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voestalpine Supports Caritas Japan Project

07/08/2011 - Dr. Wolfgang Eder, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of voestalpine AG, recently presented a check for more than EUR 350,000 to the Caritas Foundation to help rebuild the Fujinosono Children’s Home in Ichinoseki, following the severe earthquakes and tsunami of this past spring.

The Management Board of voestalpine AG decided in mid-April, following the severe earthquakes and tsunami, to support the people of Japan with a major donation. The company says it sought a project that would extend beyond current crisis management efforts and provide long-term assistance, which led it to the Fujinosono Children’s Home in the town of Ichinoseki, in the hard-hit Iwate prefecture.
 
In cooperation with the Order of Malta as well as Austrian sponsors and donors, the Caritas Foundation will give the children of Fujinosono a new home. On July 4, in Wien, Dr. Wolfgang Eder, Chairman of the Management Board and CEO of voestalpine AG, presented a check for more than EUR 350,000 to Franz Küberl, President of the Caritas Foundation.
 
“In view of the severity of the catastrophe, the number of victims, and the extent of destruction and suffering, it was clear that we would offer aid, but it was very difficult to filter suitable projects from the multitude of possibilities. Caritas made it much easier for us to choose our specific project,” said Eder.
 
“voestalpine's contribution is a major building stone for the Children's House in Ichinoseki, helping to provide a new home for the children that is both beautiful and safe,” said Küberl.
 
“Our more than 50-year business relationship with Japanese companies is one of the reasons we feel closely linked to the fate of the Japanese people,” said Eder. “Through the closer business relationships we have built up in recent years—especially in the Steel and Stainless Steel Divisions—we personally felt the effects of these dramatic events. We now hope—above and beyond the business aspect—and especially in the name of our employees, that the suffering experienced during the catastrophe can be replaced by new hope for the future.”