Manfred Fuchs

<h2 id="biography">Biography</h2>
<p>Fuchs' family owned distilleries in <a href="/facts/South_Tyrol/KRMwFeWs">Alto Adige<i>,</i></a> the brewery forest near <a href="/facts/Merano/WdgPaLmQ">Merano</a>, which is still family-owned, also sawmills and wine trade. His father also owned a trucking company and a restaurant. 
</p><p>He attended trade school in <a href="/facts/Bolzano/4dzTthN4">Bolzano</a>, studied in Munich at the Technical College and from 1957 in Hamburg at the Engineering School. He graduated as engineer for aerospace engineering in 1959. He worked as development engineer at <a href="/facts/Hamburger_Flugzeugbau/vvsvk57b">Hamburger Flugzeugbau</a>. From 1961 Fuchs worked in Bremen at the aerospace company ERNO, an <a href="/facts/Airbus/PSLf3cM8">EADS</a> predecessor. There he became group leader in 1965, later head of Department Astro Dynamics / Preliminary Development and Director of Department in 1982. Fuchs was involved in the <a href="/facts/Ariane_(rocket_family)/bxpEpRRh">Ariane-1</a>, <a href="/facts/Columbus_(ISS_module)/qYqbxpTR">Columbus</a> and <a href="/facts/Spacelab/R4FDfaCW">Spacelab</a> projects.
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<h3>OHB System</h3>
<p>In 1981, Manfred Fuchs, along with his wife Christa, who initially owned the shares, became involved with <i>Otto Hydraulic Bremen</i> (OHB), a small company situated in <a href="/facts/Bremen-Hemelingen/hcLdXAw0">Hemelinger port</a> specializing in hydraulic and electrical engineering works. At the time, OHB had a modest workforce of five employees and primarily serviced the German forces <a href="/facts/Bundeswehr/J0yobW5P">Bundeswehr</a>. By 1985, following his departure from ERNO, Fuchs assumed full control of OHB, steering the company towards satellite technology and aerospace engineering. Among its early ventures, OHB manufactured components for the <a href="/facts/Airbus_A380/cVuVbEsf">Airbus A380</a> aircraft.
</p><p>Under Fuchs' leadership, the company experienced significant growth, expanding its workforce to approximately 1,600 employees by 2009. OHB established its headquarters in the Technology Park adjacent to the University of Bremen, aligning itself closely with the academic and research community. The firm notably contributed to military reconnaissance efforts, supplying the <a href="/facts/Bundeswehr/J0yobW5P">Bundeswehr</a> with its first own satellites, the <a href="/facts/SAR-Lupe/C9HkjI42">SAR-Lupe</a> reconnaissance system, and also provided satellite data to <a href="/facts/Frontex/1ATJBf5X">Frontex</a>, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency.
</p><p>By 2009, OHB had achieved a turnover of 320 million Euros, positioning itself as the third-largest aerospace group in Europe, trailing only behind EADS and Thales Group. The acronym OHB, which stands for high-technology Bremen orbitals since 2000, reflects the company's dedication to pioneering space technology. Manfred Fuchs played a pivotal role in the company's ascent, serving as its chairman.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> Ownership of OHB remained largely within the Fuchs family, holding approximately 70% of the company shares, even as it transitioned to a publicly traded entity.
</p><p>In 2010 the company was awarded the contract for the construction of satellites for the <a href="/facts/Galileo_(satellite_navigation)/sPyWl594">Galileo</a> project, a European <a href="/facts/Global_Positioning_System/DKVLnzF3">GPS</a> system and the contract for the European <a href="/facts/Meteosat/RsekvXh7">Meteosat</a> project. The subsidiary MT Aerospace in <a href="/facts/Augsburg/5aceyku1">Augsburg</a> the Fuchs Group is the largest German supplier for the Ariane rocket.
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<h2 id="awards-and-tributes">Awards and tributes</h2>
<ul><li>1995: Bremer Entrepreneur of the Year</li>
<li>1996: Honorary Professor of the <a href="/facts/Bremen_University_of_Applied_Sciences/EQvKY0Rl">Bremen University of Applied Sciences</a></li>
<li>2005: Honorary Doctor of the <a href="/facts/Polytechnic_University_of_Milan/h1wuNxp6">Polytechnic University of Milan</a></li>
<li>2009: Honorary citizen and supporter of the <a href="/facts/University_of_Bremen/jAAw3zTl">University of Bremen</a></li>
<li>2011: <a href="/facts/Werner_von_Siemens_Ring/sFNcgxdt">Werner von Siemens Ring</a></li>
<li>2014: <a href="/facts/Manfred_Memorial_Moon_Mission/c1RnWeoF">Manfred Memorial Moon Mission</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li><a href="https://www.ohb-system.de/supervisory-board.html">Official OHB Website</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1"><p>OHB Official website <a href="https://www.ohb-system.de/aufsichtsrat.html" target="_blank">https://www.ohb-system.de/aufsichtsrat.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li>
</ol>

Manfred Fuchs open-in-new

Manfred Fuchs