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They had a successful business partnership for 22 years. Gerald Leingartner and Roland Aigner have gone their separate ways since January 1st. “Livingbistro”, the well-known Wels trade fair caterer, now has to reinvent itself, emphasizes Leingartner. He will accept the challenge and start again: “I didn’t want Roland to leave, but I understand his motives: he became a father again two years ago and also set up a room rental business in Styria.”
In addition to the catering at the Wels exhibition center, “Livingbistro” supplies large company events and party events, such as the recent presentation of the Austrian plan by ÖVP party chairman Karl Nehammer: “That evening we had 2,000 people to feed. Two days before, we supplied a large in-house trade fair with more than 10,000 Essen. Both events were a kind of baptism of fire for me and gave me confirmation that I can run the Werkl on my own.”
Fight for employees
When Leingartner mentions the word challenge, he immediately speaks of the staff shortage, which has reached epidemic proportions in the catering industry. “I’ve been looking for a chef for months and can’t get one. Luckily, I can rely on a good network of foreign traveling chefs who support me as freelancers at big events.” Leingartner currently has 17 employees. Key staff are the chef and the event manager. The plan is to increase the number of employees at “Livingbistro” to at least 20 employees during the big trade fair year with AgroTier (September 5th to 8th). For major events, “Livingbistro” relies on leasing staff and freelancers. Some evenings there are 100 employees on duty.
In addition to looking for new employees, Leingartner has to deal with the impending demolition of the old exhibition halls. “We are losing infrastructure there, such as storage rooms and kitchens, which will not be replaced. In order to be able to handle large events in the future, we may have to purchase additional services.”
Some sleepless nights
After a few sleepless nights, work is now really fun again, emphasizes the “Livingbistro” boss. In order to be able to start fresh again at the age of 56, you have to be well positioned organizationally. There are currently no plans to bring a new business partner on board: “But it is absolutely necessary to bind employees in key positions to the company with success bonuses.”
Aigner’s departure had no impact on their friendship: “No, for God’s sake. Everything is fine. After all, we’ve known each other forever.”
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Source: Nachrichten
