Mourning at AT&S: Farewell to Hannes Androsch

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

On December 11, Dr. Hannes Androsch passed away at the age of 86. AT&S is losing its Chairman of the Supervisory Board – and so much more. When Dr. Hannes Androsch took over AT&S, the Styrian printed circuit board company, from Austrian Industry Holding AG (ÖIAG) with Willibald Dörflinger and Helmut Zoidl back in 1994, AT&S had 939 employees. Three decades later, 13,500 people work for AT&S around the world.

They are now mourning the loss of their Chairman of the Supervisory Board, who was active until recently. The Supervisory Board reacted to the news immediately after it was announced: “The death of Dr. Hannes Androsch hits the AT&S family with great hardship, as he shaped the company with his visions and ideas over many decades as Chairman of the Supervisory Board. His work is both a foundation and a guide for the future, and the Supervisory Board would like to say thank you for this. Our thoughts in these hours and days are with those whom Dr. Hannes Androsch leaves behind. We will always remember him, and his legacy is an incentive to continue to lead AT&S with great responsibility in these difficult economic times.”

The AT&S Management Board expresses its respect and esteem for Androsch’s work as follows: “The rise of AT&S to become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of high-quality IC substrates and printed circuit boards with production facilities in Austria, China, India, Korea and soon in Malaysia would be inconceivable without Hannes Androsch’s unshakeable belief in the company and its employees. Androsch was known far beyond Austria and Europe, also thanks to his willingness to take on social responsibility.”

When the groundbreaking ceremony for the new microelectronics plant with adjoining research and development center in Leoben Hinterberg was held in the presence of high-ranking politicians in March 2022, Supervisory Board Chairman Androsch said: “AT&S is deeply rooted in Leoben. This is where the success story began, from a small company in Styria to a global technology leader.” Androsch always took setbacks as an incentive for reorientation, and success as motivation to get even better. Thus, he saw the challenging situation in which the company currently finds itself as an opportunity.

For decades, Androsch found his greatest task in promoting education and research. The former politician tirelessly pushed for the digitalization and advancement of Austria as a business location. He fought for research funding and called for reforms in the education system, for example by initiating the “Education Referendum” in 2011. His continuous endeavors were recognized in many ways: from 2003 to 2013, he served as the Chairman of the University Council of the University of Leoben. From 2005 to 2020 he was a member of the Senate of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, from 2007 to 2021 Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Research Institute AIT (Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH) and from 2010 to 2020 Chairman of the Council for Research and Technology Development. He was an Honorary Senator of the Vienna University of Economics and Business, of TU Wien and TU Graz and held an honorary doctorate of the University of Leoben, the University of Salzburg, the University of Law in Bratislava and the University of New Orleans in the USA. Hannes Androsch embodied entrepreneurial spirit throughout his life. He will be remembered by AT&S.