ARBURG mourns the loss of its Senior Partner Eugen Hehl

In addition to his entrepreneurial vision, the trained master mechanic distinguished himself above all for his commercial achievements in the development of ARBURG's worldwide sales organisation and construction infrastructure, as well as his strong social commitment. As Managing Partner, Eugen Hehl played a key role in the global success of the family company as the "master builder of the company". Technically trained, but with a keen instinct for sales in particular, he played a decisive role in shaping the family business for more than seven decades in congenial co-operation with his brother Karl, who passed away in 2010.
The partners, in particular his two children Juliane and Michael Hehl, who together with their cousin Renate Keinath are currently managing the company in the third generation, the managing directors and all employees will remember him with honour.

Eugen Hehl pursued his visions throughout his life. In 1951, he began to set up his own sales structures, and in 1957 ARBURG took part in the first international trade fair in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. As early as 1962, he travelled to Japan and the USA to further boost machine sales. With a love of detail and determination, the ambitious hunter, morning fitness enthusiast and tea drinker also implemented the construction activities at the main plant and the successively established ARBURG subsidiaries around the world from the very beginning. Many of them resemble the headquarters in terms of their exterior design and technical equipment due to the modular construction method used by Eugen Hehl and are therefore clearly recognisable. Eugen Hehl was already pursuing the idea of sustainability, for instance in terms of construction and energy supply, before the term had even been coined.

At ARBURG, in his home town in Lossburg and far beyond the region, Eugen Hehl was held in high esteem both personally and professionally. Together with his brother Karl, Eugen Hehl was also known for his strong social commitment. The two of them had the Gebrüder Hehl Foundation established in Lossburg, which officially began its work in 1999. The retirement home operated by “Bruderhaus-Diakonie,” a non-profit, Christian diaconal foundation in Baden-Württemberg, is open to older people for assisted living, short-term and elderly care. Eugen Hehl was also active in the church, including in the church choir of the Lossburg parish.

In 2000, the Federal Republic of Germany honoured Eugen Hehl with the Federal Cross of Merit for his outstanding life's work. The company also received the Baden-Württemberg Business Medal in 1990 and the Baden-Württemberg Competence Award for Innovation and Quality in 2015. Further awards include honorary 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. In 2020, the senior partner received the Richard Vieweg Medal of Honour, the highest award of the Association of German Engineers (VDI).