27.02.2013

Paul G. Harms 1931-2013

Paul G. Harms founder of German electronics/weighing systems manufacturer Moba has died aged 82.

Harms established Moba in 1972 and led and developed the innovative German company for more than 30 years. In 2004 he handed the reins over to his son Volker, joining the supervisory board with the title of honorary chairman, which he retained until his death on February 24th.
Please register to see all images

Paul Harms

In September 2012 he celebrated the company’s 40th anniversary with employees at Moba headquarters.

The company is known in the crane and access world for its highly accurate platform overload systems and more recently an innovative outrigger beam extension measuring system

The company has issued a tribute to his life which we have very slightly trimmed and edited:

“Paul Harms was born in 1931 in Osnabrück, Germany, after leaving school he completed an apprenticeship as an instrument mechanic and then worked as thermal technician for Georgsmarienhütte. At the same time he attended technical evening school and then studied mechanical engineering in the United States. On his return to Germany he joined Honeywell Corporation, where he worked for 17 years, ending up as product marketing manager for industrial products, based at its European headquarters in Brussels.”

“In 1972 he started Moba as a sales and service business for level and slope sensors for construction equipment, based in the garage of his house in Steinbach near Limburg, where - until his death - he and his wife still lived.”

“By 1979 had developed its own range of slope sensors and began to move into measuring and control technologies leading to a major milestone in the company’s product history – the Moba-matic system, a levelling solution for asphalt pavers. The innovative product allowed the company to grow rapidly and by 1985 it was employing around 50 and was established in new headquarters in the nearby town of Elz.”

“Since then the company has established eight international subsidiaries and built up cooperation with dealers around the world. It expanded into waste disposal technology in the 1990s offering weighing systems, logistics and telematics software for local authority and commercial waste management contractors, and opened branch offices in Dresden and Langenlonsheim.”

“In 2002 all the individual business divisions were merged into Moba Mobile Automation AG. In 2004 it moved to its current headquarters in Limburg-Offheim.”

“Harms always believed that it was important to offer young people a well-founded apprenticeship to provide a solid start to their working lives. Something he always practiced at MOBA, which currently employs 22 apprentices and students. He was also active in the Don Bosco Foundation for the establishment of apprenticeships for young people in the Philippines and in Tanzania. “

“Within Moba and beyond he will be sorely missed and is remembered with affection and respect.”