History

Wiener Betriebs- und Baugesellschaft mbH was founded in 1941. As a municipal business, we were then heavily involved in maintaining energy supplies and other interests throughout Vienna, which was severely affected by the turmoil of war. Our services included removing destroyed buildings, repairing damage and breakages and carrying out urgent essential works. WIBEBA passed its first test in those challenging times.

After the Second World War, WIBEBA redefined its tasks. At that time, with limited financial means and resources, the city’s infrastructure had to be improved and thousands of apartments needed to be constructed as quickly as possible.

This wholesale construction of new dwellings commenced in 1947 with the Per-Albin-Hanson-Siedlung housing estate, with which the company accepted its share of responsibility for the quality of life in Vienna. WIBEBA played a significant role in rebuilding the city, which meant the company expanded rapidly. The number of employees increased to more than 2,000 by 1951. The period from 1955 to 1964 featured a boom in building construction. In 1962, WIBEBA handed over the ten-thousandth apartment completed since the company began its new construction activities.

The Bauring Wien cooperative dominated the period from 1964 to 1976. At first, independent construction companies unified into a contractual collective, and in 1969 this was then consolidated to form Bauring Wien Ges.m.b.H.

Under this system, WIBEBA operated as a separate division within the Bauring Wien collective. WIBEBA was able to contribute to the construction of Vienna’s underground railway during this period. The Bauring Wien collective began operating internationally in 1970 with some success in the former CSSR and Hungary, but the venture ended with significant losses on two construction projects in the Near East.

In 1976, WIBEBA and most of the other subsidiaries separated from Bauring Wien. The endeavour to secure private capital investment resulted in a consortium of four companies obtaining a qualified minority stake of 26% in WIBEBA. The main shareholder was Wiener Holding, under which heading the City of Vienna had combined several of its companies.
This difficult period in the company’s history, when four competitors had considerable influence over the fortunes of WIBEBA, persisted until 1990 when the Zentralsparkasse bank acquired the minority holding.

The next few decades saw dynamic developments at WIBEBA. By the beginning of the 90s, the company comprised six core business areas and a firm intention of becoming more than merely a construction company. Intensive developments in the environmental sector saw this become a mainstay for the company. WIBEBA also expanded its presence in building construction and municipal services with additional affiliated companies.

It was not an easy time for the company: after a period of recession in the construction economy, the threat of a takeover by competitors and a difficult business situation, WIBEBA withdrew from the less lucrative corporate sectors and affiliated companies and underwent a change of ownership. The shareholding changed hands, first from Wiener Holding to Bank Austria and then, in 2001, to B&C Holding/B&C Baubeteiligungsgesellschaft. From the mid-90s onward, the company concentrated increasingly on its core competencies.

WIBEBA was taken over by the PORR Group on 1 January 2006 and its building construction sector was split off. In the course of this transition, our service portfolio was expanded. With access to the resources of the PORR Group, we are now in a position to offer main contracting services for complex projects in high-traffic locations, with input from a range of specialist divisions. Our flexibility, efficient construction organisation and ability to get the job done form the foundation for a successful future.