Salzburg firms win awards for ticket machines and heritage restoration

Salzburg companies have received this year’s Salzburg Craft Awards for developing ÖBB ticket machines and restoring historic interiors, ORF reported. The awards were presented on Tuesday as the industry also voiced criticism of high energy and fuel prices.

More than 1,000 railway stations in Austria now have the new ÖBB ticket machines. Much of their technology was developed in Grödig in the Flachgau region and produced in Tamsweg in the Lungau region.

The Salzburg manufacturer won the contract against major competitors from across Europe. Hundreds of tickets are issued from the machines every day at Salzburg Central Station alone.

The equipment’s internal components are built in Tamsweg, where the company Digital Elektronik employs about 80 people. Managing director Johannes Auer said the Lungau location offered logistical advantages and made it possible to find highly qualified employees.

The company handles everything from design and circuit-board assembly to delivery. It received the award for this integrated approach.

A second award went to Baukultur2, a specialist company from Strobl in the Flachgau region. It combines traditional craftsmanship with modern technology and is working with researchers from Salzburg University of Applied Sciences to restore the centuries-old Fürstenzimmer, or princely rooms, at Hohensalzburg Fortress.

Missing sections of the historic wood panelling are being replaced with specially produced parts made using a 3D printer. Managing director Thomas Trattner said the process took a year and a half to achieve the right result.

Almost 55,000 people work in trade and crafts in Salzburg province. That is more than the combined populations of the towns of Hallein and Saalfelden.

However, the mood across the industry is not uniformly positive. Many businesses are struggling with high energy and raw-material costs. Carpenter Paul Gollackner said fuel prices were also a major burden, particularly for suppliers.

Bernhard Seidl, head of the trade division, said domestic craft businesses were facing growing economic pressure. In addition to the global political situation, he said, bureaucracy and Austria’s high taxes and levies were holding them back.

The industry said competition from the Far East remained lower in crafts than in many other sectors. However, in technology-focused fields such as mechatronics, it was currently difficult to assess how strong that competitive pressure would become in the future.