{"id":20762,"date":"2026-08-23T05:55:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T05:55:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=20762"},"modified":"2026-08-23T05:55:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T05:55:26","slug":"austrian-mountain-town-finds-niche-in-ai-boom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=20762","title":{"rendered":"Austrian mountain town finds niche in AI boom"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<p>Nestled in the wooded hills of Austria\u2019s Styria region, the town of Leoben oozes tradition with its pastel-coloured buildings and quaint central square boasting a 13th-century church.<\/p>\n<p>But on the edge of town, engineers peer through giant magnifying glasses while robotic arms manipulate sheets of copper to develop components used in some of the world\u2019s most advanced AI systems.<\/p>\n<p>AT&amp;S, an electronics company based in Leoben, makes integrated circuit (IC) substrates, the boards that connect chips to computer memory and power supplies \u2014 a crucial component in the race to develop AI and high-speed data processing.<\/p>\n<p>The company\u2019s shares have surged more than 450 percent this year, making it one of the most striking beneficiaries in Europe of the AI boom.<\/p>\n<p>For chief executive Michael Mertin, this success shows that Europe can still \u201coccupy important niches\u201d in the AI race, even if it cannot compete with US rivals on chip innovation, or with Asian firms in terms of production scale.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will not be the leading nation or the leading region\u2026 (but) there are some outstanding technologies where we are world leaders in Europe,\u201d Mertin said.<\/p>\n<p>Founded in 1987, AT&amp;S initially made printed circuit boards before entering the IC substrate business in 2016, when it began serial production at a new plant in Chongqing, China.<\/p>\n<p>The company opened a second factory to produce IC substrates in Malaysia in 2024.<\/p>\n<p>The Leoben site, known as the Hinterberg plant, serves as the global headquarters and houses its research and development operations.<\/p>\n<p>After investing more than 500 million euros ($576 million) in a research and production centre opened last year, it has also become Europe\u2019s only major commercial manufacturer of advanced IC substrates.<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 \u2018Industrial revolution\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n<p>Malcolm Penn, chairman of the semiconductor consultancy Future Horizons, said AT&amp;S was one of few European companies directly benefiting from booming demand for AI hardware.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re riding the AI boom\u2026 They\u2019re not driving the wave, they\u2019re riding the wave,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>IC substrates are \u201ccritical\u201d in the AI ecosystem \u201cbecause they\u2019re one of the key aspects of reducing power consumption, reducing noise, increasing speed,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Europe\u2019s strengths in AI-related hardware tend to lie in specialised parts of the semiconductor supply chain, with companies such as Dutch lithography giant ASML and British chip designer Arm occupying leading positions.<\/p>\n<p>AT&amp;S cannot claim to be in the same league as them, but the growth of AI has led to a big increase in demand over the past few months, said Barbara Decker-Schloegl, its senior director of operations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou can see it across all areas \u2014 customer inquiries keep rising and rising,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe issue of artificial intelligence, including the high demand for the corresponding computing modules, will not foreseeably slump,\u201d Mertin added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom my point of view, this is an industrial revolution, almost like the introduction of engines or, back then, the steam engine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Local heft, global workforce \u2013<\/p>\n<p>Around 2,200 people from more than 70 countries work at the site in Leoben, a former iron mining centre of 28,000 people in the mountainous southern state of Styria.<\/p>\n<p>Mario Alroy, 36, from India, has been an account manager at AT&amp;amp;S for four years and travels to work daily from Graz, the nearest big city.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStyria is really a wonderful place to be. You have mountains, you have lakes, if you\u2019re interested in wine you can go wine tasting\u2026 The quality of life is very good,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>But around 60 percent of the staff are Austrian, and \u201cAT&amp;S is one of the largest employers in this region\u201d, Decker-Schloegl said.<\/p>\n<p>The Technical University of Leoben, long known for mining, metallurgy and materials science, has supplied AT&amp;S with generations of engineers and technical specialists.<\/p>\n<p>Kerstin Neukamp, a spokeswoman for the mayor\u2019s office, said the growth of AT&amp;S had brought \u201chighly qualified jobs and additional international visibility\u201d for the town and the region.<\/p>\n<p>However<b>, <\/b>\u201cwith additional employees and their families, new demands also arise in terms of housing, education, childcare, and other services offered by the city,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n<p>In Leoben\u2019s central square, Sigrid Halm, a 52-year-old social worker, said AT&amp;S was \u201cvery important for the town, because there are a lot of jobs over there\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy father used to work there, he was an engineer in Hinterberg and a senior executive. Both of my children have worked there, and I know many people who still work there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>fec\/jza\/pdw\/js<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 728px 160px; gap:2px; width:908px; background:#eee; padding:2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u901a\u680f\u9876\u90e8\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u6a2a\u5e45 908x258 \u8de8\u6574\u884c -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:258px; background:#ff6b6b; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114307\" data-width=\"908\" data-height=\"258\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114307});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u7b2c\u4e8c\u901a\u680f\uff1a728\u00d790 \u901a\u680f -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; 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height:600px;  display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114301\" data-width=\"160\" data-height=\"600\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114301});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<br \/> Austrian mountain town finds niche in AI boom<br \/>\n<br \/>#Austrian #mountain #town #finds #niche #boom<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nestled in the wooded hills of Austria\u2019s Styria region, the town of Leoben oozes tradition&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":20763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[8072,6045,193,2953,15504,142],"class_list":["post-20762","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-austrian","tag-boom","tag-finds","tag-mountain","tag-niche","tag-town"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9c5d385a57794d94b6de3df7da0fccdf1c40a6ae.jpg",768,512,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9c5d385a57794d94b6de3df7da0fccdf1c40a6ae-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9c5d385a57794d94b6de3df7da0fccdf1c40a6ae-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9c5d385a57794d94b6de3df7da0fccdf1c40a6ae.jpg",640,427,false],"large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9c5d385a57794d94b6de3df7da0fccdf1c40a6ae.jpg",640,427,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9c5d385a57794d94b6de3df7da0fccdf1c40a6ae.jpg",768,512,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9c5d385a57794d94b6de3df7da0fccdf1c40a6ae.jpg",768,512,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9c5d385a57794d94b6de3df7da0fccdf1c40a6ae.jpg",768,512,false],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9c5d385a57794d94b6de3df7da0fccdf1c40a6ae-768x500.jpg",768,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9c5d385a57794d94b6de3df7da0fccdf1c40a6ae.jpg",768,512,false],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9c5d385a57794d94b6de3df7da0fccdf1c40a6ae-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/9c5d385a57794d94b6de3df7da0fccdf1c40a6ae-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?cat=7\" rel=\"category\">Stories<\/a>","tag_info":"Stories","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}