As the title above claims, we were back to work today as we
visited the Chamber of Labor in the morning and the fire truck and equipment
manufacturer, Rosenbauer, in the afternoon.
At 9 am, we traveled to the Arbeitskammer (Chamber of Labor) met with leaders from the Chamber of
Commerce, Chamber of Labor, and the Workers’ Council of Voestalpine. Also in the mix was a representative from an organization
representing consumer information of Upper Austria. The informative session lasted about three
hours and proved to be very informative of the government/business/worker
relationship in the country of Austria. In
many ways the system varies considerably from that of the United States. In others, there are similarities. We learned of how this Social Partnership
worked and gained a good overview of what each chamber did regarding businesses
in Upper Austria.
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| Chamber of Labor |
Mr. Martin Seidl began by speaking of the Chamber of
Labor. Basically this chamber works with
the workforce and represents them in assessing laws and regulation
proposals. They also administer health
insurance and labor market services.
Legal advising and representation may be found for labor and social
security cases. They also offer
educational services, cultural programs, and other consumer information. These roles are a bit more abstract from
those of the chamber of commerce.
Mr. Robert Leitner spoke to us of this second body. The chamber of commerce focuses more on work
with the business community. They
support work councils, help determine wage and salary settlements, and have
optional membership, unlike the Chamber of Labor. Because of the country’s small size and its
many family owned businesses, the collaborative efforts of this chamber are
more functional in Austria. Today, many
of the chamber’s initiatives are centered on youth employment (with many
current youth “getting lost” in the education system), the national health
system (because of the aging population), old age pension schemes, the labor
market, and integration & migration.
Both of these chambers then work with labor unions and work
councils. Today’s representative from
Voestalpine was the elected work council leader for that company. Many workers will come to him before ever
reporting to a manager or foreman about a problem. He helps decide where wages are set and money
from the government is placed in departments.
His chief goal is to ensure the workers have quality working conditions
and lifestyles. Concerns ranging from
divorce, marriage, births, and funerals will reach his office on a regular
basis. He described to us a resent
presentation he gave to the company on how they should readjust the shift
system to reflect America’s. He spent
extensive time in the USA observing our system and found many ways to improve
working condition quality through simple changes.
Our fourth speaker, Dr. Georg Rathwallner was very helpful
in explaining the office of Konsumenteninformation
(Consumer Information) of Upper Austria.
Operated through the Chamber of Labor, this office provides consumers
with price calculators (in finding cheap banks and utilities), as well as
health testing and other information on consumer products.
They were VERY accommodating and professional in hosting us. We were provided with plenty of study material, refreshments, a Salzburg malt ball, and a baseball cap! Not only did they provide refreshments for the morning session, but they also treated us to a three course meal for lunch!
The restaurant was Austrian and they served three types of Schnitzel. Chicken, fish, and beet were the three options available for the main course. For starters, we had a nice tomato soup and bread. To finish off the meal was my favorite German dessert… Apfel Struedel. Hmm… And the best part was that part of the profits from the restaurant went towards worker training and services to the unemployed of Linz.
After the almost 1.5 hour lunch break, we took our bus to Rosenbauer. Here we visited the world market leader in fire truck and rescue equipment technology and manufacturing. The tour was very different from that of the BMW plant where consumer products were mass produced. Here, smaller orders were being made from the public sector all over the world. The manner in which the trucks are manufactured is much slower and time consuming than for consumer cars. In some steps of the manufacturing process, such as that for making pumps, a single worker bears the responsibility for every step to ensure quality.
Before taking our tour of the plant, we met with CEO, Dieter Siegel. He is the 6th generation family owner of this company started back in 1866. He did an excellent job at explaining the company’s background, history, and current status. In 1866, it was simply a trading company, but began to work on fire fighting pumps in 1906. Fire vehicles began in 1919 and the company finally went international in 1926, selling trucks to China. As early as 1976, half of the company’s income came from its exports. In its most recent history, it opened plants in North America in 1995 to capitalize on western market opportunities. It is now the world market leader and really the only international fire vehicle manufacturer. Although it began as a private family corporation, it is now publically traded with a family ownership of 51%.
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| CEO of Rosenbauer, Dieter Siegel |
As recent as three decades ago, Rosenbauer began to focus on more innovative design and technology as their company’s primary focus. Unlike some more traditional fire truck and fire equipment manufacturers, Rosenbauer products are constantly developing and adapting in very new and creative ways. Their products consist of over 70% fire vehicles, of which 20% are being sold to airports across the world. These trucks need to be capable of hauling as much as 10,000 liters of water to any part of an airport in less than 2 minutes. That is incredible! I recommend all readers to check out their website for more information on the truck specs.
In 2010, the company had sites in 15 locations around the world. Three are in the USA. Just over 2000 employees worldwide work for Rosenbauer. The process of making just under 2000 trucks a year involves some more creative thinking. Making every component in house would be very costly. Toyota makes more than this many cars in ONE DAY at ONE PLANT. Motors and chassis are largely outsourced to other companies for manufacturing. These commercial products greatly reduce the necessary resources needed by Rosenbauer for manufacturing. Rosenbauer takes these outsourced parts and then completes the most critical machining, assembly, and adjustment processes in house. In total, it takes nearly 5 weeks for one truck to be completed.
When Mr. Siegel was asked what sets them apart from competitors, he gave four responses.
- They operate on small scale production and utilize 100% pre-engineered parts.
- They are the biggest and only international brand.
- They work with firefighting standards from all customer countries. This means they are flexible and have very high standards overall.
- The company is 51% family owned. This shows investment and longevity. Sustainability is assured to customers.
Overall, the company was very impressive and showed just how relevant world markets are becoming today. I was especially intrigued by the notion of really adapting to standards in other countries. This would be both a challenge and a quality-building incentive. When Siegel explained their USA operations, he said that they began with American engineers and leadership. Since American firefighting is so much different than European (for example, we use more water and less foam in fighting fires), Rosenbauer entrusted much of the American plant development to American businessmen and engineers. Today, this component of the company is very successful.
Although we didn’t get to ride in any trucks today, the visit was very educational. I know if I were a graduating engineer, this would be a very lucrative place to work! …building giant trucks, water cannons, and saving lives internationally through technology.
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