GERMANY - REHAU mourns the loss of its company founder and honorary president Helmut Wagner. He died last Sunday at the age of 95 in Switzerland with his family.

The news of the death of the popular and, until recently, highly committed founding father moves REHAU employees around the globe. 

“The great sympathy for the death of our father comes from many parts of the world. We are very moved as a family, ”says Jobst Wagner, President of the Supervisory Board. It shows how big the marks are that Helmut Wagner “left behind as one of the pioneers of modern industry, as a courageous doer and an unwavering visionary,” emphasizes Wagner. “We will honor the memory of Helmut Wagner by resolutely continuing his impressive work. His entrepreneurial spirit will continue to be our guiding principle in the future,” said the President of the Supervisory Board.

Helmut Wagner has shaped the world of plastics since 1948 and has given an entire industry important impetus. With the founding of the company in Rehau in Upper Franconia, the manufacture of products made of polymer material begins and thus the success story of a family company that continues to this day, which is still strongly influenced by the pioneering spirit of the company founder.

After the successful development of the company over five decades, Helmut Wagner hands over the management of the group to his sons in 2000: Jobst Wagner becomes President of the Supervisory Board, Dr. Veit Wagner Vice President. In 2015, the Rehau city council gave the founder of REHAU a special recognition: Helmut Wagner was made the first honorary citizen since the end of the Second World War.

Today REHAU is an international group of companies with 20,000 employees at over 170 locations worldwide. “This is not least thanks to the vision and courage of Helmut Wagner,” says William Christensen, CEO of the REHAU Group. “In deep sorrow and sincere gratitude for the achievements of the company founder, the REHAU family is particularly connected these days,” said Christensen.