For many years, the company has participated in “Girls’ Day,” a day-long event where girls are given a better understanding of technical professions, and in the “Long Night of Research.” voestalpine supports and organizes the school events “Mini Physics Olympics” and “Mini Mathematics Olympics” throughout the entire State of Upper Austria. Additionally, voestalpine provides support to the children’s academy “SchlauFuchsAkademie” (literally, cunning fox academy) in Linz as well as the “KinderUni” (children’s university), which is associated with the University of Applied Sciences in Steyr.
voestalpine Stamptec Böhmenkirch GmbH & Co KG, Germany
The “Technolino” project, a collaboration with regional kindergartens spanning several years, provides early technical education to the children. Apprentices designed a truck completely on their own and assembled it together with the kindergarten kids.
voestalpine has had research partnerships with around 80 universities and research institutions worldwide for years.
As one of the donors of this institution, voestalpine supports the Institute of Science and Technology (IST Austria) in Klosterneuburg, Austria, an institute for fundamental research in the areas of the natural sciences, mathematics, and computer science.
Since 2009, visitors have been able to learn interesting facts about steel and the innumerable ways it can be used and processed in a permanent exhibition about steel at the Linz site as well as in changing exhibitions, such as “60 Years LD Process.” Special guided tours for families, children, youth, and school groups introduce the interested guests and potential employees to voestalpine as an attractive employer and an innovative, future-oriented company.
Experience and knowledge
An enormous steel rotunda, modeled after a steel plant crucible, hangs inside the voestalpine Stahlwelt. The crucible–the world of discovery and central hub–features 80 large, chrome-plated spheres measuring up to 2.5 meters in diameter that serve as brilliant points of reference. Individual, truncated spheres are integrated throughout the exhibition, including a number of walk-in spheres; they offer fascinating glimpses into the world of steel production and processing as well as new insights into voestalpine. The itinerary through the exhibition passes through the areas presenting steel production, steel processing, steel products, and the successes achieved by steel; the uppermost level is dedicated to the voestalpine Group.
A hands-on approach to steel
The crucible is adjoined structurally by the “tower,” which houses impressive exhibits and a number of interactive stations where, for example, visitors can mix their own steel grade on a mixing console. The itinerary takes visitors upward level by level until they reach the top, accompanied all the while by music of the spheres echoing the sounds of steel production and breathtaking lighting effects from the 700 square-meter LED surface that covers the inside wall of the crucible. The voestalpine Stahlwelt has received many honors and awards internationally for various categories, for example, product design, design, and communications.