オーストリア・フォラールベルク州における機械・電子機器製造部門の多様な優良企業群

This paper is a sequel to Yamamoto (2019, 2020a, and 2020b), so that its purpose is to describe the processes, how various companies of the machine and electronics industries in Vorarlberg, Austria, have developed to excellent companies. They are OMICRON electronics GmbH, IMA Schelling Group GmbH, Bachmann electronic GmbH and System Industrie Electronic Holding AG (S.I.E). These companies are to be recognized as “hidden champions”, or at least equivalent ones. This paper also treats a branch establishment of Hilti Aktiengesellschaft, the headquarters of which is located in Liechtenstein, because its branch factory contributes to the Vorarlberg’s economy as well as the indigenous companies. I could have interviews either with the chief executive officers or with managers of these companies with the assistance of the Chamber of Economy Vorarlberg in September, 2017. I used various materials offered by them and collected information on the companies through internet in order to study their respective business history and recent conditions. These companies have developed cutting-edge technology in their respective fields in some niche business-to- business market. OMICRON produces both software and hardware for the control and testing of electric power system. Bachmann also produces software and hardware for the control and human-machine-interface for wind power system and the other renewable energy as well as control equipment for various machines and plants. S.I.E also produces human-machine-interface system for the medical equipment as well as for the security business. IMA Schelling produces special machines precisely to split any sheet material of lumber, metal and plastics. These four companies were founded by entrepreneurs who were born and brought up in Vorarlberg. The Hilti’s establishment is not a mere branch factory, but it has a function of R&D in metal processing in the division of labor of Hilti’s other establishments located in Liechtenstein, Munich and its suburbs, and a small town in Baden-Württemberg. All the companies treated in this paper contribute to the Vorarlberg’s economy in the vocational training of the youth in the framework of the Austrian education system. They have acquired human capital not only from within Vorarlberg, namely from three Higher Federal Institutes for Technological Teaching and Research or HTL (Höhere Technische Bundeslehr- und Versuchsanstalt) and Fachhochschule or University of Applied Science in Vorarlberg, but also from outside Vorarlberg. Jane Jacob’ s hypothesis in respect of the source of the vitality of urban and regional economies, namely innovation through “improvisation” and “import-replacing”, may be applicable to the development of IMA Schelling, but not to the development of the three electronic companies, needless to say about the case of the branch plant of Hilti. These sought market outside Vorarlberg including its neighboring regions from the beginning and the most important occasion of their respective evolution is connection with companies outside Vorarlberg. While Germany and the other EU (EC)-countries has been the most important market for all the companies, they have also developed their respective markets in the USA, China and so on. Not only the technological development, but customers-oriented management is also the decisive factor for the successful development of the five companies. They adopt management policy to bring up the creativity and team spirit of their individual employees under their respective business philosophy and attach importance to their working environment and work-life-balance. These characteristics are to be recognized most evidently in OMICRON and Bachmann. It is remarkable that these two companies have developed their respective technological ability not only by their own employees but also by M&A of other companies located outside Vorarlberg.