Getting Together with the “Friendly Vikings”

The sun reappeared for the first time after days of rain. Sunpor’s second production site was officially opened in perfect conditions, in the presence of nearly 200 guests from the fields of business, politics, and other interest groups.

The concrete which flowed into the construction of Sunpor’s new plant in St. Pölten-Radlberg could have been used to build more than 80 family houses. Builders of such small dwellings will however profit from this development; in the form of lower heating bills when they use EPS insulation panels in their construction.

The economic and ecological aspects of EPS – commonly known as Styropor – were taken by Managing-Director Franz Schmitzberger as the central theme in his address. In technical terms the energy requirements of a well-insulated family house are equivalent to those of a medium-sized car over the same period of time. Schmitzberger said: “For this reason the promotion of thermal insulation improvement makes a lot of sense. This is currently only progressing at the rate of 1.5% per year. At this rate it could take 70 years before all houses deficient in energy efficiency are brought up to date.”

This was a statistic with which Petra Bohuslav, Economics Minister for the Regional Council, immediately associated herself. She added: “The region will extend the promotion of building insulation to business premises. With better insulated factories and offices, businesses in Lower Austria could save a considerable amount of cost while significantly contributing to the fulfilment of climate change targets.”

Mr. Olav-Nils Sunde regards himself As a “Friendly Viking”. The head of the Norwegian Sunde Enterprise with an annual turnover in excess of 1 Billion Euros is Sunpor’s sole owner. He emphasised: “When we travel these days we go in search of cooperation and friendship”. How well this philosophy has succeeded in his case was clear from his speech, made in German: “55 Million Euros for a new production unit is a lot of money. But for reasons already stated I feel very comfortable with this investment.” He then appropriately presented a model of a Viking ship to Mayor Matthias Stadler, and thanked him for his personal contribution to the efficient handling of the bureaucratic process associated with the project by his officials. Stadler in return described Sunpor as a leading company, the like of which every Mayor could wish for himself. “Over no single detail did we as officials need to haggle over Sunpor’s adherence to our strict safety and environmental guidelines.” St. Pölten would be conscious of its responsibility as a location for other similar international enterprises in the future.

In addition to the economic perspective the sunny weather contributed to the mood of the occasion. As did the Kids of the Graz Dance Factory with an enchanting performance, a sumptuous buffet, and the comprehensive tour of the new plant offered to its visitors.

Sunpor II is open. A new chapter in the success story that is Sunpor has begun.

Pictures PLANT II Opening