ZAHORANSKY mourns the loss of long-time managing director and innovator
The ZAHORANSKY Group is bidding farewell to a mechanical engineering visionary with a unique entrepreneurial flair: Dr. Heinz Zahoransky, son of the company founder and Managing Director for decades, passed away in Freiburg on 25 July at the age of 95. He played a leading role in turning the family business, founded in 1902, into an international business company. Heinz Zahoransky was also responsible for the fact that ZAHORANSKY now has around 700 registered patents, of which he alone developed more than 200. After retiring from management in 2005 after 46 years, Heinz Zahoransky focused mainly on his social commitment. For this and for his entrepreneurial achievements, he was made an honorary citizen of Todtnau and awarded the Cross of Merit of Germany, the Medal of Merit of the La Rioja region in Spain, the Baden-Württemberg Business Medal and the Entrepreneur Prize of the city of Freiburg. “My father was not only a forward-thinking entrepreneur who made us a world-class technology leader. He was also always committed to good causes in the region and beyond,” says Ulrich Zahoransky, board member and son of Heinz Zahoransky.
Born on 7 September 1928, Dr. Heinz Zahoransky completed his school education at elementary school in Todtnau and Schönau. His attendance at the Kepler-Gymnasium in Freiburg was interrupted by the war and four years of imprisonment in France. He therefore completed his Abitur at an evening school after returning from captivity. There he also met his wife Hanni Galli, whom he married in 1953. He completed his studies in mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Karlsruhe in 1954 with a diploma, followed by his doctorate in 1958.
In 1959, he joined his father’s company as an employee and was appointed managing director alongside his stepbrother in the same year. From 1963, he managed the company alone for three decades, laying the foundations for its successful development. Under his leadership, the company experienced an unprecedented period of growth thanks to numerous new designs, most of which were based on his ideas.
Pioneer in social commitment
Heinz Zahoransky placed particular emphasis on global customer contact and consistently invested in the expansion of the production facilities. However, his commitment was not limited to economic success. As early as 1959, he introduced a company improvement system that rewarded employees’ suggestions for efficiency and improvement. In 1970, he founded the ZAHORANSKY company charity, which is supported by both employees and the company and promotes social institutions, and also introduced “profit sharing” (employee share ownership).
After stepping down from the Management Board in 2005, Heinz Zahoransky remained on the company’s Supervisory Board until 2012. In his well-deserved retirement, he then focused on private interests such as astronomy and painting. He is survived by two children and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The funeral took place on August 6 at Freiburg’s main cemetery.
