Heinrich Nordhoff

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Heinrich Nordhoff (January 6, 1899 – April 12, 1968) was a German engineer famous for his leadership of the Volkswagen company as it was rebuilt after World War II. He is usually referred to as Heinz Nordhoff.

Nordhoff attended technical college in Berlin, where he became a member of the Roman Catholic fraternity Askania-Burgundia and in 1927 began work for BMW working on aircraft engines but soon went to work for Opel where he gained experience of the automotive industry.

Following the war, he was appointed Managing Director of Volkswagen, assuming the position on January 2, 1948.

Nordhoff became legendary from turning the Volkswagen Beetle into a worldwide automotive phenomenon. He pioneered the idea of constant improvement - improving the car's underpinnings while keeping the styling the same. He gave liberal beneifts to VW workers and increased pay scales. Within six years after taking over Volkswagen, Nordhoff reduced the number of man-hours to produce a single car from 400 to 100, a 75 percent reduction. His commitment to improving the workmanship at VW made the Beetle famous for its bulletproof reliability.

While not questioning his ability to sell cars, though, some observers, including automotive analyst Maryann Keller, questioned whether it was wise for Nordhoff to build more of the same car rather than develop new models. By the late sixties, the Beetle was getting serious competition from Japanese, American, and other European models in different markets. Nonetheless, it remained a favorite car for many motorists throughout the world.

Nordhoff announced in 1967 that he would retire by the end of the following year, and that Dr. Kurt Lotz would succeed him as managing director. Nordhoff suffered heart failure that summer, and returned to work in October. He died six months later.

[edit] Quote

"Offering people an honest value appealed to me more than being driven around by a bunch of hysterical stylists trying to sell people something they really don't want to have." -- Heinrich Nordhoff on his automotive philosophy, from the book Volkswagen: Beetles, Buses and Beyond by James Flammang