More than 40 years of passion for electric machines.
There is always a human being behind every good idea. Impressive proof of that sentence is provided by the life and work of Ewald Ohl, to whom we recently bade farewell as he enters retirement after working for more than 40 years at Hübner Giessen.
As a trained electro-mechanical engineer and with a degree in electrical engineering Ewald Ohl has not only learnt his profession by starting at the very bottom, but has always filled it with a wealth of expert knowledge, creativity and, above all else, with his heart and soul. Dieter Wulkow, the former managing director of Hübner Giessen, summed it up precisely in his recent speech at the farewell ceremony held in Prof. Ohl’s honour: “When in addition to what have now become conventional, standard machines Ewald Ohl received a request for something out of the ordinary – something that required a specially designed machine – that is when Ewald Ohl came into his own. The job was as good as done, no competitor was anywhere near able to build and optimize a machine with such conviction as Ewald Ohl was able to design, calculate, dimension and deliver.”
Consequently, many of the developments and special designs made in house at Hübner Giessen originate from Ewald Ohl. Indeed, Ewald Ohl was able to carry out the complete electrical calculations for the machines himself, to design the machines to fulfil their respective customer requirements, to develop the punch and die sets, calculate the winding data, pole shoes and commutators, accompany the implementation phase, oversee their fabrication and then to test and optimize machines. The results were novel and sometimes unique machines, such as the Lennox machine (very slim motors driving winders on paper machines), the drill generator (developed in cooperation with DMT), synchronous motors and generators, battery powered DC motors, wheel-hub drives and a great deal more.
However, he not only brought his professional expertise to bear for the benefit of Hübner Giessen but also continues to pass on his expert knowledge to students at the Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences as a lecturer and Honorary Professor. Happily, we will not have to fully go without Ewald Ohl because he will still be in his office once a week to offer us help and advice during a transitional period through to September. Furthermore, the Johannes Hübner Foundation will also continue to benefit from his expertise. At this point, we would simply like to say thank you. We are pleased that we were able to work together with Ewald Ohl at Hübner Giessen and wish him a happy and satisfying retirement.