On February 20th, global mining innovator Hermann Paus was inducted to International Mining Technology Hall of Fame in recognition of innovations in the Underground Production category. In spite of starting his career in the farming technology industry, Paus was instrumental in the design of an assortment of underground mining vehicles, first in Russia, then around the world. The induction took place in Denver at a gala awards dinner during the week of the 119th annual SME conference. Inductees are chosen by the Hall of Fame’s prestigious College of Voters based upon innovations such as new techniques and technologies within the notably conservative industry rather than products and machines themselves.
Despite how far he has come, the path was often a rough one for Mr. Paus. Born in 1932, he was one of eight children. At the age three, he lost his father. His mother was a milliner, which gave him his first peek into the business world. He quickly learned to charm the women to whom he delivered hats, earning him small tips. Tragically, at 9 he also lost his mother. He went to live with an aunt and uncle which had eight children of their own. Hermann learned about hard work at an early age. Growing up during the war meant he had to assume farm work for his cousins that went to war.
Mr. Paus became his uncle’s apprentice at age 14 with many jobs: farm machinery mechanic, shoeing horses, fixing everything from bicycles to soldering pots, reapers, and binders. The following year he attended vocational school once a week where he was inspired to become an engineer. In 1950 he was hired as a journeyman and moved back into the family home. That fall, he enrolled in a preparatory class for technical college. He attended classes four nights a week and Saturdays in addition to working his full time job. Despite long days and classmates dropping like flies, Mr. Paus was determined to become an engineer. Not even a work accident, requiring skull surgery that triggered temporary mobility loss on his right side, could stop him from realizing his goal. With a stroke of luck, a spot opened for an introductory course for returning soldiers at the State Engineering College in 1953. He was able to convince the director to let him fill the vacancy. After a long, hard winter he passed and was accepted to engineering school. In spite of numerous hardships, Mr. Paus finally obtained his engineering degree three years later.
Mr. Paus’s first engineering job was as a designer of farming equipment where in 1957 he earned his first patent for a tractor throttle. After transferring jobs he settled at farming equipment manufacturer Krone in 1961, the owner of which would prove to be a long time contact. He was inspired my Mr. Krone’s fairness and positive attitude toward new technology. From him, he learned that trust and understanding between manufacturers and customers is of the utmost importance. These ideals likely inspired Paus GMBH’s current mantra, “…the people who care” emphasizing the high standards the family business set for itself. That same year that he married his wife, Agnes, and moved into their first home, which he designed and built. The couple had two sons, Franz-Josef and Wolfgang, and a daughter Elisabeth.
Together with Krone, Mr. Paus designed his first wheel loader farm trailer in 1963, called “Lademeister” (loadmaster), which became a huge success. In 1965 however, he left Krone for a higher paying job where he spent nearly all his time in the factory learning the importance of consulting – not only with customers, but workhands as well, regarding designs. Mr. Krone, still in touch with Hermann Paus, presented him with an opportunity to take over a failing company. Though that company didn’t appeal to him, it cultivated the idea of starting an independent business and with Agnes’s support; Krone and Paus purchased a vacant plot in Emsbüren. Hermann Paus Maschinenfabrik GmbH, the newest supplier to the construction industry, was born! Upon completion of the facility, 12 employees began developing and producing the first dumpers for a Swiss company. After a few years, the Paus family built a house of Agnes’s design across from the Paus GmbH factory where they still live today.
Krone and Paus exhibited their dumper line at BAUMA in Munich in 1969. They soon realized the German building market wanted loaders in addition to dumpers. They modified their dumpers into the first articulated wheel loader. In less than six weeks, they had a new product on the market. Owing to other engagements in his farming business, Mr. Krone decided to sell his shares to various short term partners and Agnes taking over the bookkeeping. The building vehicles division expanded across Germany, Belgium, France, and Switzerland with a focus on specialized machines. A building recession as a result of the global oil crisis during the mid-70s forced Mr. Paus to find orders elsewhere. He broke into mining with a roof support design for a German mine. He was then approached by an engineering company based in Hannover about an order for lube trucks for a Russian mine that they didn’t have the capacity to manufacture. Paus GmbH quickly became known for developing specialized mining vehicles. Slowly the building trade recovered, but an issue with the gears on the small loaders developed. The loaders were redesigned integrating a totally new concept to him and the industry as a whole: “hydrostatic drive”. Business boomed with orders for several loaders and a telescopic elevator design which kept Paus GmbH moving forward.
In 1977 Mr. Paus acquired the last company shares making the Paus family sole owners. Due to the high demand for mechanized solutions in mining, he continued collaborating on, and designing machines for the mining industry: a mechanized backfilling slinger belt truck, an electro-hydraulic dump truck, heavy duty transporters, and drilling vehicles with rubber tires fueling the market for trackless technology. He was approached to design several more specialized mining vehicles: a 26 seat personnel transporter with hydrostatic drive, roof support carriers, and flameproof underground graders. The development of the “dry exhaust cooling system” for flameproof diesel engines is widely regarded as one of his most important innovations as it made operations nearly maintenance free. Mr. Paus soon doubled his workforce after a substantial order was placed for a mine in Russia. Orders were also filled for a slot cutter and a scaler with a longer reach than any existing in the market.
To better serve the needs of Russian customers a representative office was established in Moscow in 2001. The following year, on his 70th birthday, Hermann Paus turned the business over to his two sons: Franz-Josef, an engineer, and Wolfgang, who studied business, a perfect combination of technical and economic knowledge. A trip to Chile inspired a redesign of the telescopic swivel loader to equip a hydraulic hammer, produced by NPK Construction Equipment. This collaboration led to the launch of a service company in Santiago. The most recent expansion into new territory was in 2013, when Paus partnered with NPKCE to distribute Paus mining vehicles throughout the United States and Canada. Today the company boasts a workforce of over 250 employees, many of which have been with the company for years.
Hermann Paus has received many awards and honors from various associations throughout the mining industry. In 2001, he was awarded a decoration of service (second class) for his innovative developments in Russian mining. The following year he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Academy of Sciences from the White-Russian University of Minsk for the development of the slot cutter, among other things. The golden badge of honor of commerce was presented on his 70th birthday from the Osnabrück Chamber of Commerce. He was awarded the highest decoration awarded for service by the Federal Republic of Germany in 2003. Then in 2011 the award for best enterprise was bestowed upon him by the Emsland Economic Association.
In addition to his work in both agricultural and mining engineering, he also played a big part in his local community. He served in local politics in Emsbüren for several years. Through this role and others, he rallied for and put into action the building of two new facilities and several tennis courts for local sports clubs; advocated for improved hospital technologies; pushed for redevelopment of the town square; and was instrumental in the “Sheltered Housing” project profits which funded a new kindergarten still in use today. These days Mr. Paus devotes much of his time to cultural and tourist areas in the community. But as the saying goes, you can take the man out of the business, but not the business out of the man. He still walks through the factory regularly to converse with employees, and even makes a suggestion here or there. He has been lucky enough to not only see his sons carry on the family business, but to see the beginning of the third generation continuing the tradition. His grandson Erik is currently studying engineering at RWTH Aachen University.