Arburg senior partner Eugen Hehl passes away

Eugen Hehl. Photo Credit: Arburg GmbH + Co KG

Eugen Hehl, senior partner of German injection molding machine maker Arburg GmbH + Co KG and a member of the Plastics Hall of Fame, passed away on Dec. 12 at age 94.

Trained as a master mechanic, Hehl worked at family-owned Arburg – which had been founded by his father – for more than seven decades, and “played a key role in the company’s global success”, Arburg officials said in a Dec. 14 statement. “In 1951, [he] began to build up his own, initially regional, sales structures by travelling extensively,” the company said. “As early as 1957, he raised the company’s sales to an international level by participating in the first trade fair in Amsterdam in the Netherlands…and as early as 1962, he travelled to Japan and the U.S. to further boost machine sales.”

Working alongside his brother Karl Hehl – who passed away in 2010 – Eugen Hehl “gave the company an unmistakable profile worldwide,” Arburg said. “As managing partner, [he] played a key role in the global success of the family company as the ‘master builder of the company.’” Eugen Hehl implemented construction activities at Arburg’s main plant in Lossburg, Arburg said, and supervised the establishment of Arburg subsidiaries around the world. “With foresight, he had buildings in Lossburg that were between two and four years old partially demolished in 1966 in order to enable what is known as grid construction and thus improved future expansion alternatives on the company premises,” Arburg said. “Many of the Arburg subsidiaries around the world resemble the headquarters in terms of their exterior design and are therefore clearly recognizable.”

In November 2000, the Federal Republic of Germany honoured Eugen Hehl with the Federal Cross of Merit for his achievements. Further awards include honourary citizenship of the municipality of Lossburg in November 1997 and the Golden Master Craftsman’s Certificate in 2005. The American Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) presented Eugen and Karl Hehl with the Business Management Award in 2007 for their joint life’s work. Eugen Hehl was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame in 2015 for his life’s work. And in 2020, he received the Richard Vieweg Medal of Honour, the highest award of the Association of German Engineers.

Eugen Hehl’s children Juliane and Michael Hehl are both currently managing partners of Arburg, together with their cousin Renate Keinath, and represent the third generation to be involved in the company. Arburg currently has a presence in 25 countries at 35 locations and has representation in over 100 countries through its trade partners.