Werner Gehring

Werner Gehring (born January 26, 1935 in Gütersloh ) is a German entrepreneur and honorary citizen of Gütersloh .

Professional background

Gehring attended secondary school and commercial college. He studied at the Technical University of Munich and graduated as a master brewer . He also studied industrial engineering .

In 1955 Gehring and his older brother Paul Gehring joined the management of the beverage company Gehring-Bunte . In 1966, the brothers founded the Christinen Brunnen company in Bielefeld .

Werner Gehring is the owner of the Boente distillery in Recklinghausen , majority shareholder in RT Lasertechnik in Rheda-Wiedenbrück , former partner in Wihag Fahrzeugbausysteme in Bielefeld (until 2015), Rapid Leichtbau in Ilsenburg (Harz) and Tubus Waben in Königsee (Thuringia).

Private

Gehring's first marriage was to Renate Gehring and his second marriage to Margot Gehring , both of whom died before him. His third marriage is to lawyer Martina Schwartz-Gehring.

Gehring has made a name for himself as a horse breeder. He owns the Westfalenhof stud farm in Steinhagen.

social commitment

On his 60th birthday in 1995, Gehring founded the Renate Gehring Foundation, which he endowed with one million marks. On his 65th birthday in 2000, he doubled the foundation's capital. The Renate Gehring Foundation supports single parents, children and senior citizens in Gütersloh who are in need.

In 2006 Gehring founded the Osthushenrich Family Foundation , which supports educational and upbringing projects for children and young people in East Westphalia-Lippe .

The Community Foundation Gütersloh he developed as Chairman of the Board. Gehring is also committed to promoting culture and sports. In the 1970s he was President of the Tennis Tournament Club in Gütersloh.

On his 80th birthday in 2015, Gehring donated one million euros to the city of Gütersloh. A third of this was used for the renovation of the town hall forecourt, a third for the renovation of the square in front of the Gütersloh Theater , and a third for the construction of a parcours system.

Honors

In 2019, NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet presented Gehring with the Federal Order of Merit, First Class . In 2020, at the age of 85, Gehring was made an honorary citizen of the city with reference to his extensive commitment to the city of Gütersloh, for his foundations and donations and for his "great services to the reputation of the city and the well-being of the citizens" .