Günter Herlitz
Günter Herlitz (born February 9, 1913 in Berlin ; † September 11, 2010 in Carinthia ) was a German entrepreneur.
Live and act
Günter Herlitz was born in Berlin as the son of Carl and Berta Herlitz. After his apprenticeship in the Berlin branch of the Edler & Krische business books factory based in Hanover , in 1930, in the third year of his apprenticeship, he became city representative of this company in Berlin. In 1935 he took over the wholesale business for stationery, today the Herlitz Group , from his father Carl Herlitz . At that time the company consisted of six employees and was located near the Spittelmarkt in Berlin-Mitte . In 1938 he married Edith Mallwitz (* 1921 in Berlin; † 2011 in Carinthia), with whom he had five children: Peter (* 1940), Heinz (* 1941), Annemarie (* 1942), Klaus (* 1947) and Susanne ( * 1959).
During the Second World War , the business premises were completely bombed twice in 1943 and 1944. After the war, the new beginning took place in Berlin-Charlottenburg , Wernigeroder Strasse in a basement, with "all kinds of occasional offers" as early as the summer of 1945 : Osram light bulbs that lacked the element tungsten were painted and given a hanger and used as small flower vases sold; Ceramic tiles from the ruins in Berlin were collected, painted and sold as pictures (so-called fancy goods). Günter Herlitz received permission from the Soviet headquarters to use a bicycle "exclusively for business purposes".
In 1948 Herlitz managed to bring stationery to West Berlin by air . During the Berlin blockade , such a coveted branded product as Uhu could be sold. In 1951, a small bookbinding company produced the first exercise books and notepads for Herlitz. In 1953 the company started its own production - in a 70 m² shop on Pfalzburger Strasse in Wilmersdorf three used machines were used to produce exercise books , drawing pads, notepads, letter pads, index cards and colored paper.
Production then moved to the industrial area in Feurigstrasse in Berlin-Schöneberg in 1960. Herlitz built up its own sales organization for what was then the entire federal territory ( West Germany ). The rise of the company was unstoppable.
The first half of the new company premises in Reuchlinstrasse in Berlin-Moabit was acquired in 1967. In addition to paper processing, the manufacture of plastic items such as loose-leaf binders and ring binders followed four years later.
The year 1972 was a decisive date: the sole proprietorship Carl Herlitz was converted into a stock corporation. Just two years later, the first high-bay warehouse with 6000 pallet spaces was put into operation and Herlitz Consult GmbH was founded , which later became Herlitz International Trading (HIT AG) . Shortly before the Herlitz share was launched on the Berlin and Frankfurt stock exchanges in 1977, the company name (company) Carl Herlitz AG was changed to Herlitz AG . At the same time, a range of writing implements began under the newly introduced King brand .
At the end of the 1970s, a six-storey factory building in Moabiter Huttenstrasse with a usable area of 16,000 m² was completed. In 1978 the greeting card manufacturing company Paul Zoecke was also bought. At the beginning of the 1980s, the company started its own production of gift wrapping paper, photo albums , writing and document folders and stationery equipment.
- 1981: Start of construction of the dispatch center on the 120,000 m² site in Berlin-Spandau.
- 1982: Sale of the C&C wholesaler , from which today's Herlitz AG emerged, to Iden , Berlin.
- 1983: Development of the Herlitz merchandise management system (“everything from one source”).
To round off the range, a year later the company set up its own injection molding facility (paper baskets, letter baskets, butlers, later ballpoint pens and felt-tip pens were also manufactured in Berlin). In 1985 the completion of the dispatch center in Spandau including the high-bay warehouse with 76,000 pallet spaces could be celebrated. Two years later the first McPaper store opened in Aachen .
After Günter Herlitz had directed the fortunes of the Herlitz company for 53 years, he changed from chairing the board of management to chairing the supervisory board of Herlitz AG in 1988. On the same day, the foundation stone was laid for the new production and administration facilities in Berlin-Tegel (on the former Borsig site).
As chairman of the supervisory board, Herlitz ensured that Herlitz AG's leading position among European paper and stationery manufacturers was consolidated through further steps:
- 1990: Production moves from Moabit to Tegel. Through the acquisition of national subsidiaries (Susy Card GmbH, Böhler GmbH) and the establishment of production and sales companies, the company developed more and more into a market leader for stationery in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1990s .
- 1991: The new administration in Berlin-Tegel is occupied. Laying of the foundation stone in Falkensee and foundation of Herlitz Falkenhöh AG .
At the 1996 Annual General Meeting , Günter Herlitz was honored with a laudation for his life's work, he resigned from the Supervisory Board and was appointed honorary chairman. At the same time, the general meeting resolved to transform Herlitz AG into a holding company, to which Herlitz PBS AG , Herlitz Falkenhöh AG , HIT AG and McPaper AG belonged.
Since then, Günter Herlitz has stayed away from every general meeting. He moved to Austria and lived in Pörtschach am Wörthersee / Carinthia until his death .
Günter Herlitz died on September 11, 2010 with his family at the age of 97. His grave is in the Dahlem Forest Cemetery in Berlin.
Honors
Günter Herlitz was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit, First Class, in 1987 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Die Welt, February 8, 2003: "When he let loose the reins, Herlitz was over"
- ↑ From paper shop to group Berlin entrepreneur Günter Herlitz is dead. In: Potsdamer Latest News , September 16, 2010, accessed on June 15, 2013
- ^ Hans-Jürgen Mende: Lexicon of Berlin burial places . Pharus-Plan, Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-86514-206-1 , p. 582.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Herlitz, Günter |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German entrepreneur |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 9, 1913 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 11, 2010 |
| Place of death | Carinthia , Austria |