Infineon Villach: Shell of new research building completed

After only a few months of construction, the topping-out ceremony for the shell of the new research building was held in Villach yesterday.

Preparation for this major construction project began in December 2018. When the building is completed by early summer 2020, it will offer space for some 650 workplaces for research, development and state-of-the-art measuring engineering on a floor space of some 20,000 sqm. It will also house a new canteen and kitchen area, which will extend the existing canteen and will be ready for occupation by the end of 2020. The new facility has six floors and will be linked to the existing building by means of three bridges spanning Siemensstrasse. Currently some 130 people from various trades are working on the construction site, including building contractors, electricians, plumbers, facade builders, and technical building service outfitters.

In focus: a climate of innovation

Researchers will work here on solutions for the automotive sector and various industrial applications. By providing more than 70 meeting rooms of various sizes, great attention has been paid to establishing room for encounters, meeting zones and space for innovation exchange. Oliver Heinrich, CFO of Infineon Austria: "In the planning phase, the focus was on ensuring a contemporary office concept, optimal indoor climate and high energy efficiency. Apart from the high technical standard of the new building and the energy consumption of a low-energy house standard, the energy will be provided mainly through heat recovery from cooling energy in our production works. This means the supply of sustainable energy to the building is virtually autonomous." For the progress of construction and additional information on the expansion, please refer to www.infineon.com/ausbau.

The expansion of the Infineon development sites in Graz and Linz, which will be completed by 2020, is also proceeding according to plan. With these investments, Infineon Austria is preparing the ground for consolidating and expanding its position as Austria's best industrial research performer.

Infineon Technologies Austria AG is a group subsidiary of Infineon Technologies AG, a world-leading provider of semiconductor solutions that make life easier, safer and greener. Microelectronics from Infineon reduce the energy consumption of consumer electronics, domestic appliances and industrial facilities. They make a major contribution to the convenience, security and sustainability of vehicles, and enable secure transactions in the Internet of Things. 

Besides Germany, Infineon Austria is the only subsidiary within the group that pools competencies for research and development, production as well as global business responsibility. The head office is in Villach, with further branches in Graz, Klagenfurt, Linz and Vienna. With 4,201 employees from around 60 countries (including 1,813 in research and development), in the financial year 2018 (ending in September) the company achieved a turnover of € 2.9 billion. An R&D expense rate of €498 million makes Infineon Austria the strongest industrial research company in Austria.