13 November 2018 | Vienna, Austria

The automation of vehicles is progressing steadily considering the growing number of assistance systems designed to relieve the driver. However, the existing  infrastructure was created at a time when automation was not yet an issue. Therefore, to ensure safe and efficient traffic with automated and non-automated vehicles in the future, it will be necessary to adapt our physical road infrastructure and expand it with digital elements.

This was the topic addressed on 12th November during an event co- organised by GSV (the Austrian Association for Transport and Infrastructure) and the ERF in the ‘Haus der Industrie’ in Vienna.

The panelists and keynotes invited to this event, among which the ERF President Rik Nuyttens, discussed on the importance of the road infrastructure in the process of automated driving. They also addressed the aspect of the time necessary to have highly automated systems and the necessity of cooperation between major stakeholders (infrastructure managers, automotive industry, system providers and of course public authorities).

In his statements, Rik Nuyttens also emphasised that traffic safety is a strong motivator to focus on automated driving, in particular if we consider the number of fatalities on our roads. Intelligent vehicles have enormous potential to drastically reduce the number of accidents and this is the reason why automated driving is strongly promoted by the European Commission.

13 May 2018 | Wattens, Austria

The SWARCO Supervisory Board and Executive Board are deeply sad to announce that SWARCO’s founder and CEO, Consul and Councillor of Commerce Manfred Swarovski passed away peacefully at the age of 77 on 13 May 2018.

SWARCO has lost its mastermind who managed to bring his group of companies to world renown in the field of road safety and intelligent traffic management in the course of nearly half a century. The traffic industry loses an internationally highly respected advocator of road safety and environmentally sound mobility who untiringly underlined the need for continued public investment in road infrastructure in order to save lives.

SWARCO AG Executives Philipp Swarovski, Daniel Sieberer and Michael Schuch agree with one voice: “Manfred’s entrepreneurial spirit, his visionary ideas and his human way are both an obligation and incentive for us to continue SWARCO, his life’s work, successfully in his spirit. Manfred’s principle has always been to shape a powerful and integrated organisation out of a huge number of individual companies. This mentality will be in our focus, too, in order to further strengthen the SWARCO brand on a global level”, confirm the SWARCO Executives.

Dr. Josef Prettenhofer, Chairman of SWARCO AG’s Supervisory Board, adds: „Manfred Swarovski has always aimed to ensure the stability and continuity of the corporation. That is why he planned his succession ahead of time by continuously handing over his tasks to the Executive Board members during the past years. They will continue to run the company strategically and operationally in close alignment with the Supervisory Board.”

What started in 1969 in Austria with a small factory for the production of reflective glass beads has become – nearly fifty years later – the international traffic technology corporation SWARCO, employing some 3,700 people and generating annual revenues of 675 million EUR. Following its leading idea of improving quality of life for all travellers, SWARCO today offers one of the most comprehensive portfolios in the fields of road safety and intelligent traffic management; supporting the growing mobility needs of society with turnkey systems and solutions in road marking, urban and interurban traffic control, parking solutions, and public transport management.

The SWARCO Family is deeply moved by the loss of its head Manfred Swarovski and expresses its heartfelt condolences to his wife Elisabeth, his sons Alexander, Philipp and Manfred and to the brothers and sisters of Manfred.

Contact: SWARCO AG, Richard Neumann (Head of Communication), richard.neumann@swarco.com

25 September 2015 | Vienna, Austria

On Wednesday 16th September 2016, the ERF, together with its Austrian Member GSV, the Austrian Platform for Mobility, organised an event on ‘The new rules of Public Procurement’ in Vienna.The new framework set up by the European Directives 2014/24/EC and 2014/25/EC on Public Procurement will strongly modify the relations between the contracting authorities and the contractor. These guidelines are intended to ensure a fairer and better quality procurement and should help get away from the lowest bidder principle, which had been preeminent in the past.

Further to the welcome speech of Mario Rohracher, Secretary General of GSV, An Baeyens, from the EC, DG Internal market, industry entrepreneurship and SMEs, made a presentation on the main features of the new Directives, insisting on their importance as a tool for innovation, a key driver for future growth. The transposition of both Directives in the different MS national law (April 2016) and its particular impact for smaller local authorities and SMEs is also a complex issue. Mr. Michael Fruhmann, Procurement Law expert at the Federal Chancellery, gave in-depth information about this related legal implications in Austria.

Christophe Nicodème, Director General of the ERF, highlighted the necessity of a more intense dialogue between public and private partners. After a presentation of some existing procurement best practices, a round table, moderated by Mario Rohracher, allowed the participants to debate and discuss about many issues related to the implementation of the Directives in Austria.

Check out the photos of the event here.

For more information about the event please contact Mr. Christophe Nicodeme.