German-Austrian cooperation

The two cooperative groups, I&M Interbaustoff of Bad Nauheim and Karlsruhe, and Bauwelt Interbaustoff of Vienna, are each acquiring a 50 per cent stake in the Baustoff central buying office in Vienna as equal-status partners. I&M Interbaustoff has announced that the cornerstone of this new company's work will be the operational business of Bauwelt, especially joint buying, invoicing and basic agreements for the group's voluntary members. Both management and board will be composed of equal numbers from each of the partners. Chairmanship of the board will alternate every two years between the Austrian and German partners.
According to information about the agreement, Bauwelt is the longest existing cooperative organisation in the Austrian building materials sector. It has a total of 17 member companies at present with external sales in excess of € 500 mio. It has had a cooperative agreement with its German partner since 1996.