Wintersemester 2012 / 2013 

Executive Summary 

About the Company 

Mountaineering S.r.l. is an engineering consulting company located in Bolzano, Italy. It offers services in the field of natural hazard consulting, natural hazard research and hydrological analysis in the mountainous regions. 

Project goal 

In the wake of diminishing revenue growth, the company is seeking new markets to expand to. Because of the geographical location in the Alps, the DACH-region constitutes a potential target market for Mountaineering. The task of the project was to analyze the German, Swiss and Austrian market and highlight the most interesting region. 

Approach and Methods 

The Project consisted of two major phases. The first part was the analyses of the DACH-markets. This analysis included among others PESTEL and Porters Five Forces. The recommendation constituted the second part of the project. 

Market Analysis 

Germany 

In comparison to the other two markets, Germany is the least developed market. The government just recently started their first large projects, for example creating hazard maps for large areas in Bavaria. In addition, the supply side of the market is not as saturated as in the other markets. This is why projects are often conducted with the help of companies or small engineering offices from Switzerland, who are at the forefront of the industry. However, this shows that Mountaineering has a good opportunity of entering the market directly, trying to gain brand recognition in the market to attract contracts. Another possibility would be to cooperate with regional engineering offices, which acquire the contracts through their well-connected networks and then execute the projects with the help and expertise of Mountaineering. 

Austria 

Natural hazard mapping is currently a major concern of the Austrian authorities, and therefore a promising market for Mountaineering. Additionally, the ÖBB (State-owned railway company) is constantly building new railway tracks in mountainous regions, where Mountaineering‘s services are required, due to the strict law in Austria, regarding environ- mental compatibility. The market consists of many smaller engineering offices and governmental institutions, providing equal or similar services as Mountaineering. On the other hand, those firms and institutions are often interested in partnerships in order to create a mutually beneficial relationship.

Switzerland 

Switzerland has the strictest regulations concerning natural hazard protection in the DACH-region. Since the whole country has already been hazard-mapped, the potential revenue in Switzerland is limited. Moreover, Switzerland prefers regional companies. It is very hard for international companies to receive orders, because of the very strict regulations of the individual cantons. However, there are a lot of interesting companies looking for partners in order to improve its performance. Especially in the research field, this can be a very attractive option to enter the Swiss market. 

Recommendation 

In conclusion it can be said that, the three markets are still in their development phase, as no clear market leader could be identified, and the markets are still expanding. This is also due to the fact that these services distributed very regionally, with a lot of small companies and engineering offices taking up the biggest chunks of the markets. How- ever, this also gives Mountaineering the opportunity to set foot in these markets through directly attracting contracts while advertising their sophisticated measurement methods to gain recognition or by partnering with regionally known engineering offices, who have good connections to the public administrations in the specific regions, while Mountaineering provides them with the needed expert knowledge and expertise.

RecommendationIn conclusion it can be said that, the three markets are still in their development phase, as no clear market leader could be identified, and the markets are still expanding. This is also due to the fact that these services distributed very regionally, with a lot of small companies and engineering offices taking up the biggest chunks of the markets. How- ever, this also gives Mountaineering the opportunity to set foot in these markets through directly attracting contracts while advertising their sophisticated measurement methods to gain recognition or by partnering with regionally known engineering offices, who have good connections to the public administrations in the specific regions, while Mountaineering provides them with the needed expert knowledge and expertise.

Cooperation Partner

• Mountain-eering S.r.l. Via Siemens 19
  39100 Bolzano
  Italia

• Contact Person
  Matteo Dall’Amico
  T +39 0471 068226
  E matteo@mountain-eering.com 

Student Team

• Maximilian Lunacek
  Stefan Röll
  Joachim Treiber
  Lars Vajen