Visit to Wels, Upper Austria

Our main event in June was an excursion to the city of Wels in Upper Austria and the itinerary was arranged by Stadtmarketing Wels, the official publicity organ of the city.

Our bus arrived in Wells shortly after 11.30 a.m. and was met by Ms Veronika Schenter and Mr Peter Jungreithmair of Stadtmarketing Wels who escorted our group to the Rathaus where we were received by the deputy mayor, Mr Hermann Wimmer. Mr Wimmer gave a short, but comprehensive, illustrated presentation of what the city has to offer for residents, tourists and businesses. This was followed by a short question and answer session.

A quality lunch was then provided in a local restaurant where we were joined by two senior managers of the company Rübig, director Mr Helmut Quirxtner and the head of technical operations, Mr Walter Hacker. We were also introduced to Dr Manfred Spiesberger, head of the local chamber of commerce. After lunch we were treated to a guided tour of the central area of the city to gain an appreciation of its history, architecture, pedestrian precinct and attractive parks.

Next on the agenda was a visit to the "Energy Land" exhibition at the Wels exhibition centre. Here we were given a presentation explaining the efforts being made in the region to conserve energy and increase the application of renewable energy resources.

This was followed by a tour by bus through the extensive logistics estate, where the central receiving warehouses of many well known companies such as Ikea, Lutz and Spar are located, and on to the road / rail transit freight terminal. The terminal is the largest road / rail transit freight terminal in Austria and serves freight shipments to and from northwest Europe (e.g. via Germany) and southeast Europe (e.g. via Hungary and Slovenia).

The final item on our itinerary was a visit to the company Rübig which is one of the foremost metal treatment companies in Europe. Here we were joined by the mayor of Wels, Dr Peter Koits, and were given a tour of the site to see how high value metal parts, particularly from the automotive and aerospace industries, are treated to enhance their physical properties.

After a light buffet meal our party returned by bus to Vienna in the late evening.

Ron Willis
President