Managing partner and chairman of the Hettich Group, Anton Hettich, passed away on April 24 at the age of 91 after a short illness.
In a statement, the company said: “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.”
Anton Hettich had been with the family business since 1949 as a co-partner. In 1959, after the death of his father, he became a member of the management at the age of 27.
After the legal separation from Hettich’s parent company, Anton Hettich became chairman of the management board of Paul Hettich GmbH & Co. KG in Herford. He then joined the advisory board in 1991 until he ended his tenure as chairman in 2016.
Anton Hettich was committed to social issues and was involved in a variety of entrepreneurial activities. He received two honours – the Hessian Order of Merit in 2006 and the Federal Cross of Merit in 2014.
In 1992, the Anton Hettich Foundation was set up to promote the education and training of young people. He worked with his son Andreas and increased the foundation capital to €14 million in 2019 on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
Anton Hettich was said to be committed to the company and have a wealth of ideas. His contributions helped develop the company’s international success, with many technical developments and new sites created under his leadership.
Outside of the company, he held many honorary offices, including chairman of the East Westphalia-Lippe Entrepreneurs Group for 10 years, and vice-president of the East Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Bielefeld for several years. He was also honorary chairman of the Industrievereinigung Möbelzubehör (IVM), which is a German association of furniture accessories. In the 1970s, Anton Hettich was a CDU (German political party) councillor in Herford.
