Heinz Prechter (January 19, 1942 – July 6, 2001) was a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
-born American
entrepreneur
Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...
who founded the
American Sunroof Company
American Specialty Cars (commonly known as ASC or American Sunroof Company) was an automobile supplier of highly engineered and designed roof systems, body systems and other specialty-vehicle systems for the world’s automakers. The company was ...
(ASC). He also founded Heritage Network, Inc., made up of companies in transportation, hospitality, and communications. He was an entrepreneur, community leader, and philanthropist. He was also a close friend and strong fundraiser for the
Bush Family
The Bush family is an American dynastic family that is prominent in the fields of American politics, news, sports, entertainment, and business. They were the first family of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and again from 2001 to 2009, and w ...
.
Early life
Born in 1942 in
Kleinhöbing, Germany, Prechter began his automotive career at the age of 13 as an
apprentice
Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...
in automotive trim, tool and die making, and coach and body building. Germany has had a strong apprentice system in skilled trades, enabling students to gain practical work experience and entry into valuable jobs. After completing his studies at the ''Berufs-Oberschule'' in
Nuremberg
Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
, Prechter furthered his education at Nuremberg's Ohm
Polytechnic
Polytechnic is most commonly used to refer to schools, colleges, or universities that qualify as an institute of technology or vocational university also sometimes called universities of applied sciences.
Polytechnic may also refer to:
Educat ...
Engineering School.
During his studies, Prechter gained a wide range of practical experience working for a number of German companies, including ''
Faunwerke'' (a truck and military equipment supplier),
Siemens (an electronics firm), and
Deutz Deutz may refer to:
People
* Emmanuel Deutz (1763–1842), German-born French rabbi
* Rupert of Deutz, (–), Benedictine theologian and writer
* Simon Deutz (1802–1852), German-born French courtier
Places
* Deutz, Cologne, a former town, si ...
(a diesel engine manufacturer).
In 1963, he came to the U.S. as a 19-year-old
exchange student
A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school (high school) or university study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions.
A student exchange program may involve international travel, but d ...
. While studying
Business Administration and English at
San Francisco State College
San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different b ...
, he began installing sunroofs – then a virtually unknown product in the US.
Fifteen months later, in 1965, Prechter founded the American Sunroof Company (now ASC Incorporated) in Los Angeles. He spent US$764 on tools, built a workbench made from an old door covered with aluminum, and found a sewing machine at a junkyard. His one-man enterprise soon became well known for "custom" sunroofs, and his creative approach to supporting the development of specialty vehicles for the film industry.
American Sunroof Corporation
ASC was a supplier of highly engineered and designed roof systems, body systems and other specialty-vehicle systems for the world's automakers. Formerly headquartered in
Southgate, Michigan, the company employed approximately 1,000 employees at facilities throughout the U.S.
In addition to ASC, Prechter founded Heritage Network Inc., a group of Michigan companies involved in the transportation, hospitality, and communications industries. His Heritage Network group included a weekly newspaper chain (one of the largest in the state of Michigan), a
real estate
Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...
development company, and a beef cattle business. In early 1997, he created Prechter Holdings, which owned the ASC and Heritage businesses.
Heinz Prechter was recognized for his entrepreneurial accomplishments, broad community involvement, and political achievements. He was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Harvard Business Club and received the Automotive Hall of Fame's Automotive Industry Leader of the Year award. He served on many community and corporate boards, including those of Detroit Renaissance,
Comerica Bank
Comerica Incorporated is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Commercial Bank, The Retail Bank and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping ...
and
ThyssenKrupp
ThyssenKrupp AG (, ; stylized as thyssenkrupp) is a German industrial engineering and steel production multinational conglomerate. It is the result of the 1999 merger of Thyssen AG and Krupp and has its operational headquarters in Duisburg and ...
's automotive supervisory board. He also served as a fundraiser for the
Bush Family
The Bush family is an American dynastic family that is prominent in the fields of American politics, news, sports, entertainment, and business. They were the first family of the United States from 1989 to 1993 and again from 2001 to 2009, and w ...
and was a friend.
Death
He died by
suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...
on July 6, 2001, after dealing with
bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...
and bouts of depression for most of his adult life.
Seven hundred people gathered for Prechter's funeral. The
eulogy
A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or a ...
was delivered by his good friend, Michigan Governor
John Engler
John Mathias Engler (born October 12, 1948) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 46th Governor of Michigan from 1991 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he later worked for Business Roundtable, where ''The Hill'' ...
, and Donald W. Thurlow, Heritage Media Publisher. He was survived by his wife and twin children.
President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
issued a presidential press release saying, "
Laura
Laura may refer to:
People
* Laura (given name)
* Laura, the British code name for the World War I Belgian spy Marthe Cnockaert
Places Australia
* Laura, Queensland, a town on the Cape York Peninsula
* Laura, South Australia
* Laura Bay, a bay on ...
and I were saddened to hear of the death of Heinz Prechter".
Legacy and honors
His widow Waltraud "Wally" Prechter established a foundation in her husband's memory in October 2001. Th
Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research Fundat The
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
Health System, is directed to medical research — especially in the fields of
psychiatric genetics
Psychiatric genetics is a subfield of behavioral neurogenetics and behavioral genetics which studies the role of genetics in the development of mental disorders (such as alcoholism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism). The basic principle ...
, pediatric bipolar disorder,
neuroimaging
Neuroimaging is the use of quantitative (computational) techniques to study the structure and function of the central nervous system, developed as an objective way of scientifically studying the healthy human brain in a non-invasive manner. Incr ...
and
neurosciences
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, development ...
— to help find cures for bipolar disorder. In 2003 and 2004, the Prechter Fund awarded grants totaling almost $2 million to seven different universities to advance medical research in these fields.
On October 5, 2004 Prechter was inducted posthumously into the
Automotive Hall of Fame
The Automotive Hall of Fame is an American museum. It was founded in 1939 and has over 800 worldwide honorees. It is part of the MotorCities National Heritage Area. the Automotive Hall of Fame includes persons who have contributed greatly to a ...
.
See also
*
Distinguished German-American of the Year
The German-American Heritage Foundation of the USA (GAHFUSA) is a national non-profit organization that promotes the German language, culture, and heritage in the United States and works toward preserving the history of Americans of German ancest ...
References
External links
The Heinz C. Prechter Bipolar Research FundDistinguished German-American of the Year 1992 AwardHeinz Prechter memoriam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prechter, Heinz C.
1942 births
2001 deaths
German emigrants to the United States
People with bipolar disorder
People in the automobile industry
San Francisco State University alumni
2001 suicides