Gold Medal of Honor of the State for Karl-Heinz Rauscher

“I was very happy about this appreciation,” says Karl-Heinz Rauscher, it is a recognition of 40 years of commitment to this country. The 62-year-old from Steyr, until last year a member of the board of directors of truck manufacturer MAN Steyr, was awarded the Golden Medal of Honor of the State of Upper Austria by Governor Thomas Stelzer on Monday. After various other honors, this was the first award from his home state.

Born in Steyr, he was honored primarily for his services to the Upper Austrian economy. Rauscher has held various positions in Upper Austrian industry since 1982, including positions on the board and managing director of the former MAN plant in Steyr from 2008 to 2021. He was responsible for the constant successful expansion of this company.

New book is in preparation

“The continuous further development and transformation of the Steyr plant was very challenging,” says Rauscher, who is particularly proud of the last stage of investment with the modern paint shop: “Bringing new technologies to Steyr has always been a personal concern of mine.”

Since 1996, Rauscher has also been a lecturer in business law at the University of Applied Sciences in Upper Austria on the Steyr campus. The Steyr native earned his two doctorates in law and business administration.

Rauscher is also a recognized author of numerous historical specialist books. For example, he wrote the first biography of Josef Werndl, analyzed Steyr’s past under National Socialism and wrote works on the history of the city’s trucks and cars. He is currently writing a new book that will deal with recent Steyr history and will be published next year.

The 62-year-old has been chairman of the Association of the Vehicle Industry of the Austrian Economic Chamber since 2015 and one of the chief negotiators of collective agreements in the metal industry: “The KV negotiations are imminent and will probably be more difficult than ever.”

Karl Heinz Rauscher,
the former MAN board member received the Golden Medal of Honour
State of Upper Austria