Obituary
We regret to announce the death of
Prof. h.c. Dr. Dr. h.c. Heinz Dreyer
* 19 February 1932 ✝ 17 February 2023
Our shareholder and longstanding Managing Director, Prof. h.c. Dr. Dr. h.c. Heinz Dreyer, passed away on 17 February 2023 at the age of 90. We have lost an unparalleled inventor from the agricultural machinery sector and a passionate family business owner.
Dr. Heinz Dreyer decisively shaped sustainable development in the Amazone Group for many decades. As soon as he joined the company management in 1958, he demonstrated a strong commitment to research and product development. The development of agricultural machinery was always for him a matter very close to his heart. Numerous pioneering inventions and patents can be related back to this successful innovator of agricultural machinery. For example, he invented the first ZA three-point linkage mounted, twin disc fertiliser spreader, which later became the forerunner to almost every other fertiliser spreader used around the world. He set further milestones with the design of seed drills for larger working widths and invented the legendary Amazone D4 tractor-mounted seed drill, which soon enabled the company to become market leader in this field as well. Ahead of his time, he turned his attention to the progressive method of direct seeding as early as 1975 and invented a ground-breaking chisel opener for this purpose. His achievements were recognised in many ways. Over the years, he came up with a large number of inventions which received many awards and medals for these many advancements in agricultural machinery. Dr Heinz Dreyer himself received top-level scientific awards and important honorary degrees for his work.
This incessant innovation, combined with high standards for quality along with having the ability to communicate on equal terms with farmers and scientists from all over the world, were the key to his success.
Over the years, Dr. Heinz Dreyer firmly anchored these Amazone virtues into the DNA of the entire company. Furthermore, he always attached great importance to having a family working environment in all areas of the company.
As the third generation of the Dreyer family, Dr Heinz Dreyer played a major role in building up the company and developed it into a global agricultural machinery manufacturer with his business acumen. The continued independence of the owner-managed family business was always at the centre of his considerations. He transferred his management responsibilities to his son, Dr. Justus Dreyer, in 2005. Nevertheless, he continued to be still responsible for Amazone seeding systems and their optimum fertilisation and maintained strong links with universities.
The death of Dr. Heinz Dreyer has left a huge hole in our company. The family, the entire management team and all employees will respectfully continue his life's work.
Biography:
As the eldest son of Dipl. Eng. Heinrich Dreyer, one of the successors to the founder of Amazonen-Werke, Dr. Heinz Dreyer was designated by his father as his successor at an early stage. He studied mechanical engineering at the Technical University of Munich and, after graduating in 1956, continued at the university as a freelancer with a research contract from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture (Bonn) in order to complete his doctorate.
However, his plans were abruptly interrupted when his father died suddenly in November 1957. From that point, Dr. Heinz Dreyer immediately joined Amazonen-Werke, together with his cousin Klaus Dreyer, and he took over the management of the company together the latter at the beginning of 1958. In addition to the necessary expansion of the company, Dr. Heinz Dreyer tackled his doctoral thesis again and received his doctorate from the Justus Liebig University in Gießen in 1963.
He married Magdalene Teich, the daughter of a businessman from Lower Bavaria in 1960. He had four children Petra, Nicoline, Konstanze and Justus, who became his successor as CEO of the company.