12.01.2022

Hermann Paus 1932-2022

We have received the sad news that Hermann Paus the founder of crane, construction and furniture hoist and aerial lift manufacturer Paus has died. He passed away on December 27th just a month before his 90th birthday.
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Hermann Paus

Hermann Paus was one of eight children. At the age three he lost his father in a work accident. He helped his mother in her small business as a milliner, giving him a taste of business. Tragically his mother died from a lung disease when he was only nine years old. Separated from his siblings he went to live with an aunt and uncle who ran a small farm near Munster which was also the village blacksmith. They had eight children of their own, but as his cousins were called up to fight in the war, he had to assume an increasing amount of the farm work.

At the age of 14 he started working with his uncle shoeing horses, fixing everything from bicycles to soldering pots, reapers and binders. At 15 he started attending a local vocational school once a week where he was inspired to become an engineer. In 1950 he got his first job as a mechanic and moved back into the family home. He also enrolled in a preparatory class for technical college, attending night classes four days a week and on Saturdays in addition to his day job. He almost came unstuck when he suffered a work accident which inflicted serious head injuries, triggering temporary paralysis on his right side.

However, in 1953 he managed to convince the director of the State Engineering College to let him fill a vacancy on one of the engineering courses, obtaining his engineering degree three years later. in his first job as a designer of farm equipment he registered his first patent for a tractor throttle. In 1961 he took a job with farm equipment manufacturer Krone, the owner - Bernard Krone - would prove an inspiration and mentor to him that lasted for most of his career. 1961 was also the year that he married his wife Agnes who would also be instrumental in running the business.
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Hermann and Agnes Paus

In spite of his positive experience at Krone, he and Agnes decided to set up their own company in 1968. Their first products were dump trucks followed by articulated wheel loaders. In 1974 the range was extended to include underground mining vehicles, followed two years later by inclined material and furniture hoists. Trailer cranes and truck mounted aerial lifts came later.

In spite of all his early setbacks, Herman Paus never gave up or lost his drive and optimism and always managed to find a solution to the new challenges, often spurring on new product introductions and innovations.
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A Paus trailer crane

For his services to the Russian mining industry, the Ministry of Mining awarded him a mining honour medal in 2001 and in 2002 was appointed an honorary member of the faculty of the Belarus Mining Academy in Minsk. More recently he was inducted into the International Mining Hall of Fame in Denver, USA.

Paus also played his part in industry associations and within his community was a member of the municipal council of his home town of Emsbüren for many years being awarded the Federal Cross of Merit.
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Hermann Paus outside the factory that bears his name

He had a reputation for looking out for his employees and taking responsibility for any issues. "My name is on the product, so I stand by it," was one of his mottos.

He leaves behind his wife Agnes, two sons - Franz-Josef and Wolfgang - who run the company - and daughter Elisabeth ‘Lisa’ Paus, a Green Party member of the German Bundestag, as well as a number of grandchildren who are following in their grandfather’s engineering footsteps.