1. ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria Clusterland Lower Austria Walter Freudenthaler, ecoplus Cluster Conference Brno, May 30th, 2005

2. ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria Area: 19,174 km² Population: 1.55 million Lower Austria – in the heart of Europe Budapest 215 kilometers (129 miles) Prague 240 kilometers (144 miles) Bratislava 5 kilometers (3 miles)

3. ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria Foreign trade of Lower Austrian companies 2003 with new EU Members Foreign Trade Source: Statistisches Handbuch des Landes Niederösterreich 2003/04

4. ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria  Established: > 40 years ago  Owner:100% Province of Lower Austria  Employees: 80  Areas of competence: ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria Business Locations Regional Projects Technology EU Enlargement ecoplus – setting up Lower Austrian cluster initiatives Networks & Clusters International- isation

5. ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria Technopols in Lower Austria Technopol KremsBiomedicine Technopol TullnEnvironmental and agro-biotechnology Technopol Wiener Neustadt Microsystem technologies Mechatronics Nanotechnology Electrochemicals Tribology Medical technologies Technology

6. ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria  Timber Cluster Lower Austria (since 2001)  Automotive Cluster Vienna Region (since 2001)  Wellbeing Cluster Lower Austria (since 2003)  Ecological Construction Cluster Lower Austria (since 2004)  Plastics Cluster (since 2005) Cluster Initiatives in Lower Austria: Additional Themes in Development Phase:  Food ecoplus – setting up Lower Austrian cluster initiatives

7. ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria Cluster potential in Lower Austria?

8. ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria Nonetheless … Cluster concept - a robust policy approach  It is not necessary to have a ‘fully-fledged cluster’ - many of the elements of a cluster policy also fit into the portfolio of general economic development policy  Increase competitiveness through cross-company co-operation  Improve the profile and international position of the Lower Austrian economy

9. ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria Cluster Initiatives are Economic Policy Instruments  Public Private Partnership:  public financing for 5 years + … with decreasing shares (National Support Programme and EU Objective 2 Programme)  private financing increasing over time: membership fees, service fees, etc.  Services – special mix depending on the cluster needs:  Information (homepage, newsletter, seminars, workshops, study trips, …)  Marketing (joint PR, joint exhibition at fairs, media co-operation …)  Co-operation (initiation and consultancy of innovative joint projects, partner-matching)  Stimulation of start-ups and business location ecoplus – setting up Lower Austrian cluster initiatives

10. ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria ecoplus - Cluster building process Selecting thematic areas with ‘cluster potential’ Preparing feasibility studies Organizing cluster initiatives in multiyear phases time

11. ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria  Material influence of the Legionella growing in water distribution systems  Plastic pipes compare to copper and iron pipes  7 Companies work together in this project Legionella Plastics Cluster – example

12. ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria  Unique natural timber products  Raw materials originating from native forests and sustainable forest management  Combination of wood and special plastics LOHA BaumArt Timber Cluster Project Timber Cluster – example

13. ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria Partners: Best Health Austria Ltd. Wellbeing Cluster Lower Austria Description: Development of a quality trademark for companies in health tourism Development of a brand for Austrian health tourism Implementation program for companies in lower austria Co-operation of companies at the top with high quality services, partner network Quality Trademark Development Wellbeing Cluster – example

14. ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria Results of the Evaluation 2004  The cluster philosophy has been successfully implemented in LA by ecoplus  High level of company satisfaction with: - results of the co-operation projects - care of the projects through ecoplus cluster teams - the aid program of ecoplus for co-operative projects ecoplus – setting up Lower Austrian cluster initiatives Care of the projects through ecoplus cluster teams:

15. ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria Further Information Mag. Walter Freudenthaler ecoplus. The Business Agency of Lower Austria Ltd. Austria - 1010 Vienna, Lugeck 1, 6 th floor phone: +43 (0)1 / 513 78 50 – 0, fax: ext. 44 w.freudenthaler@ecoplus.at www.ecoplus.at Lower Austria‘s Business Portal www.loweraustria.biz Centrope – Direct Investment Agency Net www.centrope.com … Welcome to Lower Austria! …