Jenbacher AG

When a company in a town of 5,000 inhabitants employs over 1,000 people in its factory than you can pretty much call it a company town. That's what we have here in Jenbach, situated in a small valley about 25 miles northeast of Innsbruck. Jenbacher, with revenues of $243 million and 1,100 employees, manufactures engines. Not just any kind of engines but those that can run on natural gas as well as several bio and special gases (non-natural gas), such as those from garbage dumps, industry or agriculture. Jenbacher is the market leader in the disposal and utilization of non-natural gas.

As expected in a small town like this it's no problem finding Jenbacher's head office/factory complex. Located next to the freeway, the place is easy to spot because the factory buildings are painted a bright green. I check in with the friendly guard at the gated entry who then directs me to one of the buildings. Corporate offices are located above the factory floor of a five-story structure.

Martina Streiter, Corporate Communications, gives a warm welcome and tour of the headquarters/plant facility. 1,040 people work on this site. There's plenty of free parking for employees, smoking in your office is optional, no recreational facilities on-site, no formal dress code, covered parking for bicycles and it's a 20-minute drive to Innsbruck's downtown or airport. Limited to Austrian artists, the company's art collection is comprised primarily of modern and contemporary works. Right outside the gated grounds there's a snazzy new company cafeteria, which is open to the general public. Any employee perks? Yep, discounts on ski equipment at local stores (remember this is ski country). For hundreds of years before Jenbacher built its plant this site was home to various metals factories.

The 5th floor houses senior management. The wood floors, skylights and large windows with views of the nearby mountains lets one forget you're above a huge factory floor. The square table in the glass enclosed boardroom seats 16, there's wood flooring, black chairs, lilies and two real plants. Jenbacher has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1957.