Hans Schindler (industrialist)

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Hans Schindler (born November 22, 1896 in Zurich , citizen of Mollis and Zurich; † October 13, 1984 in Gossau ZH ) was a Swiss industrialist.

Life

Hans Schindler was the son of Dietrich Schindler-Huber . His mother Anna Barbara Huber had Peter Emil Huber-Werdmüller as his father, who was an important Zurich industrialist and co-founder of the machine factory Oerlikon (MFO). Hans Schindler grew up in this noble industrial family with three siblings. He attended the Freie Schule , a private school in Zurich. This was followed by training at the Cantonal Gymnasium in Zurich from 1909 to 1915. Then he began studying chemistry at the ETH Zurich , which he completed in 1920. He spent further years of study at the University of Cambridge at Sidney Sussex College, interrupted by a year at the Collège de France in Paris. He then earned his doctorate in Cambridge in 1923. His father convinced him to join Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon in 1925, where his father was general manager at the time. There he started in the chemical laboratory and then became an assistant to the technical director. After his father's resignation, he became chairman of the management board of MFO in 1935. When he took office, MFO was weakened by the Great Depression of the 1930s. Initially, because of his inexperience, he relied on internal and external consultants. In addition to Schindler, his cousin Rudolf Huber was another family representative from 1943, becoming director of the personnel department and later vice president of the MFO management. Schindler became President of the Management Board and in this function launched the subsidiary Pacific Oerlikon in 1951 for the manufacture of selected MFO products in Tacoma , Washington, United States of America . This initiative failed and resulted in significant losses. Schindler withdrew from the management. In 1957, the board of directors of MFO decided to put the management of the company in the hands of Rudolf Huber, Werner Lindecker and Franz Luterbacher.

After retiring from the operational management of MFO, Hans Schindler became the first president of the Swiss Foundation for Technical Development Aid , now known as Swisscontact , in 1958 . He believed that development aid should help local forces achieve their own goals. If successful, this will increase their self-confidence.

Schindler was married twice and had six children with his first wife, Ilda Baumann. The family relationships at that time are described by a descendant of Schindler.

further activities

Hans Schindler was a board member of several Swiss companies:

Schindler was also:

  • President of the Employers' Association of Swiss Machine and Metal Industry (ASM), today Swissmem
  • Cantonal Council of the Canton of Zurich for the Free Democratic Party of Switzerland, today FDP Die Liberalen

Publications

  • For escort . In: Karl Eugen Müller and Walter Angst: 75 years of machine factory Oerlikon (1876–1951): A look back dedicated to business friends and employees . Ringier & Co, Zofingen, 1951, pp. 5-8
  • From struggle to partnership . In: Hans Schindler, Ernst Wüthrich, Max Holzer, Eugen Hug: Twenty-five years of peace agreements in the Swiss machine and metal industry . NZZ, July 18, 1962, No. 2824/25, pp. 3–6

literature

  • Procrastinators with charm: Hans Schindler and the constraints of a Zurich industrial family . Here and now, Baden (Switzerland), 2020, ISBN 978-3-03919-466-7

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Matthias Wiesmann: procrastinators with charm - Hans Schindler and the constraints of a Zurich industrial family . Verlag Hier und Jetzt, Zurich 2020, ISBN No. 978-3-03919-466-7
  2. ↑ Hans Schindler: Reviews . Memoirs, Zurich 1970, 69 pp.
  3. ↑ Hans Schindler: Development aid in the fire of criticism. In: Economic Policy Messages. March 1965, Society for the Promotion of the Swiss Economy, Zurich
  4. ↑ a b Rolf Tanner: Suffering because of the privileges . Book review, NZZ July 21, 2020, p. 26
  5. ↑ Luzi Bernet: Hans Schindler: My uncle, his city, his family. NZZ from June 6, 2020, accessed on August 17, 2020
personal data
SURNAME Schindler, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss industrialist
DATE OF BIRTH November 22, 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurich
DATE OF DEATH October 13, 1984
Place of death Gossau ZH