Mourning for company founder GERHARD LECHLER

It is with deep sadness and great respect for his life's work that we bid farewell to Gerhard Lechler, the company founder and long-standing Managing Director of PROMESS Montage- und Prüfsysteme GmbH. He passed away in Berlin in August at the age of 78.

With a doctorate in mechanical engineering, Gerhard Lechler set up his own engineering office for production technology measurement in 1977. During his doctorate, he developed and patented a measuring technique for measuring forces in roller bearings. This made it possible to detect tool wear in cutting machines at an early stage and avoid expensive tool breakage.  

At the end of the 1980s, there was an economic crisis from which the market for machine tools would not fully recover. During this economically challenging time, Gerhard Lechler developed a monitoring technology for assembly processes, known as force-distance monitoring, and successfully sold the first servo press to a brake manufacturer. From this new business field, he founded PROMESS Montage- und Prüfsysteme GmbH, which is now one of the most successful servo press manufacturers in the world. He led his company through ups and downs and ultimately laid the foundation for the company's international orientation.  

In 2015, he and his daughter Katrin Lechler founded another company, Stanova Stanztechnik GmbH. Gerhard Lechler had developed an energy-efficient punching press for the burr-free processing of plastics. His daughter Katrin Lechler is now managing the company. He had already arranged his succession at PROMESS at an early stage. Florian Köhnen has been managing the business since 2014.

Throughout his professional life, Gerhard Lechler was a passionated engineer, developing solutions for his customers rather than products. In addition to a number of patents for assembly and testing methods, he was involved in various research projects. Other developments include, for example, the development of an air table for measuring the frictional torque of roller bearings or welding tongs. But he also ventured into completely different areas. For example, the production of terra preta, a substrate for improving soil properties, was a matter close to his heart. The company he founded for this purpose will continue to exist after his death.

Gerhard Lechler's personality was characterized by human warmth, a great sense of responsibility, entrepreneurial vision and courage. The well-being of his company's employees was particularly close to his heart. He accompanied many of them on their career path at PROMESS and was their direct contact person. In 2019, he supported the Tempelhof-Schönberg district of Berlin's "Refugees in Work" project and declared the support of four Syrian refugees to be a top priority. Three of the four colleagues are now permanent members of the PROMESS team. The fourth emigrated to the USA. Gerhard Lechler was a mentor or spiritus rector for many, even for people without German socialization.

With the death of Gerhard Lechler, we have lost a man to whom we owe a great deal, both personally and professionally. He will remain unforgotten.