Emile Mayrisch
Emile Mayrisch (1862-1928)
1928 Obituary [1]
EMILE MAYRISCH was killed in a motor-car accident on March 5, 1928, at the age of sixty-five.
Born in 1862, he was educated at the University of Aix-la-Chapelle.
In 1885 he commenced work as an apprentice with the Societe des Hauts Fourneaux et Forges de Dudelange, and in the following year he was appointed to a position as chemist. Two years later he became works manager of the Societe Anonyme de Hants Fourneaux de Rodange, but after remaining for two years he returned to the former company as metallurgical engineer.
In 1893 he became general secretary at Dudelange, and in 1897 he joined the board of directors.
He held this directorship for fifteen years, until in 1911, when the three companies at Burbach, Eich, and Dudelange were amalgamated, which fusion was largely due to him, he was nominated technical managing director of the world-famous "Arbed."
In 1918 he became sole managing director, and in 1920 he took up the office of chairman of the board of directors. In the subsequent development of "Arbed " Mr. Mayrisch played a leading role, and through his efforts a variety of working agreements and alliances were entered into, such as that with the Eschweiler Bergwerksverein, the formation of the Ciments Luxembourgeois, the absorption of Burgbrohl, the alliance with Schneider's, out of which arose the Societe Metallurgique des Terres Rouges and the Societe Miniere des Terres Rouges. Columeta was created for the purpose of exporting products of Luxemburg to the four corners of the world. Later "Arbed" took over a predominant interest in the firm of Felten and Guillaume, founded the Belgo-Mineira in Brazil, participated largely in the Talleres Metalurgicos in the Argentine, entered into a contract with the Clouterie des Flandres, &c., to mention only a few of the company's commercial activities. All these were the work of Mr. Mayrisch; it was he, with his clear foresight, who supplied the motive power for the movement towards rationalisation in the metallurgical industry of Europe.
In 1922 he became a member of the Council of the Union Economique Beige-Luxembourgeoise, in 1923 he was elected vice-president of the reorganised Red Cross Society of Luxemburg, while in 1926 he became chairman of directors of Arbed-Terres Rouges, president of the Comite Franco-allemand d'Information et de Documentation, and president of the Entente Internationale de l'Acier. With all his many commercial and technical preoccupations, Mr. Mayrisch was still able to find time to devote to works of philanthropy, and he took a deep interest in the care and welfare of his workpeople.
He was elected a member of the Iron and Steel Institute in 1921.