Smithers Chairman Herman Hochschwender Dies

Herman Karl Hochschwender, chairman of Smithers Scientific Services, passed away Thursday, 28 April 2005 in Naples, Flrorida. He was 85.

Born in Heidelberg, Germany, on 1 March 1920, Mr Hochschwender moved to the US in 1930. In 1944 he settled in Akron, Ohio where he lived most of his life. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Yale University in 1941, and did post-graduate work at Harvard Business School.

His professional career spanned several years in the private industrial sector with Sargent & Co; the Firestone Tire & Rubber Co; and Mohawk Rubber Co. In 1959, he founded his own consulting firm Hochschwender & Associates and, in 1972, acquired Smithers Laboratories to form Smithers Scientific Services Inc in Akron. Here he served as chief executive officer and later chairman of the board until his death.

He authored a number of articles and papers on testing, research and management subjects related to the rubber and plastics and supplier industries, and addressed numerous technical and lay groups on a variety of subjects in his fields of expertise. In 1983, he headed a joint mission of the ACIL/State Department group to Japan to explore and develop the possibilities of increased trade in Japan by independent testing laboratories. In 1994, he was inducted into the Tire Industry Hall of Fame.

Mr Hochschwender is survived by his wife, Mary “Bo” Koger; children Lynn Anne McGowin, Herman Karl Jr “Ted,” Irene Harris, James E, J Michael, Patricia A Mosely; six grandchildren and four great grandchildren.