After the kick-off event last June the new event format “Militia meets business” (-> to the event website) by Militär Aktuell and Milizverband Österreich entered its second round on October 17. This time we were guests at the production facility of Pandur manufacturer General Dynamics European Land Systems-Steyr (GDELS-Steyr) in Vienna Simmering, the motto was “Security and Personnel”.
Right on time at 5 p.m., Militär Aktuell editor-in-chief Jürgen Zacharias and the newly elected newly elected new President of the Austrian Militia Association, Colonel of the Higher Military Technical Service Armin Richterwelcomed the almost 100 participants present, the keynote speakers Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner, Lieutenant General Bruno Hofbauer (Head of Planning and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Austrian Armed Forces) and Martin Reischer (VP and Managing Director GDELS-Steyr) as well as the panelists Captain of the Swiss Army Lorella Kessler (Project Manager of the Engineering Hub Vienna at Stadler Rail AG), First Lieutenant of the Militia Erich Lehner (Managing Partner at EY) and Captain of the Militia Karl-Heinz Seyser (Head of the Concrete Personnel Administration Department at the Ministry of Defense).
The best photos from “Militia meets business” at GDELS-Steyr
“Today we are in a place that probably stands for the upswing of the Austrian Armed Forces stands for,” says Zacharias. “At the beginning of the year, Federal Minister signed a contract for the procurement of 225 new Pandur Evolution armored personnel carriers in twelve different versions. The Austrian Armed Forces had already ordered 100 vehicles of this type, which means that the bottom line is is the largest arms procurement this country has ever seen. And very importantly, we are talking about an arms procurement ‘Made in Austria’, from which dozens of red-white-red suppliers throughout the country will benefit alongside GDELS-Steyr and which will create numerous new jobs here. have been and will continue to be created.“
Keynotes by Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner and Lieutenant General Bruno Hofbauer
Right at the beginning of the program, Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner had her say with her keynote speech: “I am delighted to be here once again at General Dynamics European Land Systems-Steyr and I will just say the key words ‘Pandur Evolution wheeled armoured vehicle’ and ‘Ulan infantry fighting vehicle service life extension’ (-> GDELS-Steyr overtakes Ulan fleet of the German Army). Both programs secure jobs and added value in Austrian industry and are examples of successful cooperation between the military, business and industry.”
“At the end of the day, the question of personnel will be the decisive issue of the future.
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Verteidigungsministerin Klaudia Tanner
In her speech, Defense Minister Tanner also addressed the militia system and the urgent personnel requirements of the economy and the armed forces: “In times of security policy challenges, militia soldiers in particular play a decisive role in security and the protection of critical infrastructures. And that is precisely why the economy and the armed forces must not work against each other – instead, we need to work together and understand each other. And we also need to say thank you; after all, it is not a matter of course that a company is missing an employee when they are called up for militia exercises or basic military service.” The Minister continued: “But we must not forget: Whether it’s about leadership qualities or the question of how resilient someone is – the armed forces and industry can support each other in many areas with the training and further education of soldiers and employees. This is a major advantage of the militia system.”
In his keynote speech, Lieutenant General Bruno Hofbauer then provided information on the objectives and progress of the “2032+ Reconstruction Plan”. He covered everything from the armed forces profile “Our Army”, the National Defense Financing Act and the budget figures for the coming years to the planned procurement projects and the armaments investments already made in Pandur Evolution, the new AW169 helicopters from Leonardo, the new C-390M transport aircraft (-> Purchase fixed: Austrian Armed Forces procures C-390M from Embraer) and the recently awarded contract for the procurement of a new battle management system.
“The goal is a federal army that is fully operational and capable of fighting after mobilization. In an emergency, we must BE in a position to successfully defend Austria.”
Generalleutnant Bruno Hofbauer
Hofbauer identified a need to catch up in the area of human resources, although this is an area where we can only partially help ourselves. “In view of the salary situation in the federal government, we are only competitive to a limited extent compared to the private sector.” The battle for well-qualified and motivated employees is fierce. The militia could provide a remedy, at least in some areas, where it is also important to emphasize the benefits for companies that release their employees for exercises and militia activities. “We have a solid training system, people can learn a lot with us and, at the end of the day, this naturally also benefits the economy.”
Upswing at General Dynamics European Land Systems-Steyr
The third keynote speaker of the evening was Martin Reischer (-> Interview on the Pandur Evolution at “Airpower 2024”) took the stage. The Managing Director of GDELS-Steyr used his speech to look back on the development of his company over the past ten years. At the beginning of this period, the future of the site was on shaky ground. However, thanks in part to the Pandur orders from the Austrian Armed Forces, the situation has stabilized and the number of employees has increased to more than 200 since then – and the company continues to invest heavily.
“We have already taken on more than 40 new employees this year alone, and we are currently working on expanding our production and manufacturing space.
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GDELS-Steyr-Geschäftsführer Martin Reischer
Reischer sees added value for his company in the employment of militiamen. “These employees bring leadership responsibility and the right attitude. Conversely, we can also reflect the views and expectations of the industry back to the armed forces through these employees – so it all complements each other very well.”
Discussion round on the topic of “Security & Personnel”
Martin Reischer remained on stage after his keynote speech and discussed the topic of militia and current personnel issues in the military and business together with Lorella Kessler, Erich Lehner and Karl-Heinz Seyser. In both areas, there is an intensive search for well-trained and motivated employees. The discussion focused on different approaches to recruitment, best practice examples and the militia system as a potential win-win situation for the economy and the armed forces.
The “Militia meets business” event series will be continued in 2025. More detailed information will be announced in due course, but interested parties can already register at www.miliztrifftwirtschaft.at to register for the event newsletter (at the bottom of the page).
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