August 8, 2025: Swiss extruders and tech group Bühler has paid tribute to the company’s former owner, Urs Bühler, who died on August 1 aged 82.
The group said his death meant the loss of a figure who significantly shaped the company as an owner, former chairman of the executive board, and who oversaw more than five decades of the firm’s successful development.
Born in 1943 in Uzwil, Urs spent his youth there. He attended the Kantonsschule am Burggraben in St Gallen and later studied mechanical engineering at ETH Zurich.
Joining Bühler in 1970, he held various positions both domestically and internationally, until being appointed CEO in 1986. He became the sole owner of the company in 1990 and also served as chairman from 1994.
Throughout his career, he held a number of executive posts including serving on the board of the Swiss Bank Corporation, Sulzer Group, and Winterthur Insurance. He was also on the board of Swissmem for 30 years, significantly contributing to Swiss industrial history.
In 2001, as part of succession planning, he transferred operational responsibility of the group to Calvin Grieder, who also took over as chairman in 2014.
Also in 2014, Urs ensured the succession of family ownership of the firm by transferring shares to his daughters Karin, Maya, and Jeannine – the fifth generation of owners.
That followed his decision in 2011 to transfer ownership of The Uze company (founded in 1892 to manage the family’s real estate) to his daughters.
During his more than 50 years at Bühler, Urs ensured the continued successful development of the company through a number of initiatives, including global expansion and exploiting new technologies such as extrusion and automation.
In terms of innovation, his legacy includes the Urs Bühler Innovation Fund, which is an innovation advisory board comprising recognized experts.
Urs also championed construction of the Cubic Innovation Campus, and the recently opened Bühler Energy Center.
Under his leadership, the mechanical engineering company evolved into a broadly positioned and global technology group, offering a comprehensive range of solutions for the food and mobility industries.
However, Urs remained a modest, reserved, and empathetic person.
In addition to technology and business, his great passions included equestrian sports, skiing, and a holistic approach to the health of humans and animals, the latter being reflected in the company Health Balance, which he founded in 2004.
Urs’s daughters said in a personal statement: “We are committed to the legacy of our father and predecessors and will continue to run Bühler as a family business. The strategic focus on innovation, training and development, and sustainability also has our full support.”
The company said Urs had always been forward-thinking and innovative. “With gratitude and the utmost respect, we bid him farewell. He remains an inspiring role model to us as a visionary entrepreneur, innovator, and above all, a remarkable human being.”
