Austrian ambassador meets with Medina County officials

LIVERPOOL TWP. — Medina County officials recently spoke with an Austrian ambassador about business activity within the county and between the United States and Austria. Petra Schneebauer is the Austrian ambassador to the United States. Her diplomatic career began in the 1990s, and she became the ambassador in 2023. She met with Medina County officials when she stopped by Welser Profile's Liverpool Township facility on Thursday. Welser is an Austrian company that has created steel-based products since its inception in 1664. President and CEO of Welser Profile North America Bill Johnson said Schneebauer was already in Ohio earlier in the week to meet Gov. Mike DeWine. Both Johnson and Schneebauer spoke to DeWine about the connection between Ohio and Austria through memorandums of understanding, as well as developing relationships between businesses and schools. "We talked to him and his staff about opportunities to help businesses create this bridge back to the schools to let kids have experiences in our manufacturing and our businesses here in Medina County," Johnson said. Schneebauer said she has met CEO Thomas Welser several times, but has not been inside any of the company's Austrian facilities. "She wanted to come and see for herself what Welser Profile was doing, and how we're incorporating apprentices into our business," Johnson said. Schneebauer had a conversation with Medina County Commissioner Steve Hambley, Brunswick Economic Development Director Grant Aungst and team members from the Medina County Economic Development Corp. The group talked about Austrian business investment in the United States and immigration. There are around 800 Austrian companies in the United States, Schneebauer said. The other Austrian-based company in Medina County is Ebner Furnaces Inc., which has a Wadsworth facility. The company's Managing Director Herbert Gabriel also took part in the discussion. "More and more people are interested in investing in the United States because they see the huge potential," Schneebauer said. The meeting was an opportunity to connect people who support Welser locally to someone who gives support from Washington, D.C., Johnson said. "There will be ways that we can help each other moving forward," he said. "This is just creating a network of support for Austrian-based companies and for all companies in Medina County to create these opportunities." Contact reporter Madisyn Woodring at (330) 721-4049 or mwoodring@medina-gazette.com.