The editorial staff of “möbelfertigung” from Schopfloch has received sad news: Gerhard Schuler, co-founder of the Homag Group, fell asleep peacefully at home with his family on February 23, 2020.
Together with Eugen Hornberger, Gerhard Schuler founded Hornberger Maschinenbaugesellschaft oHG in 1960, the forerunner of today’s Homag Group. Since the company’s foundation, Gerhard Schuler has shaped the Homag Group as managing director and member of the management board until 2015, most recently as honorary chairman of the supervisory board of Homag Group AG.
With engineering skill and foresight, the Homag Group has become the global market leader. Many of the innovations of the early years can be traced back to the founders.
Gerhard Schuler has rendered outstanding services to the international expansion of the Homag Group. With strategic foresight, Mr. Schuler very soon pushed ahead with a comprehensively standardized product range, worldwide sales and service networks and the consistent expansion of the service sector. Under his management, foreign production facilities were established and numerous companies integrated into the Group – always with the aim of covering the entire value-added chain of customers.
After completing an apprenticeship as a carpenter, he passed the master craftsman’s examination with distinction in Heilbronn in 1952. He then studied wood engineering in Rosenheim. After this thorough professional training Gerhard Schuler was a successful plant manager of a Black Forest furniture factory. At the age of 29 he started his own business as a management consultant in the wood industry. Schuler Consulting is still a sought-after partner in the industry worldwide.
In all the years of his work for the Homag Group, Gerhard Schuler has always been very concerned about his employees. For them he was an important pillar of support. Ten years ago, the Homag employees presented him with a memorial stone with the inscription “Fels in der Brandung” (Rock in the Surf) in the entrance area of Homag. Even in difficult times, he always stood by the staff. Partnership structures and employee participation in the success of the company have always been a great asset and a matter close to his heart.
This resulted in a special corporate culture. It was important to Gerhard Schuler to turn employees into co-entrepreneurs, for example through employee share ownership, the implementation of partnership-based management guidelines or his commitment to company and inter-company training and further education. For him, these attributes were decisive for the success of the company and an important contribution to its competitiveness.
Gerhard Schuler has received numerous awards for his great commitment: The Federal Cross of Merit 1. Class, the Federal Cross of Merit with ribbon, an appointment as professor of the Nanjing Forestry University China, he was honorary senator of the Rosenheim University of Technology, he received the Hugo-Laue medal of the Rosenheim University of Applied Sciences, the economic medal of the state of Baden-Württemberg, the medal of merit of the IHK-Nordschwarzwald, the IHK medal: “In responsibility with the environment for the future”, the “Eumacop” prize for outstanding entrepreneurial life’s work for the benefit of the entire industry and the citizen’s medal of the city of Freudenstadt “Christophtaler in Gold”.
With Mr. Schuler, Germany and Homag are losing a great and formative entrepreneurial personality. The employees are deeply indebted to Mr. Schuler.
On behalf of all Homag employees, CEO Pekka Paasivaara conveys his condolences to the entire Schuler family.
