DIAMOND AIRCRAFT

Visit to Industry Centre of Lower Austria in Wiener Neustadt

A near full busload of CdH members and guests travelled to Wiener Neustadt where the first stop was at the premises of Ecoplus, the business promotion agency of Lower Austria.  Here we were welcomed by the managing director of Ecoplus, Mag. Helmut Miernicki.   The first part of the programme focused on research and development activities in the industry centre.  A number of speakers from various high tech organisations in the technology park provided us with and overview of the advances they have made in a range of technological areas.

Following a lunch provided in the Ecoplus restaurant, the visitors were taken on a tour of ECHEM (the centre of competence for applied electro-chemistry) and AC2T (the Austrian Centre of Competence in Tribology) where they were shown facilities for the inspection and investigation of the surface structure and properties of materials, and for the inspection and investigation of lubrication properties and processes.

The day was then rounded off with a visit and tour of the light aircraft manufacturing company, Diamond Aircraft.  Here we were given a presentation by the managing director of Diamond, Mr Michael Feinig, and told how this local company has become one of the world's leading manufacturers of single and twin-engined light aircraft and is rapidly consolidating its position in this market.  The presentation was followed by a tour of the manufacturing facilities.  It was indeed a surprise for most of the visitors to learn that Austria has such a significant player in the aircraft industry.