Klaus Woerner
From The Waterloo Way Wiki
Contents |
Introduction
Klaus Woerner (1939- 2005) was the founder and CEO of Automation Tooling Systems (ATS), a company which grew to be a world leader in automated manufacturing equipment. ATS has designed and built more that 10,000 automation systems for leading manufacturers around the world in areas as diverse as telecommunications, semiconductor, fiber optics, automotive, computers and solar energy. The company now has 26 worldwide divisions and over 4000 employees.
History
Klaus was born in Tiengen, Germany on October 27, 1939. He completed his apprenticeship as a precision mechanic in Switzerland, moving to Montreal in 1960. Klaus worked for several companies in Montreal while taking night school classes to complete his high school diploma. He studied engineering at Concordia University in Montreal for 3 years, eventually moving to Toronto where he completed his degree in Industrial Engineering at Ryerson University. He graduated in 1972 and began working for Ford, which provided his to automated manufacturing technology. He held engineering positions with Ford, Litton and Electrohome before founding Automation Tooling Systems in 1978.
At first, ATS was a small special purpose machine builder helping customers solve manufacturing challenges. Klaus pioneered the integration of assembly technologies including early robots, conveyors and machine vision that were emerging in the early 1980s. ATS quickly became a leader in the automation integration industry.
At the time of his death, Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of ATS, Lawrence Tapp, said:
"Klaus was a gifted engineer, entrepreneur and business leader who made a significant and lasting contribution to the global automation industry, to the Region of Waterloo where he chose to found ATS more than 25 years ago and to thousands of young engineers and tradespeople around the world who benefited from his commitment to apprenticeship training. His sharp intellect, dedication to adding value through innovation, global insight, and passion to succeed made him one of Canada's great entrepreneurs." [edit] Personal
Klaus Woerner died in 2005 at the age of 65. He had two children and three grandchildren.
Awards and Accolades
- 2003 Business Lead of the Year (Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber of Commerce)
- 2000 Joseph E. Engelberger Robotics Industry Pioneer Award,
- 1997 Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year
- 1995 Outstanding Business Leader Award (Wilfrid Laurier University)
Philanthropy
- Donated 5 million dollars to the Centre in the Square
- Donated 2 million dollars to the engineering complex of Conestoga College.
- Klaus was a strong supporter of education and helped establish new programs and research at the University of Waterloo as well as an apprenticeship program.
References
- ATS News Release [1]
- Exchange Magazine, May 2005
External links
- ATS website http://www.atsautomation.com/
- Wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Woerner
