Competition from China

The battle against cheap products is also affecting Banner

Inflation and the energy crisis shaped the last financial year. Banner - here Andreas Bawart - is increasingly struggling with low-cost competition from China.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Banner/Fotostudio Eder (2))

Competition for starter and on-board power supply batteries in the automotive industry is getting tougher. In particular, the push by Chinese manufacturers towards Europe is also making things increasingly difficult for Banner Batterien, a company from Upper Austria. The Leonding-based company is currently developing a second mainstay outside the world of vehicles.

Banner Batterien has invested around ten million euros in its site in Thalheim, where the company is developing energy storage solutions for electric forklift trucks, aerial work platforms, golf carts, boats and caravans, as well as for critical infrastructure such as hospitals.

The team is preparing to meet the increasing demand and open up new markets, as Andreas Bawart, the commercial director, recently announced.

(Bild: EPA)

There are currently 25 employees in Thalheim, while Banner has 475 employees in Leonding. The starter and on-board power supply batteries for the automotive industry, for which Banner is known, are also produced here. Just under four million units were sold last year - a slight decline.

State subsidies for Chinese manufacturers
The Chinese manufacturers' drive towards Europe, which the European Union now wants to curb with punitive tariffs, is leaving its mark. "Government subsidies and significantly lower costs for wages and energy are being used to achieve very low sales prices," says Sales Director Franz Märzinger.

"Increased competition, the growing complexity of the supply chain and the energy crisis are putting pressure on the automotive industry," adds Bawart. The company is determined to defy the challenges: "But the more difficult framework conditions in Austria are making it increasingly difficult," says Bawart.