Industry forum speaks plainly: Austrian industry under pressure
Report: Herakles x Tengler Industry Forum 2025, Palais Berg, Vienna
On 13 November 2025, Herakles Management, represented by CEO Dr Bernhard Morawetz, and Tengler Consulting, led by CEO Andreas Tengler, hosted their first joint industry forum at Palais Berg on Vienna's Schwarzenbergplatz. Around the guiding question of what strategic footprint Austrian industry will need in future, leading figures from domestic industry and politics discussed location factors, competitiveness and Europe's role in an increasingly asymmetric world economy.
Photos from the eveningThe panel featured Dr Andreas J. Ludwig, member of the executive board of Management Trust Holding AG; Martin Ohneberg, CEO and owner of the HENN Connector Group and chairman of the supervisory board of Verbund AG; Cord Prinzhorn, chairman of the supervisory board of Semperit AG and Prinzhorn Holding GmbH; and Anna Stürgkh, Member of the European Parliament.
At the centre of the discussion were the challenges currently facing industry in Austria and central Europe. Several speakers described the economic situation as strained, in parts even critical. Above all, the combination of high energy prices, rising labour costs, heavy bureaucracy and insufficient investment momentum is occupying companies. Dr Ludwig stressed that the core industrial sectors remain the backbone of the Austrian economy. Real value added, however, has been falling for years. Industry is experiencing a downturn similar in scale to the Covid years, but without an external shock.
Cord Prinzhorn underlined that the international competitiveness of European industry is being challenged by structural shifts. The quality of European plant builders and suppliers historically created an advantage. That lead is shrinking, however, because Asian competitors have caught up technologically and offer their products at considerably lower cost. He pointed to examples such as hydraulic systems and injection moulding plants, now available from China at comparable quality, which raise cost pressure substantially.
This is particularly visible in capital-intensive industries. Where labour costs once tipped the balance, today access to capital, scalability and the speed of innovation decide. Many European companies lose in global competition not for want of ideas, but for want of risk capital and because conditions move too slowly. Prinzhorn noted that even highly innovative firms often move abroad in their growth phase, because valuations in Europe are significantly lower.
The panel agreed that bureaucracy and regulation are among the biggest brakes. Intensive reporting obligations, cumbersome permitting processes and a complex regulatory environment take entrepreneurial freedom and room to act away from companies. In the speakers' view, this structural burden is a major factor behind the decline in domestic investment.
Anna Stürgkh set important accents at the European level. She warned against playing climate policy and industrial policy off against each other. Many problems, she argued, stem not from ecological goals but from poorly drafted laws. Efficient, simplified regulation is possible where political objectives are clearly structured. She also sees considerable untapped opportunity in strengthening the European single market, which remains fragmented in several areas, particularly services and digital business models. According to International Monetary Fund studies, reducing regulatory barriers could deliver relief of up to forty per cent. Stürgkh further emphasised the importance of new export markets, naming the Mercosur agreement in particular as a major opportunity for Austrian industry.
Moderator Bernhard Morawetz put the central question to the panel: which industries have a future in Austria, and what steps are needed to secure domestic value added. The experts' answer was nuanced. The decisive factor is not individual sectors but entrepreneurs. Successful companies exist in almost every industry, and failing ones too. What matters is management's ability to invest in innovation, drive automation and use global value chains strategically. At the same time, the state must shape economic conditions so that investment becomes attractive again.
In the closing discussion, protectionism was assessed controversially. While some voices warned against growing isolation, others pointed to the need to position European interests more clearly. There was consensus that in the medium term Europe needs an integrated capital market to keep innovative companies in global competition. Without such a structure, Europe risks falling further behind in both future technologies and industrial production.
The Herakles x Tengler Industry Forum 2025 showed how urgently a broad debate on competitiveness, location policy and strategic industrial development is needed. The discussion at Palais Berg, with almost 100 participants, made clear that Austria has strong industrial roots and entrepreneurial potential. It also made clear that reforms, investment and a shared economic-policy narrative are needed to secure the industrial base and make it fit for the future.
Herakles Management and Tengler Consulting announced that they will continue the series and steer the dialogue between business, politics and capital markets towards constructive solutions.
In the speakers' own words
Dr. Andreas J. Ludwig
"Industry is the backbone of our economy, but real value added has been collapsing dramatically for years."
Martin Ohneberg
"The difference comes from people. Good leadership decides whether an industry succeeds or fails."
Cord Prinzhorn
"We are resting on our laurels. China now produces just as well, but at a fraction of the cost. That is genuine disruption."
Anna Stürgkh, MEP
"Playing climate policy off against industrial policy is dangerous. The problem is not the goals, it is bad legislation."
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