Airbus Mourns Loss of “Founding Father” Felix Kracht
Toulouse, 21 October 2002
Airbus President and Chief Executive Officer Noël Forgeard today expressed “great sadness and regret” at the death of Felix Kracht on Friday 3rd October 2002, at the age of 90. Felix Kracht’s funeral took place on Friday 18th October in Kirchweyhe, near Bremen in Germany.
“It is thanks to the talent, determination and courage of men such as Felix Kracht, that Airbus has become the great company it is today,“ said Mr Forgeard. “We stand by his family and loved ones in their time of grief and join them in saluting the passing of a great man.”
An enthusiastic pilot, born organiser and early proponent of a borderless Europe, Felix Kracht joined the Airbus organisation in 1968 and was Airbus‘ first production director on the A300 programme. From the very beginning, he focused on harnessing a broad selection of skills, eliminating redundancies, promoting trans-national collaboration and optimising a unique industrial organisation.
Born in 1912 in Krefeld, Germany, Felix Kracht graduated from the Technical University in Aachen and went on to work in France with Nord-Aviation before moving back to Germany to head Deutsche Airbus GmbH. Before joining Airbus he was especially known for co-ordinating French and German work on the Transall military transport aircraft. Felix Kracht was at the origin of Airbus’ unique industrial organisation, which draws on the skills and expertise of specific ‘centres of competence’ and avoids any duplication of tasks.
