The husband and wife senior directors of Engel Group, Schwertberg, Austria, Irene and Georg Schwarz, died within days of each other in late March and early April at the ages of 86 and 88, the company announced.
The couple, who married in 1951, had jointly managed the business, founded in 1945 by Irene's father, Ludwig Engel. She worked in the company from the very beginning, working simultaneously as a bookkeeper, financial director, controller and director of human resources.
After the sudden death of Ludwig Engel in 1965, the Schwarzes took over management of the company, which had 380 employees at the time. From the beginning, they sought to establish foreign subsidiaries, opening two production plants in North America. In the1980s, they guided the development and production of the company's own robots. In 1997, they turned over the operational management to the third generation, though both remained active in the business until well into their 80s.
For their service over their careers, the Schwarzes received numerous honors, including a Decoration of Honor in Gold from the government of Upper Austria for their contributions in the plastics industry.
