Adolf Bühler also Adolf Bühler-Naef ( August 11, 1822 - October 20, 1896) was a Swiss industrialist and philanthropist. In 1860, Bühler founded an iron foundry, bearing his name, which would evolve into

Bühler Group The Bühler Holding AG is a Swiss multinational plant equipment manufacturer based in Uzwil, Switzerland. It is known for Process manufacturing, plant and equipment and related services for processing foods and manufacturing advanced materials. T ...

, a leading technology concern with over 140 locations worldwide. He is the patriarch of the Bühler family which has an estimated net worth of CHF 3.5-4 billions (2022).

Early life and education

Bühler was born August 11, 1822, in

Feldbach, Switzerland Feldbach is a village near Rapperswil, Switzerland. It is located on the north bank of the lake of Zurich and is part of the political municipality of Hombrechtikon. In the local dialect it is called ''Fäldbach''. Geography Situated on ''Zür ...

the fifth of fifteen children born to Hans Caspar Bühler. His parents were wealthy and owned a large farm, a mill and a fruit press business. In 1842, he completed an apprenticeship in the iron foundry of Caspar Aeppli in

Rapperswil Rapperswil (Swiss German: or ;Andres Kristol, ''Rapperswil SG (See)'' in: ''Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses – Lexikon der schweizerischen Gemeindenamen – Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS, LSG)'', Centre de dial ...

and with Sulzer in

Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...

. After his apprenticeship he gained experience abroad while working in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Career

When Bühler returned to Switzerland, he already had plans to start his own iron foundry and was looking for opportunities to build. Through the station manager of the

Flawil Flawil is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of St. Gallen (canton), St. Gallen in Switzerland with slightly over 10,000 inhabitants. It is the regional centre of Toggenburg, Untertoggenburg, but be ...

station, he received the tip that there was a plot for sale in the hamlet of Gupfen (which would later become

Uzwil Uzwil is a municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. History Uzwil was first mentioned in 819 as ''Uzzinwilare''. The village of Henau was first mentioned 754 as ''Villa Aninauva'' at th ...

) directly on the Uze river which would be optimal for energy production. Also there was a direct train connection through the St. Gall-Appenzell Railway which had been founded three years prior in 1857. Adolf-buehler-giesserei

There was also a huge advantage and potential clients of the St. Gallen embroidery industry. There were two larger manufacturing companies which would subsequently become clients of Bühler. On February 10, 1860, he opened his iron foundry under his own name and with two employees. His first client were the Benninger Brothers (manufacturers of textile manufacturing machinery) who also sold him land for his foundry location.

Personal life

In 1868, Bühler married Maria Seline Naef, who was 22 years his junior. She was the only daughter of the mayor of

Herisau Herisau is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. It is the seat of the canton's government and parliament; the judicial authorities are situated ...

Abraham Naef. Her grandfather was Mathias Naef, textile manufacturer in Uzwil. They had five sons; * Gustav Adolf Bühler Jr. (October 10, 1869 - March 19, 1939), who would also service in the Grand Council of St. Gallen * Robert Bühler (1872-1916) * Otto Bühler (December 5, 1874 - August 12, 1946), an attorney * Friedrich Theodor Bühler (1877-1915) * Walter Bühler (1888-1969) Adolf Bühler died unexpectedly on October 20, 1896, from a cardiac paralysis. At the time of his death the Bühler company employed over 600 people and had subsidiaries in several foreign countries.NZZ am Sonntag: ''Kein Brot ohne Bühler'', 15. April 2012, S. 38ff (in German)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhler, Adolf 1822 births 1896 deaths