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Wirtz (family business)

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Wirtz is the name of a German business family from Stolberg in the Rhineland, as founder of the cosmetics manufacturer Mäurer & Wirtz , the detergent factory Dalli-Werke and the pharmaceutical company Grünenthal GmbH , but also by the thalidomide scandal , has achieved an international reputation. On the basis of their total assets of around 2.5 billion euros, the Wirtz family was with their company ranked 40th in the 2013 list of the 500 richest Germans listed [1].

Contents 1 Chronology of the family 1.1 The beginnings 1.2 Second Generation 1.3 Third Generation 1.4 Fourth Generation 1.5 Fifth Generation 1.6 corporate networks and operating figures

2 Social Commitment 3 Genealogical Overview (excerpt) 4 External links 5 Notes and references

Chronology of the family [ Edit ]

The beginnings [ Edit ]

The rise of the family began with Andreas Wirtz August (1822-1884), who was the son of the first marriage of Maria Catharina Wirtz widow in the teaching of his stepfather, Michael Mäurer, the bakery and a grocery store operating in Stolberg. After his marriage to Apollonia Marx was August Andreas Wirtz partner of his father's business, which traded from now on under the name Mäurer & Wirtz. Now advanced Wirtz August the company to a soap factory and received on 19 May 1851 the concession by the Prussian government.

Second Generation [ Edit ]

Headquarters of the Wirtz family on the Kupferhof Grünenthal Franz Maria Wirtz (1859-1930), son of Andreas August and Apollonia Wirtz, joined in 1875 as a trained chemist in the family business and started in 1885, a year after the death of his father with the production of the so-called Dalli-soap whose name was legally protected in 1899 by the entry in the Imperial Patent Office as Dalli-brand products (DMA). After the recent production were no longer able to growing demands, the now widowed mother Apollonia and Franz Wirtz acquired previously in 1887 the Kupferhof Grünenthal and simultaneously gave her grocery store on. Years later, but also proved that premises were too small and therefore bought Franz Wirtz in 1909 by the family Prym the so-called Doll Garden. This once-scale of the family Prym English garden in the Valley of Vicht belonged to the area of the Kupferhofs Dollard hammer, on which her ​​brass factory William Prym & Co KG was. Gradually shifted its production from Wirtz now Kupferhof Grünenthal on the plant grounds in Doll garden, which also had an economically necessary siding. In addition, Franz Wirtz took over after the First World War until his death in 1930, the office of President of the Chamber of Commerce Aachen.

Third generation [ Edit ]

Dalli-Werke Stolberg Early 1920s was joined by three sons of Franz Wirtz, the merchant Hermann Wirtz (1896-1973), the engineer Alfred Wirtz (1896-1963) and the perfumer Arthur Wirtz (1902-1940), the third generation in the business a. In the following years she taught, among other things in Cologne and Essen a branches and sales offices and took beyond even before the outbreak of the Second World War, the Doering-Werke AG in Berlin [2] and the soap factory Riva in Vienna. The number of employees was now at about 700 employees. During the war Mäurer & Wirtz produced standardized soap for the German army and new fat-free Dalli products for the German civilian population. Until the arrival of the Americans in the fall of 1944, this production could be maintained, then they were also temporarily suspended due to lack of raw materials, the production had remained but even largely spared from destruction by bombing.

By the early death of Arthur Wirtz in 1940 they were forced to the war, the business units to reorganize and separate addition of the offices in Berlin and Vienna. Hermann Wirtz, who was active since the death of his father in 1930 as Managing Director for the DMA products, was founded in 1946 and Managing Partner of Mäurer & Wirtz and founded at the same time as another pillar of the Grünenthal GmbH for the pharmaceutical sector based on the vacated Kupferhof Grünenthal [3]. A year later he became the first German company to regulatory approval for penicillin. Finally, the joint production facility at the Doll Garden in the now independent companies Mäurer & Wirtz for soaps and body care products and the Dalli-Werke for the DMA products was separated in 1950. This three areas companies had formed, whose leadership, the three tribes divided up now. In addition to 2005 were intertwined with each other through mutual acquisition of shares or temporary takeover of the Management and Supervisory positions the respective descendants of this family strains.

None of these three brothers was so far to the present day public-access and reputable sources membership in or collaboration with Nazi organizations be detected. Is only proved that at the foundation of Grünenthal GmbH, some scientists such as Henry Mückter had been adjusted, where NS-burdened past could be imputed to [4].

Each of these three individual companies have now succeeded in the following decades, a rapid increase of turnover and number of employees and it was possible for them both to enhance their own respective product range up to date as to take on more selected subsidiary companies and products.

However, in the early 1960s came the Grünenthal GmbH with the 1957 made ​​publication of the intended as a sleep aid over the counter preparation thalidomide in the headlines, as gradually turned out that taking this product in pregnant harm the fetus result had and the children consequently with multiple malformations were born. These events then triggered the so-called thalidomide scandal from which, after years of legal wrangling in 1970 ended with a comparison [5]. In this context, the managing partner Hermann Wirtz resigned from his offices, the company management to his son Michael Wirtz (* 1939) and founded the same time as part of the comparison is a Foundation for the financial support of the thalidomide victims with an initial amount of 100 million DM, which was further increased by hundreds of millions of federal repeatedly. This funding pot was in 2009 after considerable protests from the remaining approximately 2,800 surviving victims and to public scrutiny, inter alia, in the documentary A single tablet increased both by the company itself or by the federal government again for periods of 50 million euros [6], Having now no longer enough these funds, the State assumes the other running costs for the surviving affected [7]. As a further consequence of this thalidomide scandal in 1976 were already drug law in Germany exacerbated and created new testing requirements for pharmaceuticals.

Fourth generation [ Edit ]

Grünenthal GmbH in Eilendorf While in the next generation, the cousins ​​Richard (1933-1992), Andreas (born 1933) and Hermann Wirtz the Younger (1944) began their activity at Mäurer & Wirtz or the Dalli-work, led Hermann's son Michael Wirtz Grünenthal GmbH, which is now expanding around the globe under his direction in the following years. Towards the end of his tenure he led even the gradual relocation companies in the industrial area Eilendorf. Furthermore owned by the family for more than 35 years and another cousin Michael Franz A. Wirtz (born 1932), the Executive Board of Grünenthal GmbH and was responsible for research and development. After this had finished due to age his position at Grünenthal GmbH in 2000, he founded the same year, together with other scientists, the new biopharmaceutical company Paion in Aachen, in its supervisory board, he was elected until his retirement in 2007 [8]. In addition, he was also a member of the Supervisory Board of the biotechnology company since 1989, Qiagen.

Of these, five cousins ​​have since risen four either for reasons of age or because of conflicts of interest arising from operations of the company management. Only the younger Hermann Wirtz currently holds nor the management of the now to Dalli-Dalli-Werke Group summarized GmbH & Co KG and the Mäurer & Wirtz GmbH & Co. KG, which incorporated since 1990 as a 100% owned subsidiary in the Dalli Group had been.

Fifth Generation [ Edit ]

Of the next generation were previously only two family members and this also only relatively short periods involved in operating activities of Wirtz company. Albrecht Wirtz (born 1967), son of Andrew and grandson of Arthur Wirtz, was a member of the management at Dalli and worked with his uncle Hermann Wirtz from 2002 still in the management of WIN AEROSOL mbH [9] In 2006, he resigned from all offices back [10]. Sebastian Wirtz (born 1970), son of Grunenthal CEO Michael Wirtz, took over from 2005 succeeded his father, but retired in 2008 from again, after the company had decided an external Chief Executive Officer ( CEO to appoint) [11].

Corporate networks and operating figures [ Edit ]

As mentioned above, the individual strains with different proportions of their family farms for many decades were intertwined. By 2005, the brothers Michael and Hermann Wirtz junior stuck together about 73% of the shares in the Dalli Group and 51% of Grünenthal GmbH. Your cousins ​​and Andreas Franz Wirtz 24% shares of Grünenthal GmbH and the heirs of the late Richard (1933-1992) 27% shares of the Dalli Group and 25% of Grünenthal GmbH [12] [13]. Other smaller shares fell to date on the various daughters and children of the respective cousins ​​and thus counted according to Creditreform total of 19 people to shareholders.

At the latest with the resignation of Albrecht Wirtz in 2005 broke the allocation of company shares on the three kindreds and in consequence, the brothers Hermann and Michael Wirtz secured both Albrechts shares as it did before the Albrechts uncle and Paion-founder Franz A. Wirtz [14]. As already in previous years been the daughters of the tribe Richard Wirtz had decided not to intervene in the family empire, thus the total free float fell to the brothers Hermann and Michael Wirtz. Hermann Wirtz thus secured both Mäurer & Wirtz as well as Dalli management which he held together with external partners and set in 2008 against the wishes of his brother Michael also that the Grünenthal GmbH after the resignation of Michael's son Sebastian Wirtz also of should be routed to an external CEO. Michael Wirtz led to the use of external interests in the three companies, numerous lawsuits against his family, because he saw a threat to the protection of trade secrets in it, but could not prevail. When in 2010 Michael Wirtz had to leave for reasons of age and his position on the advisory board and is thus represented more in any body, is only still Hermann Wirtz served as the last of the family in key positions within the corporate empire, but he near of age and contract reasons must give up the future [15]

With approximately 6900 employees worldwide generated the entire group the Wirtz family around 1.79 billion euros, of which the Dalli Group with approximately 1,600 employees around 724 million euros (2009) [16], on Mäurer & Wirtz with 400 employees around 162 million euros (2011) [17] and on Grünenthal with 4900 employees around 910 million euros (2010) [18] fell.

Corporate Citizenship [ Edit ]

In addition to their professional duties and obligations, individual members of the family have emerged with many volunteer tasks in the political and social life.

Even the wife of Franz Maria Wirtz, Josephine Wirtz born Brückmann was, in 1948 for their social services to honorary citizen appointed by the town of Stolberg, after they had organized including a food bank for the needy on the Kupferhof Grünenthal 1918-1925.

Currently, there are mainly Michael Wirtz and his cousin Franz A. Wirtz, who have taken a variety of offices and functions in the economy and politics as well as in the society and be used here, especially in the health sector for new treatments and therapies with social components ,

Genealogy Overview (excerpt) [ edit ]

Tomb of Fam. Franz Wirtz in Stolberg / Rheinland. Among the important for the various groups of companies members of the family include: Andreas Wirtz August (5 December 1822 - 23 January 1884), married. with Apollonia, born Marx (February 8, 1821 - December 27, 1889) Franz Maria Wirtz (9 May 1859 - 3 November 1930), chemist and honorary doctor of the RWTH Aachen in 1926, married. with Josephine, born Brückmann (February 8, 1868 - October 15, 1957) [19], an honorary citizen of the city of Stolberg Hermann (August) Wirtz (October 20, 1896 - December 19, 1973) [19] [20] , a merchant and an honorary citizen of the RWTH Aachen, married. with Edith, born Schniewind (29 April 1908 - 17 December 1989) Michael Wirtz (* January 1939), Business Administration and honorary senator of the RWTH Aachen Sebastian Wirtz (born 1970), civil engineer

Hermann Wirtz (born November 12, 1944)

Alfred (Richard) Wirtz (October 20, 1896 - December 28, 1963) [20], chemist and engineer, married. with Ruth slats (born October 26, 1906) Richard Wirtz (19 April 1933 - 20 January 1992), Kaufmann

Artur (Francis) Wirtz (17 November 1902 - 9 July 1940) [20], Dipl.Kaufmann and perfumer, married. with Hilde, born Janus (17 July 1907 - 2 January 1997) Andreas Wirtz (* ca. 1933), chemist Albrecht Wirtz (born March 20, 1967)

Franz (Arthur) Wirtz (* November 14, 1932), chemist and honorary citizen of the RWTH Aachen

For more information, press reports and evidence concerning the Stolberg family Wirtz and its group companies can be found at: Grünenthal GmbH Thalidomide scandal Thalidomide (film) Mäurer & Wirtz Dalli-Werke

Web Links [ Edit ] History of Mäurer & Wirtz History of Dalli Werke GmbH & Co Kg (engl.)

References [ Edit ] 1. ↑ "The 500 richest Germans," manager magazin -Sonderheft, October 2013, p 28 2. ↑ Jewish businesses in Berlin 1930-1945 [1], chemistry and chemist goods; last seen on February 2, 2014 3. ↑ Gerhard Mauz: A walk on the razor blade, In: The Mirror of 27 May 1968 4. ↑ Ernst Klee : The People lexicon to the Third Reich. Who was what before and after the 1945th Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag, Second revised edition, Frankfurt am Main 2005, ISBN 978-3-596-16048-8, p 418 5. ↑ account without Wirtz, In: The Mirror of 20 February 1963 6. ↑ 100 million for thalidomide victims, to: Süddeutsche.de July 15, 2009 7. ↑ thalidomide scandal: State assumes the cost, in: Spiegel Online on April 4, 2013 8. ↑ Paion Annual Report 2007 - Short CV Wirtz on page 72 (PDF; 1.6 MB) 9. ↑ company profile of WIN AEROSOL mbH on Genios 10. ↑ publications of the commercial register 11. ↑ founder resigns heritage, In: manager magazin online of 12 November 2008 12. ↑ Martin Noé: The Melkschemeltheorie, In: manager magazin online of 21 July 2006 13. ↑ distribution of the shares in 2005, manager magazin online of 21 July 2006 14. ↑ Dalli: fear of job to go, In: Aachener Zeitung of March 7, 2013 15. ↑ Sven Böll: The pill War, In: manager magazin online by March 6, 2013 16. ↑ operation numbers Dalli, 2009, In Who to Whom Business Directory 17. ↑ operation numbers Mäurer & Wirtz, 2011, In Who to Whom Business Directory 18. ↑ operation numbers Grünenthal GmbH, 2010, In Who to Whom Business Directory 19. ↑ a b Gesamtregister German family archive, Volume 40, page 157, 159 20. ↑ a b c Arens / Janssen: Club Casino Aachen, 2nd edition 1964, page 255, 256.