1854

On 16th October 1854, Rudolph Philipp Waagner receives an authorisation to trade in iron from the municipal authority of Vienna – and Waagner-Biro is founded. In the same year, the locksmith’s Anton Biró and Albert Milde & Co. amalgamate.

EARLY 20TH CENTURY

In 1905, a merger establishes the company ‘Aktien-Gesellschaft R. Ph. Waagner – L. und J. Biró & A. Kurz’. In the following year, the company supplies stage equipment to the Vienna State Opera. Waagner-Biro, the company name that endures to this day, is introduced in 1924.

During the interwar period from 1919 to 1939, Waagner-Biro builds many important bridges in Vienna; these include the Schweden Bridge, Floridsdorf Bridge, Frieden Bridge, Augarten Bridge and more.

In 1934, Waagner-Biro buys the company Gridl, which had been active in structural engineering and bridge building since the mid-19th century, creating many important structures in Vienna (including the Palmenhaus in Schönbrunn, the Colonnade at Marienbad, the Simmering Gasometers and numerous roof structures on orbital roads as well as greenhouses and palm houses in several crown lands of the monarchy).

RECONSTRUCTION

Waagner-Biro plays a major part in the reconstruction of Vienna. The roof of the Vienna State Opera, which had been destroyed in the Second World War, is rebuilt in 1946. In 1948, Waagner-Biro is responsible for the new roof truss of St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, which had been totally destroyed in 1945. The company also makes the biggest contribution towards the rebuilding of the destroyed Burgtheater in Vienna in 1954.

1950 TO 1980

Waagner-Biro implements scores of nationally and internationally renowned projects over these three decades. Providing stage equipment and systems to the world-famous Sydney Opera House in 1960 is a milestone in the life of the company. In 1962, Waagner-Biro constructs the Europa Bridge in Tyrol, which for many years subsequently is to remain the tallest pier bridge in Europe. The Nordbrücke (North Bridge) across the Danube in Vienna is built in 1964; the company then constructs roofs for sports venues at the Olympiapark in Munich in 1969. In 1972, Waagner-Biro supplies stage technology for the concert hall and operatic stage of the world-famous Sydney Opera House. The company is involved in constructing the General Hospital and UNIDO conference centre in Vienna in 1974. A bridge over the Danube in the Floridsdorf district of Vienna is completed in 1979, followed a year later by the Brigittenauer Bridge, which also spans the Danube in Vienna.

1980-2000

Waagner-Biro establishes a branch office in Dubai in 1982, another milestone in a programme of corporate expansion which continues to the present day with more inroads into the Middle East. The company turns heads in Vienna in 1985 by providing the roof of the Prater Stadium. By the late 1980s, Waagner-Biro is helping to create infrastructure in Southeast Asia: in both 1987 and 1989, the company supplies 91 road bridges to Indonesia.

In 1991, Waagner-Biro receives the European Steel Design Award for its modernisation of the Palmenhaus in Schönbrunn – and this will not be the last award to come the way of the company. The organisation’s profile in the United Arab Emirates is raised with the founding of a new company in Abu Dhabi.

WAAGNER-BIRO HOLDING

Shortly before the turn of the millennium in 1999, Waagner-Biro achieves an international breakthrough with one of the most celebrated projects in its history: the Reichstag dome in Berlin. The landmark construction also earns the European Steel Design Award.

In the same year, Waagner-Biro Holding is established along with separate public limited companies for the various business areas.

RECENT COMPANY HISTORY

Waagner-Biro continues to raise its international profile as the new millennium begins. Waagner-Biro Gulf L.L.C. is founded in Dubai in 2000 with a view to providing an improved service to a region experiencing a boom in construction. The United Kingdom also emerges as a promising market for ambitious steel and glass architecture – leading to the establishment of Waagner Biro Limited in London in 2001 and several spectacular projects.

The year 2002 marks a turning point for the bridge construction division. Following a lengthy and exhaustive development phase, Waagner-Biro delivers the first panel bridge designed and built by the company. This bridge type continues to represent one of the most important product fields for Waagner-Biro.

150 YEARS ANNIVERSARY

The following year, the company causes an international sensation by constructing a roof for the Queen Elizabeth II Great Court at the British Museum in London. The project earns the European Steel Design Award once again. Waagner Biro Spólka z o.o. is founded in Warsaw in the same year.

Waagner-Biro celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2004. Together with customers and partners, the company looks back on a tradition of inventiveness spanning a century and a half, during which time Waagner-Biro has become firmly established as part of Austria’s industrial landscape.

The Copenhagen Opera House opens its doors in the same year following a major project in which Waagner-Biro supplies the steel and glass facade and all of the stage equipment.

Waagner-Biro scoops the European Steel Design Award again in 2007 for the Zlote Tarasy project in Warsaw, a structure that effectively highlights the company’s innovative flair and ability to deliver.

HISTORY CONTINUES TO BE WRITTEN

Waagner-Biro attracts another prize in 2008: the Gulf Building Award in the ‘Specialist Contractor of the Year’ category for the Dubai Festival City and Capital Gate Building projects in Abu Dhabi.

Market developments in Abu Dhabi are highly encouraging for Waagner-Biro in 2009. The company realises two projects simultaneously in the emirate: a free-formed surface for the Yas Marina Island Hotel (which spans part of the Formula 1 circuit) and the nearby Sun Tower.

In 2010, the contract is signed for a very special large-scale project in Azerbaijan – the terminal at Baku Airport. This is the second project for Waagner-Biro in the aspiring nation. Since Azerbaijan represents a market for the future, Waagner-Biro opens a subsidiary in Baku in 2011.

The year 2012 opens with the completion of the Cour Visconti courtyard at the Louvre Museum in Paris. When it is opened, the impressive roof structure will cover the museum’s new department of Islamic art.

History continues to be written …