Villach technology park marks 25 years with expansion plans

Villach’s technology park opened its doors to the public on Friday to mark its 25th anniversary. The research and business campus, built over recent decades on the grounds of a former pulp mill, is expected to grow further, ORF reported.

The park is now home to 40 companies and research institutions, as well as a campus of the university of applied sciences, now known as CU. About 700 people work there.

The campus is jointly owned by the Carinthian Business Establishment and Participation Company, known as BABEG, and the city of Villach. BABEG managing director Markus Hornböck said the campus currently has two buildings, and doubling that number could bring about 500 more employees to the location in the medium term.

The research institution Silicon Austria Labs is also expected to expand at the campus, although the start date and costs have not been decided.

Hornböck said the Villach park does not compete with Lakeside Park, a technology park in Klagenfurt, or a planned technology park in St. Paul in the Lavanttal valley, because each has different areas of focus.