Arburg Senior Partner Eugen Hehl Passes

Eugen Hehl, senior partner of Arburg GmbH + Co KG, passed away on Dec. 12, at the age of 94. Founded in 1923 by Eugen’s father, Arthur, the company that would eventually become Arburg began life as a maker of precision surgical products. Eventually, Arthur, his wife Maria, and Eugen and his brother Arthur would create Arburg and begin manufacturing small precision plastic injection molding machines.

As chairman of the management team for many years and responsible for global sales at Arburg, Eugen played a key role in the company’s global success and growth. Technically trained, but with an instinct for sales, Eugen played a decisive role in shaping the family business for more than seven decades in cooperation with his brother Karl, who passed away in 2010.

In 1951 and starting regionally, Eugen began to build up his own sales structures by traveling extensively. In 1957, he raised the company’s sales to an international level by participating in the company’s first trade fair in Amsterdam. By 1962, the company says he traveled to Japan and the U.S. to further boost machine sales.

In 1966, Eugen had relatively new buildings in Lossburg partially remodeled in order to enable grid construction and give the business future expansion possibilities. Many of the Arburg subsidiaries around the world resemble the headquarters in terms of their exterior design and are clearly recognizable.

Together with his brother Karl, Eugen Hehl was also known for his strong social commitment. They established the Gebrüder Hehl Foundation in Lossburg in 1999. The retirement home operated by “Bruderhaus-Diakonie,” a nonprofit Christian foundation in Baden-Württemberg, is open to older people for assisted living, short-term and elderly care.

In November 2000, the Federal Republic of Germany honored Eugen Hehl with the Federal Cross of Merit for his achievements. The company also received the Baden-Württemberg Business Medal in 1990 and the Baden-Württemberg Competence Award for Innovation and Quality in 2015. Further awards include honorary citizenship of the municipality of Lossburg in November 1997 and the Golden Master Craftsman’s Certificate in 2005. The Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) presented Eugen and Karl Hehl with the Business Management Award in 2007 for their joint life’s work, and Eugen Hehl was inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame in 2015.

Eugen’s two children, Juliane and Michael Hehl, run Arburg today along with their cousin Renate Keinath, as a third-generation family business. Arburg celebrated its centennial in 2023.