Fireworks of ideas at the construction company SWIETELSKY

The company-wide idea competition reached its peak at mega events in the Linz Design Center.

With a "Festival of Ideas," Swietelsky AG fueled its development into an innovative beacon of the industry. Thousands of employees at home and abroad were called upon by the management in spring 2022 to submit their ideas and future proposals in four different categories. The categories "Innovation," "Ecology," "Fairness," and "Togetherness" correspond to the focus areas of the corporate sustainability strategy. A total of 350 submissions were counted, which were seriously reviewed, examined, and evaluated by expert committees in the first step.

At a congress event on June 10, a shortlist of ideas was presented to around 300 executives and put to a vote. As a result, one "Big Idea" remained in each category. At the immediately following large employee event in the Linz Design Center, around 1300 colleagues voted for SWIETELSKY's Idea of the Year from this shortlist via online voting on their phones. The winners were Markus Steiner (Salzburg), Kurt Maier (Carinthia/East Tyrol), and Sonja Sesser (Head Office) with their concept for a corporate app.

In his speech to the 1300 Swietelskys, CEO Karl Weidlinger summed up the purpose of the initiative: "What is personally more important to me than any single idea is the general message associated with our Festival of Ideas: You are important to us, your ideas matter. Never stop being creative and bring your thoughts and flashes of inspiration into your respective professional everyday life. This initiative makes us strong and can guarantee our position as an innovative beacon of the industry in the long term."

Top expertise at the executive congress DIALOG.FORUM

During the day at the Design Center, the DIALOG.FORUM featured not only the ideas of its own employees but also discussions with external experts. The focus was on how to promote an innovation culture within the company and what challenges the future of construction brings. The Austrian climate transition, fair business practices, and how to motivate teams to achieve peak performance were also highlighted in keynotes and panel discussions. Renowned speakers such as Nils Dülfer from the consulting firm KEARNEY, Wolfgang Kradischnig from the construction service provider DELTA, section head Jürgen Schneider from the Ministry of Climate Protection, WU professor and antitrust law expert Viktoria Robertson, and extreme mountaineer Anja Blacha delivered exciting and sustainably impressive statements. A series of panel discussions on the key topics of innovation, ecology, fairness in competition, and togetherness in the company sparked lively and insightful debates.

Anja Blacha, who climbed the "Seven Summits" at a young age and solo trekked to the South Pole in 58 days, left a lasting impression. "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together," she urged the enthusiastic workforce of SWIETELSKY and vividly supported this insight with numerous experiences from her expeditions. SWIETELSKY board member Harald Gindl added: "We must prioritize togetherness over island thinking. Only together and with mutual support can we reach where we want to go."

Mega event FEST.ARENA – a grand celebration of togetherness

The common and interpersonal aspects were also the focus of the evening event "FEST.ARENA" with 1300 Swietelskys. "Even in times of artificial intelligence, robots cannot match human creativity. We have the best and most modern machines in the industry, but without the skilled operation and control by our employees, these machines would not be able to achieve anything. And that will remain the case in the future," stated railway construction board member Peter Gal in his interview. International board member Klaus Bleckenwegner proudly referred to the contribution of a total of 18 international markets to the corporate results and the shared philosophy of all around 12,000 employees.

Supervisory board chairman Dr. Günther Grassner and his deputy Dr. Norbert Nagele expressed their utmost satisfaction with the company's economic performance and conveyed the thanks and respect of the owner families to the workforce. Special thanks were given to all training companies of the SWIETELSKY group. Together, they have managed to train more than 330 apprentices in the group, with a strong upward trend. The branch office in Upper Austria was recognized as the largest training company in the SWIETELSKY group.

SWIETELSKY relies on ideas

The program, entertainingly moderated by Ö3 micro-man Tom Walek, was rounded off with show acts from the Drumatical Theatre and musical highlights such as the song "We are the Champions," specially rehearsed by the band "ESPR!T Music," along with a music video filmed at SWIETELSKY construction sites. Culinary highlights were provided by the gourmet caterer Caseli. An inspiring day and a celebration with a powerful message. "The many ideas brought to light and their gradual analysis and implementation will be a long-term task. However, we will not be discouraged even when drilling hard boards," promises CEO Karl Weidlinger. SWIETELSKY relies on ideas. This advertising slogan remains a statement and at the same time a daily task for each and every one of us.