German aggregates industry in mourning
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Hahn, the Secretary General of the Federal Association of the German Mineral Resources Industry (MIRO), died suddenly and unexpectedly from a heart attack on 27 January 2013 at the age of just 62 years. With his passing, the European aggregates sector has lost a widely respected Association Secretary whose actions were marked by technical expertise, objectivity, integrity and not least by an excellent knowledge of human nature and human warmth. The deceased was a person capable of building bridges and establishing close ties.
For more than half his life, he worked dedicatedly for the German aggregates industry. The graduate building engineer entered into the service of Germany’s Association of the Natural Stone Industry (BVNI) in Bonn back in 1981. In 1986 he was appointed Secretary General of the Association. In the same year, he earned his Dr.-Ing. and also took over responsibility for the sector-specific research association. In addition, Prof. Hahn worked intensely on standardization on a national and European level. He headed the section on “Road Construction” in the DIN, in 1995 he was appointed Chairman of the Sub-Committee in the European Standards organization CEN and for twelve years he headed the working group “Aggregates, unbound construction methods” in the Road and Transportation Research Association (FGSV). Here, as in other bodies of the FGSV, his expert knowledge was in great demand. His above-average commitment was recognized only in October 2012 with the badge of honour of the FGSV. Following a lectureship for “Quality control and quality management in the resources industry” at RWTH University of Aachen, in 2001 he was awarded an “honorary professorship”.
As an association all-rounder, Prof. Hahn promoted public relations both internally and externally and in 1981 he took over the professional support of the association journal “Die Naturstein-Industrie”, becoming its editor in 2000. He remained its editor, stewarding the journal through a change of name and publisher, the Association journal now being called GP-GesteinsPerspektiven. It was important to him to continuously strengthen the positive outward image of the Association and the companies in the industry. He regarded it as an important part of his work to give lasting impetus to this work. He was jointly responsible for the fusion of all aggregates associations in the natural rock, sand and gravel industries under the unifying umbrella of MIRO. The conviction that only a united and strong association can effectively represent and assert the interests of the companies was his drive and the results proved his conviction right.
We extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to his family. (gsz)
