Helmut Bacher, co-founder of Austrian plastics recycling machine manufacturer Erema and former managing partner, passed away on 20 September at the age of 81.
Helmut Bacher is regarded as a pioneer of plastics recycling. Together with his two colleagues Georg Wendelin and Helmuth Schulz, Helmut Bacher founded Erema Engineering Recycling Maschinen und Anlagen in Linz, Austria, in 1983. Their life’s work was acknowledged in 2008 when the three founders received the Golden Award of Honour from the Province of Upper Austria.
Helmut Bacher displayed visionary foresight and open mind in playing a key role in shaping the plastics recycling industry. Following his training as a fitter and completing his schooling as a mechanical engineer, he worked in various technical positions before moving to a mechanical engineering company for plastics processing in the early 1970s. Helmut Bacher shared with his two colleagues a belief in the potential of plastics recycling. During countless trials, he searched for the right solution – until he found it. Despite initial adversity, the three founders remained convinced of the idea of a cost effective recycling machine for plastic waste and started up their own company in 1983.
At the K trade fair in Düsseldorf in 1983, Erema presented a simple, robust, reliable and economical recycling system, signalling the start of a success story. The young company produced its first orders in modest premises in Leonding with two small workshops and a double garage. Today, the plants and components supplied by the Erema achieve recycling capacities of over 25 million tonnes of plastic per year worldwide.
Up until his retirement from company management in 2004, Helmut Bacher was a driving force behind the company and remained closely associated with the Erema until his death. His technical ability, coupled with solution-orientated thinking and genuine appreciation of his employees, have left a lasting impression and continue to shape the company to this day.
Source: Erema
