The atmosphere was relaxed. The ORF had already begun to make some recordings in the factory halls early in the morning, filming Kremsmüller employees engaged in welding work and other activities. At 11 a.m. an online press conference got underway with representatives from all the leading Austrian media, and Gregor Kremsmüller provided some insights into the company’s current business activities.

Below are some excerpts from the press conference with Gregor Kremsmüller:

The current business situation
“In the last few months, we have received orders for new projects worth several tens of millions of euros. This shows that we are highly valued in the industry.” Thanks to numerous, long-term contracts, capacity utilisation was also highly satisfactory during the whole last year. For 2021, a fixed capacity utilisation of around eight months has been posted in all specialist areas. “In some areas of the Group today, we have even secured the entire annual capacity utilisation,” adds Kremsmüller.

Project awards to date
“Sales in the last few months have been characterised by a large number of long-term tenders and budget offers,” reports Kremsmüller. “It seems as though companies are constantly preparing several strategic options. Exactly which deals are generated from these depends very much on the further course of the pandemic.” In total, Kremsmüller has submitted bids worth a triple-digit million euro amount. At the moment, however, the wheels are still turning very slowly when it comes to awarding projects.

Kremsmüller Industrieanlagenbau KG well above forecasts
The forecast for the turbulent year 2020 has been clearly surpassed, confirming the sound basis of the Kremsmüller business model. All three business divisions, Kremsmüller Apparatus Construction, Electrical, Instrumentation and Control Engineering (I&C) and Pipeline and Plant Construction, are performing successfully.

Business development of other companies in the Group
Kremsmüller is positive about the expected business development of the remaining companies in the Group. “We will continue to concentrate on our roots as a down-to-earth industrial service provider with a strong focus on outstanding skilled workers in Austria, Germany and Romania. This set-up will help to promote sustainable growth.”

Employee development
Kremsmüller is anticipating a strong summer, so the search for skilled workers is once more a major issue for the company. Currently, Kremsmüller employs approximately 1,700 members of own staff.

 “Just how much demand there is for Kremsmüller’s highly qualified specialists can be seen from numerous on-going projects,” says Kremsmüller. “For example, rapid and coordinated intervention was required when welding a pressure pipeline at a major construction site of the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) at the Spullersee power station in Vorarlberg. Kremsmüller has been at work there with a team of experts since autumn.” Information on the project, including a video, is available here.

New recruits needed
“This year seems to be becoming more and more of a lost year for young skilled workers,” analyses Kremsmüller. “Never before has the search for apprentices and the partnership with schools been so difficult. Vocational training is something that doesn’t seem to work well at a distance. We are also hearing that many companies have already cancelled their vacant apprenticeship positions planned for the autumn. We certainly don’t want that! One of our first investments in the new year will be to modernise and expand our welding academy and apprenticeship training. We want to see that come to life in the autumn.”