Our History

TECHNOLOGY CAMPAIGN

Instead of stagnating, an aggressive campaign around technology was undertaken which would lead to dynamic momentum, high quality of life, a great site, and an economic upswing in a variety of sectors. With this strategy, Villach positioned itself clearly and made a name for itself as a great business location for high-tech companies in the Alps-Adriatic region.

The conditions for this were just right due to the major companies that were already located in Villach, such as Infineon Technologies (formerly Siemens) or SEZ(Semiconductor Equipment - Accessories for Semiconductor Manufacturing), today Lam Research. Beginning in 1997, the City of Villach bought from the Province of Carinthia not only the land belonging to the former pulp mill, but also additional pieces of land from private landowners, in order to have access to a contiguous area. The investment required from the city for a total area of approximately 27 hectares has amounted by now to around €10 million. 

This decision preceded the establishment of a separate economic department in 1996 (now part of the Finance and Economic Department) which was primarily given the task of establishing Villach as a high-tech business location and of creating new, high-quality jobs in the tech sector.

THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TPV TECHNOLOGY PARK VILLACH

The basis for the development of tpv was a development concept that originated from the total possible usable area of 27 hectares (including parking lots), working and living space for around 4,000 people, as well as a clear focus on the areas of microelectronics, electronics, mechatronics, mechanical engineering, renewable energy, information and communications technology, as well as suppliers and services in these fields. In addition to this focus, the three-pillar model of education & continuing education, research & development, and business & industry at one location was already clearly defined as a unifying element at the time of conception. In this way, the City of Villach laid the groundwork for the establishment of a high-tech park that is strategically oriented on the international playing field.

CARINTHIAN UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES

Parallel to this, and on the City of Villach’s initiative, an electrical engineering degree program at the Villach campus of the Carinthia University of Applied Sciences­­was started in 1996. This has been followed by the Engineering & IT Department, with degree programs in Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Geoinformation and Environment, among others, as well as by the Business Department, with degree programs such as International Business Management, Public Management, and so on. There are other training courses and degree programs offered, as well as programs through the distance-learning University of Hagen, and Multimedia Law through Johannes Kepler University of Linz.

Following the completion of the first building, T01, the university moved from downtown Villach to the tpv.

CTR AG/Kplus CENTER OF EXCELLENCE

Another major step was the founding in 1997 of CTR AG (Carinthian Tech Research), now part of SAL Silicon Austria Labs GmbH, which was a project in collaboration with the federal government, the Carinthian Federation of Trade Unions, the Province of Carinthia, and the Fraunhofer Institute. The goal here was a non-university research and excellence center in the field of sensor and actuator systems (measurement technologies and their implementation). CTR was the first Kplus Center of Excellence in this field since 1998, and also moved into Building T01 of the tpv once it was completed.

me2c

Alongside the development of tpv, the me2c [micro]electronic cluster began to be built up in 1998 by the City of Villach and local leading companies. The objective was to create a network between the existing leading companies and small and medium-sized enterprises in the relevant fields, in order to facilitate joint employee qualifications, projects, and communication between cluster members. The actions taken led to the creation of an independent association in the year 2000, which is active today in Carinthia and Styria as SAC Silicon Alps Cluster, a cross-province alliance in the fields of microelectronics and electronics.

TPV URBAN DESIGN COMPETITION

In the early 2000s, in order to ensure industry networking and to guarantee its clear positioning as a high-tech location, the City of Villach announced an urban design competition.

From among the numerous entries, the winner was the design concept “urLaub” by the Graz architecture design firm Kletzl, with the motto “Work where others go on vacation”. The focus of the design was primarily the building of individual islands, as well as the careful landscaping of the remaining areas. The goal here was to design a riverside forest, lightened up by bushes and areas of lawn. However, this design had to be let go due to market demands, and a new development plan is currently being created.

PPP-MODEL T01 & T02

Planning on the first building, T01, was already begun while the design competition was running. The financing and construction of T01 was achieved using the Private-Public Partnership Model (PPP Model) in collaboration with a private developer.

T01 was completed in September 2001 and the leaseholders - Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, CTR AG / now SAL Silicon Austria Labs GmbH - were able to move into the spaces that had been planned according to their requirements. With this, the first part of the three-pillar model was implemented. The total investment volume for the first phase of construction amounted to around €11 million, and the 13,000 m² of total usable space was fully utilized within a very short amount of time.

EXPANSION

tpv has continued to grow and the site will continue to be developed and expanded. Construction on building BA02 has been happening at HTCV High Tech Campus Villach since March 2021, and in this building there will be 3,000 m² of space for laboratories and offices as well as a 1,000 m² cleanroom. Additionally, in 2022 construction will begin on a preschool that will have its own mini educational lab. The preschool will be home to three preschool groups for kids from three to six years old, and a daycare for kids from one to three years old.

WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

Future plans include designing and implementing a new signage system including the design of the entrance area, an info box, the construction of a river platform and a river patio, relocating part of the bike path, connecting paths between the buildings, a parking garage with up to 600 parking spots, and construction of buildings BA03 and BA04.