Georg H. Endress (9 January 1924 – 14 December 2008) was a German-Swiss entrepreneur in the area of measurement and control technology, and founder of the company

Endress+Hauser Endress+Hauser (Endress and Hauser) is a Switzerland, Swiss-based globally operating process and laboratory instrumentation and automation supplier. In 2023, the family-owned business employed over 16,500 people and generated revenue of €3.72 ...

Life and work

Georg Endress was born on 9 January 1924 in

Freiburg im Breisgau Freiburg im Breisgau or simply Freiburg is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fourth-largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg after Stuttgart, Mannheim and Karlsruhe. Its built-up area has a population of abou ...

. He was born the son of a factory director. At the age of 7, his family moved to

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, where he started school. He attended further schools in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

(Switzerland) where he passed school-leaving exams, and then took an

apprenticeship Apprenticeship is a system for training a potential new practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulat ...

as a mechanic, after which he studied engineering in

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. He worked for several Swiss companies, and one English firm, before founding a sales company for level measuring devices in

Lörrach Lörrach () is a city in southwest Germany, in the valley of the Wiese, close to the French and the Swiss borders. It is the district seat of the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg. It is the home of a number of large employers, inclu ...

in 1953 together with the banker Ludwig Hauser, which later became Endress+Hauser AG. The firm began producing its own instruments in 1956. After achieving success in Europe subsidiaries were opened in the USA and Japan (1970) and China (1980). In 1995 Georg Endress handed over control of the firm to his son Klaus Endress. Georg Endress felt a particular responsibility towards the Dreiländereck (“three-country-corner”) where Germany, France and Switzerland meet, where he wanted, as he himself said, to remove psychological national barriers. He initiated Tri-Nation Apprentice and Engineering education opportunities in the upper Rhine area, promoted international courses at the University Loerrach. The tri-nation BioValley-Organisation was formed on his initiative. In addition, he was involved in Baden Trade Organisation (WVIB, Wirtschaftsverband industrieller Unternehmen Baden) and the Regional Trade Association Black Forest and Upper Rhine. (Regio-Gesellschaft Schwarzwald-Oberrhein) He married Alice Vogt in 1946; of their eight children five were active in Endress+Hauser AG at the end of 2008. Endress died on 14 December 2008 in

Arlesheim Arlesheim is a town and a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. Its cathedral chapter seat, bishop's residence and cathedral (1681 / 1761) are listed as a heritage site of national significance ...

, Switzerland.

Honours and awards

*Federal Cross of Merit, 1st Class *Honorary Doctorate of the University of Basel *Honorary Doctorate of the University of Freiburg *Medal of Service of the State of Baden-Württemberg *Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur 2000 *Honorary President of the Bio-Valley and Trade Association WVIB *Honorary Citizenship of

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

(USA) and the community of

Maulburg Maulburg is a municipality in the district of Lörrach in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Demographics Population development: Transport The municipality has a railway station, , on the Wiese Valley Railway The Wiese Valley Railway () is a ...

(Baden-Wuerttemberg) *The Upper Rhine University Prize Prix Bartholdi was awarded to Georg Endress posthumously in 2011.Georg Endress posthumously awarded the Prix Bartholdi 2011)
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Works

*Together with Lothar Spaeth, Martin Saettler, Rainer Roeder und Dieter Pfister) Technologietransfer in Konzeption und Praxis (Technology Transfer, Conception and Practice). Poller, Stuttgart 1987, *Veröffentlichungen des International Hightech Forum, Basel 3). (Publication International Hightech Forum, Basel 3).

Bibliography

*Knowledge, Education, Quality. Georg H. Endress on his 80th birthday The Significance of the Educated Entrepreneur and Manager for a Complete and Sustainable Development in Space and Time, Basel, 2005) *Felix Erbacher: Out of the Garage and into the World. Georg H. Endress (1924-2008), a charismatic thinker and visionary, in:Basler Zeitung, 29. Juli 2013, p. 27.

References

External links

Endress+Hauser AG
{{DEFAULTSORT:Endress, Georg 1924 births 2008 deaths Businesspeople from Basel-Stadt Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg German emigrants to Switzerland