Netstal employee killed on hijacked flight

Netstal Machinery, Inc. has announced that one of its employees, Robert J. Hayes, 37, of Amesbury, MA, was killed in the crash of American Airlines Flight 11 on Tuesday, September 11. This flight crashed into the North tower of the World Trade Center.
Hayes was a long-time employee of Netstal, having joined the company in 1987 as a service technician. He advanced through various positions to become manager, sales & market development, data products in 1997.
Hayes was instrumental in helping the company achieve its position as the market leader in molding machines for the CD/DVD industry.
“Bob was a very valuable, loyal and trustworthy employee and friend,” said Werner Christinger, president of Netstal Machinery, Inc. “He was one of the real honest guys, and he treated us and his customers with great respect. He was a devoted family man, too. This is a great loss for our company and he will be very deeply missed.”
As news of Netstal’s loss and of the tragedy spread, many customers called expressing shock, disbelief and sympathy at the loss. Amy Hunter, Netstal’s Human Resources Manager, said “I think we are all still in a bit of shock over what has happened, because of the overall events and especially from losing one of our own. The support that has been offered from employees as well as customers is tremendous. Bob was extremely well liked and respected. He will be missed beyond words.”
Hayes lived in Amesbury with his wife, Debora, and their two children, Robby, 4, and Ryan, 6 months.
Netstal has established a memorial fund for the family. The company asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to the fund as follows:
Debora L. Hayes, in trust for Robert J. Hayes, beneficiary
Netstal Memorial Trust
Sovereign Bank
11 Park Street
Leominster, MA 01453
Donations may be sent either in care of the bank or to:
Netstal Machinery, Inc.
75 Lake George Street
Devens, MA 01432.
Netstal is the industry leader in producing machines for compact disc (CD) molding, and also serves the medical device and diagnostics, bottle closures, PET perform, thin wall container, and telecommunications markets.