On the occasion of the third edition of Made in Steel, held in the northern Italian city of Brescia on March 23-25, SteelOrbis had the pleasure of speaking with Austrian commercial consul Michael Berger about the reasons for his presence at this national steel event.
"Italy - explained Berger - is Austria's second commercial partner after Germany. In 2010, trade between Italy and Germany reached €20 billion, leaving the crisis behind and increasing by 12 percent compared to 2008. In terms of sales, Austria's main exports to Italy are in the wood and metals sectors; in the latter, steel is of primary importance. This explains our interest in taking part in Made in Steel, with the presence of fifteen companies related more or less directly to the steel world."
Berger went on to say, "The global crisis was felt also in Austria, mainly in the automotive sector. However, the most important steelmakers (such as Voestalpine) stood firm and showed a prompt recovery in 2010. There are still difficulties in obtaining adequate access to credit. In my opinion, new rules and financial instruments would help companies to develop their business."
Speaking of the recent changes in the global steel situation, Berger said, "The emerging countries, with China to the forefront, may represent an opportunity for Western steel companies, but at the same time they raise problems linked to higher tensions in the raw materials markets...For the European Union, it is not always easy to find effective measures to defend the competitiveness of EU-based companies".
Finally, Berger touched on the recent earthquake disaster in Japan and the political turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa (the Libyan war in particular), "Japan is an important commercial partner for Austria. Last year, exports to Japan exceeded €1 billion. The possible consequences of the earthquake have raised the concerns of Austrian market players. On the other hand, the damage will be followed by reconstruction, and the Austrian companies will have to be ready to take the opportunity. As regards the situation in North Africa and the Middle East, the biggest concern is linked to the investments in the oil sector, especially in Libya. Facilities and plant supplies from Austrian suppliers are important too. Hopefully, Libya will return to normality soon, and the reconstruction will start, as in Japan."