Established in 1817, Heiser transformed into one of Europe’s leading producers of high-pressure industrial gas cylinders and was purchased by Worthington in 1998. The Ehrgott family’s history with the Company, dates back to 1882, when Günther’s great-grandfather Leopold Ehrgott worked there as a blacksmith. In 1902, his grandfather Franz Ehrgott also joined, with his maternal great-grandfather and maternal grandfather following, along with his father Günther Ehrgott, Sr. later in 1955. Currently, Günther and his brother Rainer Ehrgott, Head of Scheduling, are both Worthington employees, along with his son and several nephews. In total, five generations of Günther’s family have worked for the Company.
Günther pictured alongside photos from the 1960s of his grandfather working on the hot-drawn press (top right) and his father hand stamping (bottom right).
By adopting the Worthington Philosophy, a big step was taken to put the human being at the center of our work, which stands out from other companies.
Eric Smolenski, president, Building Products and Sustainable Energy Solutions, agrees that Günther and his family have played a significant role in the culture of Worthington. “Günther is one of those personalities that makes Worthington such a great place. He and his family have such a strong legacy with the Austrian facility. It’s remarkable. He’s led that facility through four decades of growth and evolution.”
Pictured L to R: Eric Smolenski, Günther Ehrgott and Joe Resko, Vice President Operations
Günther’s passion for manufacturing and the thousands of employees he’s worked with over the years is inspiring – I’m very grateful for the opportunity to have worked with him, learned from him and celebrated with him!