The entrepreneur and long-time Chairman of the Executive Board of the SMS group, Heinrich Weiss, passed away on September 8 at the age of 83, surrounded by his family.
Jochen Burg, CEO of SMS group: "Heinrich Weiss was always a great role model. He was an entrepreneur of exceptional stature who transformed a medium-sized company in the Siegerland region into a global market leader in mechanical and plant engineering for the steel industry. Our thoughts are with his family. We will miss him greatly."
Johannes Frauendörfer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Weiss Family Foundation: "Heinrich Weiss was not only a significant entrepreneur, but also a person of clarity, poise, and passion. His life's work is inextricably linked to SMS. As the Board of Trustees, we will continue his legacy responsibly and in the interests of future generations."
Georg Weiss, son of Heinrich Weiss and chairman of the Weiss Family Foundation: "My father dedicated his life to the company. For us as a family, it is a great concern to preserve this legacy and lead SMS into the future in his spirit."
Heinrich Weiss closely followed the company's development until its very end. For more than five decades, he was the fourth generation to head the family business. The foundation was laid by his great-grandfather, Carl Eberhard Weiss, who founded a blacksmith shop in Siegerland in 1871, which later became Siemag (Siegener Maschinenbau) AG. After studying engineering in Munich, Heinrich Weiss joined the company in 1968 and took over as CEO in 1971. Under his leadership, a period of strong growth and global expansion began. In 1973, the company merged with Schloemann of Düsseldorf. Significant acquisitions such as Mannesmann Demag in 1999 and the Luxembourg-based plant engineering company Paul Wurth in 2021 shaped the company's further development.
Until 2024, Heinrich Weiss was the sole director of the family foundation and carefully prepared the generational change.
Beyond the company, Heinrich Weiss was involved in economic policy committees for decades: from 1982 to 1997, he headed the China Working Group of the Asia-Pacific Committee of German Business, from 1983 to 1988, he served as Federal Chairman of the CDU Economic Council, and from 1991 to 1992, he served as President of the Federation of German Industries. He also served on the supervisory boards of Deutsche Bahn, Commerzbank, and Bertelsmann, among others, and on the administrative board of Bombardier.
Note: This article has been issued by SMS group and has been published by AL Circle with its original information without any modifications or edits to the core subject/data.
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