Amongst the nine Austrian provinces, Vienna has the largest population, followed by Lower Austria and Upper Austria. But more international exports come from Upper Austria than from any other Austrian province.
So when I visited Upper Austria recently, my first stop was at Europe’s biggest motor cycle manufacturer. Guess who?
Interestingly, if you count down the top five motorcycle firms in Europe, you find Triumph (based in the UK) at number five; BMW (Germany) at four; and Piaggio and Ducati (both Italy) at three and two.
The biggest-selling motorcycle company in Europe is KTM, based in Mattighofen west of Linz. I toured their ultra-modern factory and discussed with the management recent strong economic growth statistics from the UK, some recent examples of big international companies investing in the UK, and what makes the UK Europe’s number one destination for foreign direct investment.
Great to visit @KTM_Racing in Mattighofen, EU's largest motorbike producer & hear about ambitious plans for @KTM_UK (here with apprentice) pic.twitter.com/bDEEAXaTBS
— Leigh Turner (@LeighTurnerFCO) February 7, 2017
Incidentally, rider Sam Sunderland became the first Brit to win the Dakar Rally in January this year, riding a KTM 450 Rally Factory Edition. He was sponsored by Austrian company Red Bull.
Even in Austria, visits do not always go to plan, and our plans for lunch at the famous Leberkas-Pepi ended in catastrophe.
Wollte Mittagessen bei berühmtem Leberkas Pepi in Linz genießen – leider unmöglich wegen Bauarbeiten :-/ Werde zurückkommen müssen 🙂 pic.twitter.com/EiYHxacn4g
— Leigh Turner (@LeighTurnerFCO) February 7, 2017
But we went on to have an excellent meeting with Landeshauptmann Dr. Josef Pühringer – a wide-ranging discussion of political and economic developments in Austria, the UK and Europe.
My next meeting was with the Mayor of Linz, Klaus Luger, in the town hall on Linz’s attractive central square. Our discussions included the role of Linz as a manufacturing centre (Austrian steel-maker Voestalpine, who I shall be visiting separately soon, is based there) and integration of migrants.
I then called on the Oberösterreichische Nachrichten, who surprised me not only with their in-depth knowledge of political and economic developments in the UK, but also with a startling pair of Union Jacks socks, worn by foreign policy editor Clemens Schuhmann.
I am consistently struck by the quality of regional media in Austria and the Oberösterreichische Nachrichten was no exception.
Finally, we called briefly at “Lentos” – a museum of modern art on the banks of the Danube. I was impressed by their collection, as well as by the display spaces – one of the best modern art museums I have seen in Austria.
So which of Austria’s provinces is its biggest powerhouse?
Well, given a choice between Vienna, Lower Austria, Upper Austria and indeed the next most populous region, Steiermark, which I have yet to visit, I can only quote Oscar Wilde: “Comparisons are odious”.