The project is being implemented in collaboration with BUZ Neutal, NMS Horitschon, St. Martin Primary School, PANNATURA, Energie Burgenland, Red Soft, and BECOM. Its goal is to inspire young people to engage with STEM subjects and provide them with hands-on insights into modern technologies and sustainable solutions.

At the heart of the project is the FarmBot – an intelligent raised-bed gardening robot capable of sowing seeds, watering plants, removing weeds, and supporting the harvesting process autonomously. Through this innovative system, students gain valuable insights into how digital technologies and automation can be applied in agriculture and how they contribute to a more sustainable future.

Last Thursday, the FarmBot was delivered to NMS Horitschon and successfully put into operation. Apprentices from BECOM, together with NMS Horitschon, were responsible for assembling and implementing the system. The FarmBot is now ready for use in everyday school activities, giving students the opportunity not only to learn about innovative technologies in theory but also to work with them in practice.

The project uniquely combines education, technology, and sustainability, creating an engaging learning environment where future-oriented topics become tangible and accessible. We are proud to be part of this initiative and to contribute, together with our project partners, to fostering technical skills and supporting the next generation of professionals.

Project Partners:

BUZ Neutal
NMS Horitschon
St. Martin Primary School
PANNATURA
Burgenland Energie
Red Soft
BECOM

The prestigious award is presented by “Die Presse”, Bankhaus Spängler, BDO and the Austrian Chamber of Civil-Law Notaries, recognizing companies that combine economic success with sustainable entrepreneurship and a strong sense of responsibility.

The award was accepted on behalf of the BECOM Group by the owners Johann Bock, Johannes Bock and Roman Bock.
“This award is a great honor for us and, above all, a recognition of the commitment and dedication of our entire team,” emphasizes the Bock family.
As an international family-owned company with strong roots in Burgenland, the BECOM Group sees this award as both a confirmation and a motivation to continue its successful path in the future.

For the fourth time, BECOM Electronics honored outstanding technical projects and emerging young talents in the field of electronics through the BECOM Innovation Award. This year’s winning project, “Robot Dog”, impressed the jury with its successful combination of modern robotics, precise motion control, and the realistic simulation of typical canine movements.

The BECOM Innovation Award aims to highlight the innovative spirit, technical expertise, and creative problem-solving skills of young developers while fostering their enthusiasm for technology and research. Once again, the best projects were selected from numerous submitted diploma theses by a distinguished jury of experts from industry and business. The showcased projects covered a broad spectrum, ranging from artificial intelligence and autonomous robotics to mechatronic systems, humanoid applications, and connected technologies. Evaluation criteria included the degree of innovation, technical implementation, complexity, and the students’ personal commitment.

For the first time, the evening’s opening speech focused strongly on artificial intelligence. Mag. Johannes Bock, Managing Director and Co-Owner of BECOM Electronics, emphasized the crucial role of young talents in shaping future technological developments.
“AI is no longer a topic of the future – it is reality. This makes it all the more important to give young talents the opportunity to actively shape this development.”

In his keynote speech, “The Generation That Still Had to Learn AI”, Christoph Nowotny addressed the impact of AI on learning and work. He emphasized that today’s students belong to a generation that was still able to develop independent thinking without AI and introduced the Lean Startup principle “Learn – Build – Measure.” He highlighted the importance of iterative processes, rapid learning, and a constructive approach to mistakes as key drivers of future innovation.

This was followed by an engaging panel discussion featuring representatives from politics, business, industry, and education. Among the participants were Regional Councillor Dr. Leonhard Schneemann, Dkfm. Dr. Harald Schermann (Burgenland Economic Chamber), DI Christian Strasser (Federation of Austrian Industries Burgenland), Gerhard Michalitsch (Burgenland Chamber of Labour), and Dir. Prof. DI Dr. Wilfried Lercher (HTL Pinkafeld). Together, they discussed key future challenges related to innovation, competitiveness, and the development of Burgenland as a business location.

The highlight of the evening was the ceremonial award presentation. The winning projects stood out through their creativity, technical know-how, and forward-looking approaches.

Overview of the Winning Projects:

1st Place (€2,000): Robot Dog
As part of this project, a 3D-printed robotic dog was designed and built, capable of moving in a dog-like manner. In addition, the system can execute commands such as “sit,” “down,” and “paw,” demonstrating advanced motion control and modern robotics.

Students: Lukas Sedelmaier, Kilian Sinowerski, Alexander Steinbauer (5AHEL)
Supervisor: Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Markus Mandl, MSc

2nd Place (€1,000): A.U.R.A. (Artificial Unified Robotic Arm)
The project team developed an anthropomorphic robotic arm together with a sensor glove for control, capable of replicating basic movements of a human arm. The project’s objective was to create an intuitively controllable robotic system that reproduces human motion sequences as realistically as possible.

Students: Ali Abdullah, Phillip Rotheneder, Jakob Schwarz (5BHEL)
Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Christian Josef Paar, MSc BSc

3rd Place (€500): SmartHome
This project developed an integrated system that digitizes measurement data from an analog water meter as well as from a photovoltaic system and processes the information through a centralized platform. The resulting data is intended to support optimization, consumption analysis, and more efficient resource management.

Students: Tobias Janisch, Nicolas Nagl (5BHEL)
Supervisor: Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Christoph Csebits

Expert Jury:
Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Dipl. Wirtsch.-Ing. Wilfried Sihn
Ing. Jürgen Antonitsch
Matthias Klein
Ing. Mag. Johannes Bock
Dipl.-Ing. Roman Bock, MSc

Following the award ceremony, guests, jury members, and participants concluded the evening with a joint get-together featuring snacks and numerous professional discussions.

The BECOM Innovation Award 2026 once again demonstrated the remarkable innovative strength, technical talent, and future potential of the younger generation.

A special highlight this year: BECOM itself is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and Johann Bock has been faithfully supporting the company for just as long. Starting as a production employee, he later took on the role of production manager before leading the company as owner and CEO.

The anniversary celebration was not only a look back at the shared history of the company but also an expression of appreciation for all those who have shaped BECOM and continue to do so.

We sincerely thank all our employees for their loyalty, dedication, and enthusiasm – here’s to many more successful years together!

The event clearly highlighted the crucial role of validation, EMC, environmental simulation, and precise analysis in driving innovation and ensuring quality in electronics development.

Our sincere thanks go to all participants for the valuable exchange, as well as to the speakers who contributed essential insights with their expertise:

• Martin Wedel, MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions – EMC-shielded materials

• Dominik Zeller, Würth Elektronik Group Austria – EMC-compliant electronics design

• Bernhard Wieser & Roland Palkovich, BECOM Group – Validation as a key to future innovation; guided tour of the EMC laboratory

• Johannes Bock – Presentation of the BECOM Group from an ownership perspective

We also thank Jürgen Braunsteiner for presenting the association, as well as the regional group leaders Robert Ammann, Martin Wedel, and Andreas Klinger.

The event was characterized by professional dialogue, technological expertise, and valuable future-focused impulses.
We look forward to continuing our cooperation and the next joint activities.

Video by: Luis Linshalm & Ben Schmidtberger
Catering-Partner: TA Event GmbH

Our managing directors, Johannes and Roman Bock, who lead the family business BECOM Electronics GmbH in its second generation, were honored in the Innovation & Hightech category. This recognized their visionary entrepreneurial spirit and tireless commitment to combining technology with heart and vision.

The evening was full of creativity and inspiring stories of entrepreneurs shaping the future with courage, creativity, and responsibility. This award is not only an honor but also a confirmation of our belief: innovation happens where technology and humanity go hand in hand.

Johannes and Roman Bock emphasized that this success is the result of the dedication, passion, and daily commitment of the entire team, and expressed their heartfelt thanks: “This success would not have been possible without you.”

A special thank you goes to EY Austria for the award and the fantastic organization of this unforgettable evening – a true celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship.

We also warmly congratulate all the winners and honorees of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards 2025 on their achievements!

More info:

• Video: Johannes und Roman Bock beim EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2025 / Copyright: Point Of View
• Profile: Johannes und Roman Bock beim EY Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2025 / Copyright: Point Of View
• All Award Winners: EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2025 Award | EY – Österreich

The year 2025 marks a very special milestone for us: we are celebrating 40 years of BECOM Electronics GmbH – four decades in which our company has continuously evolved, grown, and set new standards.
Founded in 1985, BECOM has developed over the years into an internationally active electronics service provider and is now, in its second generation, a family-run business that truly lives values such as trust, responsibility, and innovation.

Our success is built on continuity, innovative strength, and a corporate culture that places collaboration, responsibility, and progress at its core. Above all, it is our employees who have made this journey possible – with their dedication, creativity, and passion for their work.

To mark our anniversary, we celebrated with nearly 600 guests – focusing especially on our teams, together with selected honorary guests who share a special connection with BECOM. The official ceremony was hosted by Sissy Gamauf-Leitner.
To open the event, Managing Directors Johannes and Roman Bock took the audience on a journey through the world of BECOM – sharing impressions from the past and inspiring outlooks for the future. During the celebrations, Dkfm. Dr. Harald Schermann (Chamber of Commerce), Gerhard Michalitsch (Chamber of Labour), and DI Christian Strasser (Federation of Austrian Industries) were interviewed.
Later, Regional Councillor Dr. Leonhard Schneemann and Mayor Michael Kefeder also addressed the audience.
The closing speech was reserved for Senior CEO Johann Bock. With heartfelt words of gratitude, he spoke to everyone involved – and suddenly, the entire festival tent fell silent, so moving was the moment. His words were met with long-lasting, thunderous applause.

At the celebration held at our headquarters in Hochstraß, there was laughter, reminiscing, and most importantly: gratitude. Gratitude for decades of trust, unity, and tireless dedication – the very qualities that have made BECOM Electronics what it is today.
Even though not all colleagues around the world could be present, our appreciation extends to each and every one of them – at every location, in every department.

Over the past 40 years, we have evolved continuously – technologically, organizationally, and culturally. Today, we stand for state-of-the-art manufacturing, global connectivity, and partnership-based collaboration along the entire value chain.
Our mission remains clear: to grow together with our customers and partners, to shape future technologies, and at the same time to act sustainably and responsibly. That’s why we continue to invest in areas such as digitalization, advanced production processes, international site development, and hands-on training. In doing so, we secure our position as a reliable partner – economically, socially, and environmentally.

With pride and gratitude, we look back on 40 years – and with energy and enthusiasm, we look ahead to all that lies before us. We look forward to what’s yet to come and to the next steps in a connected, dynamic industry.
Together. Innovative. For 40 years – and for many more to come.