02/26/2020

SCHULER Consulting in mourning: Gerhard Schuler passed away aged 92

The founder of the SCHULER Consulting GmbH, Mr. Gerhard Schuler, passed away peacefully at home on February 23, 2020, accompanied by his family.

Firmengründer Gerhard Schuler

Following an apprenticeship as a carpenter, in 1952 Gerhard Schuler passed his master’s examination with distinction. Next, he completed his studies to become a wood technology engineer in Rosenheim, Bavaria. After this thorough vocational training, Gerhard Schuler successfully worked as a foreman of a furniture company in the Black Forest. At the age of 29, he became self-employed as a company consultant in the wood industry and founded his office for business organization and planning, today's SCHULER Consulting GmbH.

In 1960, Gerhard Schuler and Eugen Hornberger jointly established the company Hornberger Maschinenbaugesellschaft oHG, the precursor of today’s HOMAG Group. Since the company’s inception, as a Managing Director and member of the Board of Management Gerhard Schuler continued to shape the HOMAG Group until the year 2015, most recently as Honorary Chairman of the Supervisory Board of HOMAG Group AG.

In all the years of his service, Gerhard Schuler always paid special attention to the interests of his employees and customers. Even in difficult times, he always stood by his employees. Structures in line with mutual trust and partnership and allowing the employees to participate in the company’s success were always extremely important to him and close to his heart. In doing so, he pursued the values and visions which still today and over generations will shape SCHULER Consulting GmbH.

This resulted in a specific corporate culture. It was important to Gerhard Schuler to develop employees into co-entrepreneurs, such as the implementation of partnership-based leadership guidelines as well as his commitment to in-house and external vocational and advanced staff training. To him, these attributes were the recipe to corporate success and a key contribution to the company’s competitiveness.

Gerhard Schuler received numerous distinctions and awards for his huge dedication and commitment:

• Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1^st class
• Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, with ribbon
• Appointment as Professor of the Nanjing Forestry University China
• Honorary Senator of the Technical College of Rosenheim, Bavaria
• Hugo Laue Medal from Rosenheim University
• Business medal awarded by the federal state of Baden-Württemberg
• Medal of merit of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Northern Black Forest
• CCI medal for future-oriented dealing with the environment
• Eumacop prize award for outstanding entrepreneural life achievement for the benefit of the entire industry segment
• Civic medal “Christophtaler in Gold” awarded by the city of Freudenstadt

In Mr. Schuler, Germany and HOMAG have lost an outstanding and important entrepreneurial personality who had a vision for the company and the entire industry.

On behalf of all employees of SCHULER Consulting GmbH and in deep gratitude the Management Board Mr. Elias Wagner and Mr. Uwe Jonas expresses everyone’s heartfelt condolences to the Schuler family.