Photo: Hettich
Anton Hettich
Anton Hettich, the long-standing managing partner and chairman of the Advisory Board of the Hettich Group, passed away on 24 April at the age of 91 after a short serious illness.
Anton Hettich had been a co-partner in the family business in Schramberg, Germany since 1949. After the early death of his father in 1956, he became a member of the board at the age of 27. In January 1959, following the legal separation from the parent company in the Black Forest, he became chairman of the Management Board of Paul Hettich GmbH & Co. KG in Herford. In 1991, he moved to the Advisory Board. It was not until 2016 that he ended his tenure as Chairman of the Advisory Board.
Through his commitment and wealth of ideas, he developed the company into an internationally successful enterprise. Many technical developments and new site foundations were created under his leadership.
His activities outside the company
Anton Hettich made his professional experience available to the economy in many honourary offices: For 10 years he served as chair of the East Westphalia-Lippe Entrepreneurs Group. He was also vice president of the East Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Bielefeld for several years. As honourary chairman of the Industrievereinigung Möbelzubehör (IVM) in Düsseldorf, he remained closely associated with the hardware industry. In the 1970s, Anton Hettich was a CDU (German political party) councillor in Herford. As chairman, he successfully developed a local golf and country club.
Social commitment was close to Anton Hettich's heart
Anton Hettich received numerous awards for his successful entrepreneurial activities. In 2006, he received the Hessian Order of Merit. In 2014, Anton Hettich was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon. He always kept the common good in mind and was also honoured many times for his social commitment. One of his most important goals was to promote the education, training and upbringing of children and young people. Anton Hettich therefore established the Anton Hettich Foundation as early as 1992. Together with his son Andreas, he increased the foundation capital to 14 million euros in 2019 on the occasion of his 90th birthday.The death of Anton Hettich leaves a big gap. His family, all the shareholders, the advisory board, the management and the entire Hettich team mourn the loss of a great personality and will continue to develop the Hettich Group in his spirit.
