IST Metz founder Gerhard Metz passes away

In his birthplace of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Metz initially completed an apprenticeship as a fitter and then from 1953 onwards obtained three engineering qualifications at once and was one of the first engineers in the German Democratic Republic to work on jet engines for planes.

When the German Democratic Republic scrapped its own aeroplane construction program in early 1961, a move to the west was more than just a career issue for Gerhard Metz and his wife. Their escape to West Berlin shortly before the wall went up finally led the young family to Nürtingen, where he once again found work as an engine test bench engineer.

His next stop was the appointment in 1966 to Hildebrand, a company based in Oberboihingen, where he initially worked as an assistant to the board and then as design manager and deputy managing director.

It was here that Metz developed the first systems for drying surface coatings using ultraviolet light. These systems were so successful that an independent company was founded with STG, initially under the management of Hildebrand and its partner Werner & Pfleiderer. Gerhard Metz took over completely when Hildebrand went into liquidation in 1982.

Metz and his wife Renate built up IST Metz, based in Nürtingen-Zizishausen, into a manufacturer of UV systems with international success.

In 2000, Gerhard Metz was awarded the Wirtschaftsmedaille, a medal in recognition of his services to commerce in the Baden-Württemberg region. In 2001, he received further acknowledgement of his life's work when he was appointed honorary president of the surface treatment technology section of the German Engineering Association, VDMA.

After retiring from business operations, the Metz family originally moved to Lake Tegernsee in Upper Bavaria, but later returned to their home in Waren an der Müritz.

Gerhard Metz continued to maintain links with Nürtingen, regularly visiting IST Metz GmbH to keep up with events in the company and to meet his friends.