KEBA expands in the west of Linz

KEBA has grown strongly over the past 10 years. For example, the Linz-based international automation expert, which employs around 1800 people, has almost quadrupled its turnover in this period. KEBA is expected to close the last financial year, which ended on March 31, with a turnover of over 400 million euros.

In Austria in particular, the steady growth is also reflected in the need for space. The company has successively acquired additional space and not just at its main location in the Gewerbepark in Linz/Urfahr. In 2013, a second production site was opened in Industriezeile, and in the last few years, KEBA has rented several thousand square meters of production, logistics and office space in the area around Linz. Currently, the location in Urfahr is being expanded again by a further building.

The automation expert, which is active in the business areas of Industrial Automation, Handover Automation and Energy Automation and therefore in prospering markets with significant future potential, also expects further growth in the coming years.

KEBA has been looking for a suitable property for some time, one that offers the possibility of combining the currently rented spaces and that also offers corresponding expansion potential for future growth. The main location will remain in the Urfahr Gewerbepark.

While KEBA has numerous international subsidiaries and it would possibly be easier to locate operations in other regions outside of Austria, the company made a conscious decision to opt for Upper Austria as its location.

KEBA values the high qualifications of the specialists available in Upper Austria and the excellent networking with the higher technical colleges, the universities of applied science and the Johannes Kepler University (Linz). The future Technical University with its focus on digitalization and digital transformation is also very attractive for the technology company. The university will produce and attract specialists, in turn enabling companies like KEBA to continue to be among the technology leaders in international competition.

It is not easy to find a suitably large property around Linz. When selecting the location, it was also important to the company that an appropriate infrastructure was already in place.

With the site at the Technologiering, which is located in the two municipalities of Leonding and Pasching on the new B139, the company has now found a site which combines important factors for KEBA such as sufficient space, a desired connection to public transport and a nearby, easily accessible infrastructure for the employees who will work there in the future. The location in the west of Linz also creates an additional catchment area of employees.

The total area of the site is around 100,000 sqm. The plan is to build office and production facilities in stages. The first construction phase is expected to start in 2023, provided all official permits have been granted. From today's perspective, the planned expansion over a period of approximately 5 years will result in a location with a developed area of around 37,000m2 and 600 jobs.

Mag. Gerhard Luftensteiner, Chairman of the Board KEBA AG

"Even though we have an export quota of 85% and are broadly positioned internationally, KEBA's roots are in Linz. A great deal of knowledge and years of experience are bundled here, and development and production are closely intertwined. In the last few years, we have expanded and developed our subsidiaries in Germany and China. At the same time, however, we have also been considering expanding our location in Upper Austria for some time, as our growth has repeatedly reached certain limits in terms of space," explains Gerhard Luftensteiner, CEO of KEBA AG, and continues: "We are very happy that the purchase of the plot at Technologiering Leonding/Pasching offers us the appropriate potential for our growth and lays a basis for the future development of our company. As a technology company, it is also important to us to create sustainable and attractive jobs. The KEBA Technology Park offers ideal conditions for us to develop as a company. The fact that the location has good transport links and is well connected to public transport, and that there is an appropriate infrastructure nearby, also makes it very attractive for our employees."

Dr. Sabine Naderer-Jelinek, Mayor of Leonding

"KEBA is a future-oriented company with innovative products and is aware of its responsibility for the next generations. This is exactly the kind of company Leonding needs to attract, and we can also give something back in this context. In addition to a perfectly developed infrastructure at the Technologiering, a project we have decisively invested in over the past few years, the planned expansion of the family and education campus on the Harter Plateau will result in synergy effects in the area of skilled workers," explains Leonding's mayor Sabine Naderer-Jelinek and continues: "I am very pleased that we can contribute to keeping KEBA in the region. The next steps for implementation will be taken in the next municipal council and I already would like to thank all those who will support this project. I assume that for the benefit of Leonding's further development, this will be a large majority."

Ing. Peter Mair, Mayor of Pasching

Mayor Peter Mair is very pleased about KEBA's decision to locate the company on the new B139. "The second cross-municipal cooperation between Pasching and Leonding shows the good cooperation between the two municipalities. Together, it was also possible to reach an agreement with the previous owners for the sale of the land. The creation of 600 jobs at this innovative company is a further argument for the construction of the Pasching train stop in the course of the 4-track expansion of the Westbahn line with high-speed rail service, which would also be reachable on foot at a distance of only about one kilometer," said the mayor of Pasching.

f.l.t.r.: Mag. Gerhard Luftensteiner, CEO of KEBA AG, Dr. Sabine Naderer-Jelinek, Mayor of Leonding, Ing. Peter Mair, Mayor of Pasching © KEBA/APA-Fotoservice/Greindl

KEBA will establish another location at the Technologiering of the municipalities of Leonding and Pasching. Picture reference: Basis Google Maps

Gerhard Luftensteiner CEO of KEBA AG © KEBA AG

f.l.t.r.: Dr. Sabine Naderer-Jelinek, Mayor of Leonding, Mag. Gerhard Luftensteiner, CEO of KEBA AG, Ing. Peter Mair, Mayor of Pasching © KEBA/APA-Fotoservice/Greindl