Dr. Josef Theurer, founder of Plasser & Theurer, has passed away

Plasser & Theurer has announced the passing of company founder Dr. Josef Theurer, who passed away peacefully on March 19 at the age of 91.

He is survived by his daughter, Elisabeth Max-Theurer, an Olympic medalist in equestrian, as well as his grandchildren Victoria and Johannes Max-Theurer.

The company says his technical genius, discipline, modesty, diligence and, in particular, his compassion have made Plasser & Theurer a successful, international business. This has had a lasting impact on the railway system and revolutionized track maintenance.

Josef Theurer's professional achievements include registering more than 1,000 patents during his lifetime. Together with Franz Plasser, he built a strong and successful company. That idea from 1953 is what has created jobs for more than 4,000 people in Austria and around the world to date. Having managed the family company for 60 years, he handed over the reins to his grandson, Johannes Max-Theurer, in 2011.

Thanks to Josef Theurer’s innovations, the manual labor needed for construction and the maintenance of railway track could be replaced by mechanized methods. This in turn led to an increase in productivity and hence more efficient and economical track maintenance. Because of his efforts, Plasser & Theurer machines are operating on all of the world’s high-speed lines.

“My grandfather, Dr. Josef Theurer, will always be a role model: as a pioneer, innovator and entrepreneur, but above all as a person,” said Johannes Max-Theurer.