Gmundner Keramik and Microsoft manager Kevin Scott launch technology cooperation

Planned formats of the cooperation

Specifically, several formats are planned according to Gmundner Keramik. These include cooperations with Higher Technical Educational Institutions (HTLs), supervised diploma theses, and so-called "Tech Days," at which young people can work directly with the company and its partners. The organization "Behind the Tech Labs" is also integrated into the program. This is intended to make the joining of forces between traditional craftsmanship and digital education visible.

Company representative Markus Friesacher spoke of a milestone for the region. The goal was to show that a product rich in tradition and cutting-edge technology were not a contradiction, but could mutually enrich one another. The manufacturer employs several hundred staff at the Gmunden location and is considered one of the country's best-known ceramics companies.

For the coming months, initial joint events are planned. Scott himself announced that he would come to Gmunden regularly to work with students and apprentices. "Hier darf ich diese Leidenschaft mit Technologie verbinden und vor allem junge Menschen auf ihrem Weg begleiten", Scott said about the new partnership.

Focus on the next generation of skilled workers in the Salzkammergut

The initiative is also a signal to the next generation of skilled workers in the Salzkammergut. With a view to the competition for talent, the company explained, the aim was to spark enthusiasm for technology and craftsmanship at an early stage. The region has suffered increasingly from demographic pressure and outmigration in recent years – which is precisely why reaching out to young people is particularly important.

Gmundner Keramik emphasizes the sporty character of the cooperation. "Wir verbinden bei Gmundner Keramik jahrhundertealtes Handwerk mit modernster Technologie. So bleiben wir – ganz im Sinnen des Rennsports – auf der Überholspur und sichern den Standort für die nächste Generation", the announcement states. The imagery of motorsport alludes to the immediate proximity of the production site to the activities surrounding motor racing.

Bridging the gap between craftsmanship and high tech

With the cooperation, the company is also responding to the general trend that traditional consumer goods are increasingly being marketed, produced and further developed digitally. This includes computer-aided design processes as well as the use of data analysis in product development. Gmundner Keramik aims – according to its own statements – to build up competencies in these areas and to bring external expertise in-house.

Observers see the partnership as an unusual bridge between a traditional Austrian mid-sized company and an international tech manager. The fact that a high-ranking Microsoft manager himself practices pottery and makes this passion public is, they say, a rare and valuable circumstance for the region. It now remains to be seen whether concrete education and innovation projects will grow out of the symbolically charged announcement that go beyond the existing formats.