Hans Messer

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Hans Messer (born February 1, 1925 in Frankfurt am Main , † May 20, 1997 in Königstein im Taunus ) was a German entrepreneur .

Life

Hans Messer was born as the second child of Adolf Messer with his second wife Thea Bicker (1900–1996) in February 1925 in Frankfurt am Main. He graduated from high school in 1942 and initially studied chemistry for two semesters at the University of Frankfurt am Main . This was followed by employment in the Reich Labor Service, another semester of study and finally being called up for military service. He was used as a soldier in Russia , Poland and Czechoslovakia . In spring 1944 he started his way home via Czechoslovakia to Königstein im Taunus. He arrived there in June 1944. He suffered from severe jaundice that bothered him for a long time. He joined his father's company and from August 1, 1945 was responsible for the arc welding electrode department in Klein-Auheim . Parallel to his involvement in the company, Hans Messer studied business administration and chemistry at the University of Cologne . There he received his doctorate in 1952 with a dissertation on "The industrialization of South America as a German export problem".

After completing his doctorate, Hans Messer joined the management of Adolf Messer GmbH. He began to systematically expand the company's international business and to reactivate the good international connections from the time before the Second World War. After the death of the company's founder, Adolf Messer, in May 1954, Hans Messer took sole responsibility for managing the company and expanded it nationally and internationally in all areas of work. In the 1950s and early 1960s, the company's sales and profits soared. On January 1, 1965, Adolf Messer GmbH was connected to the industrial gas activities of Hoechst AG . Messer Griesheim GmbH, one of the largest international industrial gas companies, was created. The share capital of DM 30 million was held 66% by Hoechst and 33% by the Messer family.

Hans Messer was a successful manager and entrepreneur for decades. The company has successfully weathered several economic crises. It was not until the spring of 1993 that Hans Messer withdrew from the company's operational business. On March 15, 1993, Herbert Rudolf (* 1940) was appointed his successor. Hans Messer switched to the company's supervisory board.

Hans Messer took on numerous honorary positions and was also involved as a patron. From 1980 to 1990 he was President of the Frankfurt Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Since 1980 he has worked as a consultant for the chambers of commerce abroad in Switzerland, Norway and Croatia. His advice was in great demand in the social, scientific and cultural fields. Only the TH Darmstadt , the Tumor Center Rhein Main and the Foundation St. Georgen University in Frankfurt are mentioned here.

Hans Messer had been married to Ria Kaiser from Neheim in Westphalia since 1948. The marriage resulted in the children Thomas (* 1952), Stefan (* 1955) and Andrea (* 1960). Hans Messer died of complications from cancer in May 1997 at the age of 72. He was buried in Königstein im Taunus.

Honors

Hans Messer Foundation

In 2004, the non-profit Dr. Hans Messer Social Foundation established. The foundation, based in Königstein im Taunus, helps people who are innocently in need with donations.

Publications

  • The industrialization of South America as a German export problem , Cologne 1952.
  • Messer-Griesheim, World Events 1942-1982 . 1982.
  • Social partnership, quo vadis? Frankfurt am Main 1986.

literature

  • Katja Link: Memories of Adolf Messer . Ammelburg, Frankfurt am Main 1954
  • Jörg Lesczenski: 100 percent knife. The return of the family business from 1898 to the present day . Munich and Zurich 2007.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Federal President's Office
personal data
SURNAME Messer, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH February 1, 1925
PLACE OF BIRTH Frankfurt am Main
DATE OF DEATH May 20, 1997
Place of death Königstein im Taunus