Treasury & Finance Convention Podcast: Hannes Moser (Greiner)

Thank you very much for the invitation, dear Christian, and thank you, dear listeners, for tuning in.

With pleasure. Greiner is a company that has been family-owned for 160 years. We operate in three different divisions and are a plastics processor and foam producer. We are active worldwide, with subsidiaries in over 30 countries, employing nearly 11,000 people worldwide.

That's right. Greiner is a very innovative company, and about 20 years ago, the company began working with medical technology products. At that point, they naturally wanted to grow quickly and asked how best to do that, since other divisions also wanted to grow. An IPO seemed like the best solution — with a strong stock market partner and a broad shareholder base to position the company globally. All preparations were made, as I understand. I wasn't there myself back then. Am I describing this correctly? Yes, exactly. And then came the dot-com bubble, where not just we but many other companies decided against an IPO. Growth and globalization in that area continued under their own power, and today the topic of going public is no longer an issue for the Greiner Group.

That's right, and that was some time ago. Miba was listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange with non-voting preference shares — a bit of an Austrian specialty. Those non-voting shares are hardly seen anymore today. In recent years, they decided to take the company off the exchange. It was a typical trend among strong ownership families who had control through voting rights, while for shareholders it was not a bad arrangement.

That's right. The Treasury area is an absolutely important area.

It's a lot of fun, setting up and implementing a treasury financing strategy. It's quite an enjoyable story.

It's about the right design of financing for the company and the individual companies within the group. It's about selecting the right banks and the right partners. For us, banks are always partners — that's how we see it and that's how we handle it. And then structuring, closing, and discussing the individual financings. It's a lot of fun and requires a great deal of creativity.

I think so, I do think so. Hardcore from the outside, if I may use that word, but I believe it really is fun.

A very exciting panel. Even though we are very different companies in different industries, different markets, and producing in different countries, we found some common ground. Challenging markets — not just here in Austria, but also exciting international markets where we can all seize opportunities and see growth. And the conclusion for all three of us was: don't talk everything down. The glass isn't half empty, the glass is half full. Stay optimistic going into the coming weeks and months.

I believe that Upper Austria, with so many industrial companies — it is the heart of industry in Austria — there really is a shareholder culture. People meet, and there's a very strong exchange between companies in areas like Treasury, where ideas are born on how to do things better and who to work with. Very exciting topics.

I wanted to check it out — that's why I'm here today. I heard last year it was a very good event with many Austrian companies. I know the Finance and Treasury Forum in Mannheim by S&G — a very large international event. Here, it's very much tailored to Austria, and Austrian companies need this networking and exchange. It's a very good format for exactly that.

I wish I could say that, but I'm not smiling anymore. In Treasury, we deal with a great deal of regulation in every country in the world. It's not just EU countries where we complain about too much regulation — there are also non-European countries with different regulations, and Treasury must take all of this into account when it comes to financing strategies for an entire international group.

Those are certainly the big trends, in varying intensities for different companies. For us as a plastics processor, the topic of ESG and sustainability is naturally important.

The exchange is ongoing, but it's both — Treasury and, importantly, a CFO topic. We have a very clear house bank strategy at the company. It's emphasized so strongly because it's important to deal with our financing partners in a trusting and above all transparent way. The house bank concept is a classic, conservative principle from Austria. As an internationally active company, that doesn't just work with Austrian banks — you need international banks in your house bank portfolio too, large international banks that can accompany us in Thailand, in Brazil. And for large international banks, a house bank relationship is something special. It means openness, transparency, but also accompaniment through good and bad years.

Difficult question. A difficult question, but — and this might sound a bit strange — I'm not focused on squeezing out the last basis point or always getting the best terms. The overall relationship with a banking group has to work. A bank should also be allowed to earn something — I stand by that. Because I want this bank to accompany me long-term, not leave at the first sign of trouble. It's a relationship through good and bad times, and we've had no shortage of challenges in recent years.

There are many things that can be fun. We talked about Treasury earlier, but as a CFO there are other topics that are very challenging and enjoyable. That's the continued development of the group, very much in collaboration with the CEO — the strategic work, where we want to develop. And one thing is also very exciting: the interaction with the owners. As I said, we're a family company with a very broad ownership base, and that interaction is very challenging and very exciting.

Absolutely. And family companies, as we like to say in Austria, are the backbone of the Austrian economy, and that's a good thing.

Goodbye from my side, dear Christian. Thank you for the invitation. I hope you enjoyed it and that I could share some nice, interesting, and fun things with you.