The world is poorer for the loss of a great entrepreneur, family man, champion of small and medium-sized businesses, and an economically, socially and civically committed person. On the morning of 26 December 2022, Gustav Deiters Sr, partner, former Managing Director of the Crespel & Deiters Group and recipient of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family. He led, shaped and developed Crespel & Deiters in the fourth family generation for 37 years from 1957. He played a decisive role in shaping the strategic reorientation of the company, developed Crespel & Deiters from a classic starch factory into a supplier of a wide range of wheat starch products and expanded the production site in Ibbenbüren. In addition to creating new jobs, he also converted production processes to the latest technologies. Always with an eye on the future, he expanded the starch business into the non-food sector at the end of the 1970s and diversified the industrial sectors’ product range.

But despite all his business activities, Gustav Deiters Sr. always put people first. As part of the humanist entrepreneurial family Crespel & Deiters, his employees’ welfare and advancement was his top priority. Community, care and respect are traditional family values that are still lived in practice today at Crespel & Deiters in the meanwhile globally active, yet still owner-managed Group. With honorary posts and chairmanships in various associations and institutions, the Ibbenbüren native was dedicated to his region, Westphalia and Germany. As a forester and chairman of the forestry committee at the Steinfurt Forestry Office, in addition to being a founder of the district association of the Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald (German Forest Protection Association), he was committed to nature conservation in Germany for decades. In the course of his 40 years on the board of the Steinfurt district group of the NRW forest farmers’ association and as chairman of the Ibbenbüren forestry association, he was dedicated to sustainable forest management.

Throughout his life, Gustav Deiters Sr. played an active role in shaping German society. He championed promoting small and medium-sized businesses in various functions, such as chairman of the Steinfurt Industrial Association or chairman of the supervisory board of the Ibbenbüren Volksbank for the promotion of small and medium-sized businesses. As a member of the council of the town of Ibbenbüren, he was there for the concerns of the citizens. Gustav Deiters sen. supplemented his personal social and civic commitment as a member of the Lions Club Tecklenburg with numerous social projects, as a member of the parish committee of the parish of St. Ludwig and as a co-founder of the civic foundation Tecklenburger Land.

In 2009, he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon by the Federal President Horst Köhler for his special services. In 1987, Gustav Deiters senior retired from active management and handed over the reins of Crespel & Deiters to his son Gustav Deiters junior, who continues to lead the Group in the fifth generation. And today, the sixth generation of family members is already on board in the newly-introduced Executive Board. From then on, Gustav Deiters Sr. devoted himself to his passion: nature. As a passionate hunter, he was always committed to taking care of and preserving the forest. He remained actively involved in the Crespel & Deiters Group even after his retirement. As a shareholder, he also actively accompanied the Group into old age.

We would like to bid farewell to an important man in German industry, a friend and companion, a great boss who led the company with foresight and humanity for close on 40 years, and a wonderful person who will be greatly missed. We commemorate Gustav Deiters senior and his legacy with deep mourning, respect and gratitude. We will continue to move Crespel & Deiters forward with family values and visionary entrepreneurship, to honour his memory.

The complete team of the Crespel & Deiters Group and the members of the Deiters’ family.