Friedrich Merz (entrepreneur)

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Friedrich Merz (born October 15, 1884 in Groß-Bieberau ; † October 9, 1979 in Rodau (Groß-Bieberau) ) was a German entrepreneur , pharmacist and pharmacist .

biography

Friedrich Merz was born in Groß-Bieberau as the first son of the farmer Ludwig Martin Merz and his wife Anna Elisabeth Merz. He had a brother Georg Merz (1893-1926). Friedrich Merz married Anna Heß (1887–1948) in Darmstadt in 1909 and had two daughters: Anneliese (* 1911) and Elsbeth (* 1914).

After successfully completing secondary school, Friedrich Merz completed an apprenticeship as a pharmacist in Lauterbach and completed it in 1904 with the examination to become a pharmacist. In 1905 he received his first imperial patent for a hair tonic. In 1907 he made his exams as a pharmacist and the chemical association exam. In the following year he founded the Merz company with the money from the inherited agriculture and another loan and began, as an independent manufacturer of pharmacy supplies, with the development of machines for filling tubes previously developed in England . He successfully advertised this as a replacement for the unhygienic jars and cans that were common up until then . In 1909 the company moved to a former cigarette factory at Eckenheimer Landstrasse 100 in Frankfurt am Main, where the company is still based. Merz started manufacturing tablets and launched the contraceptive Patentex in 1911 . In 1911 he patented a milk serum-based, fat-free and water-soluble ointment base called Serol , in which active ingredients could be efficiently dissolved and transported into deeper skin layers. During the First World War , its production was considered important for the war effort, which made it possible to continue to expand the production of medicinal products. In 1919 Merz already had 150 employees. Inspired by the new production facility in the cigarette factory, Merz developed a menthol cigarette that flourished until the Second World War . At the same time Merz developed a series of cosmetics, the best-known products being Placentubex (1953) and Merz Spezial Dagrees (1964).

He supported his brother Georg and helped him and the master wood turner Justus Krell to found and build up the writing instrument company Merz & Krell in their place of birth in 1920 . The Merz und Krell company focused on the manufacture of fountain pens and mechanical pencils and is now a leading international manufacturer under the name Senator . After the death of his brother, Friedrich Merz took over the company, which was only sold in 2016.

Awards

Friedrich Merz is an honorary citizen of Groß-Bieberau, and a street was named after him.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Merz, Friedrich in der Deutschen Biographie , accessed on November 1, 2018.
  2. ↑ a b c d history - Merz Pharma Germany. In: merz.com. Retrieved November 1, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Promotional news: Merz sells Senator - WA Media GmbH - Promotional news. In: werbeartikel-verlag.de. October 21, 2016, accessed November 1, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Merz, Friedrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German entrepreneur and pharmacist
DATE OF BIRTH October 15, 1884
PLACE OF BIRTH Groß-Bieberau
DATE OF DEATH October 9, 1979
Place of death Rodau (Groß-Bieberau)