Automotive News Canada - February 2022 - 8

8
* FEBRUARY 2022
Parts magnate was
'a giant among us'
Linamar founder Frank Hasenfratz
is remembered for being 'driven'
By KRISTINA URQUHART
T ORONTO CORRESPONDENT
FRANK HASENFRATZ DIDN'T KNOW
it then, but the sound of a washing
machine in his Guelph, Ont., basement
sparked the innovation that would
launch Linamar Corp., now a $5.8-billion
global auto-parts supplier.
It was 1964. Hasenfratz, a refugee from
Hungary and a machinist, had recently
quit his parts-making job
in frustration after his
employer failed to lower
its scrap rates - a quality
metric that Hasenfratz
would measure in his own
plants for the rest of his
life.
Determined to produce
better-quality parts with
less waste, Hasenfratz,
then 29, put his savings
into a $1,000 lathe to turn
his basement into a makeshift
factory. The hum of
the wringer washer nearby
led to an aha moment.
He removed its gearbox
and rigged it onto the
lathe along with a pulley
and a counterweight
so that the gearbox could
turn the cutting tool
instead of an operator.
Hasenfratz at his Jan. 15 funeral. " A
family man, a mentor, a leader. He'll be
immeasurably missed. "
'LOOK FOR THE SUNSHINE'
Born in 1935 in pre-war Hungary,
Ferenc (Frank) Hasenfratz spent his
teens repairing motorcycles with parts
he built himself. Ever the entrepreneur,
he loaned the fixed bikes before returning
them to their owners.
Hasenfratz was a certified machinist
by the time he was
conscripted into the
Hungarian army in
spring 1955. Near the
end of his two-year service,
Hasenfratz's military
unit joined the
freedom fighters in the
Hungarian Revolution.
When the Soviet Union
invaded Hungary,
Hasenfratz fled to
Austria, and in spring
1957 he departed Europe
for Canada.
Even as CEO, Hasenfratz,
centre, spent time on the
factory floor seeking ways to
improve operations.
PHOTO: LINAMAR CORP.
Within a month, Hasenfratz and his
homemade automation solution had fulfilled
a fuel-pump order for Ford and
generated enough cash flow to hire four
employees, get a second machine, run
the machines 24/7 and land a second contract.
This
ingenuity - along with an entrepreneurial
spirit and an unceasing desire
to learn - gave Hasenfratz, who died
Jan. 8 at age 86 after an undisclosed illness,
a rare skill set that would turn him
into one of Canada's self-made billionaires.
" He
was a giant among us, " said
daughter and Linamar CEO Linda
Frank Stronach,
founder of supplier
Magna International,
had emigrated from
Austria to Canada in
1954 to take a parallel
path to auto-parts
fame. Now 89, Stronach
remembers Hasenfratz
as a " driven " businessman whose past
ensured he didn't take opportunities for
granted. " Growing up during the war,
and shortly after the war, left a deep
impression, " Stronach told Automotive
News Canada. " Things weren't always
rosy. "
Hasenfratz spent his first few weeks
in Canada sleeping on a railway station
bench, working odd jobs to earn money.
It was tough, but not like his army days.
" I wasn't upset, I was happy, " he said
at a 2012 event for his authorized biography
Driven to Succeed. " When bad
things happen to you, look for the sunshine. "
Whenever
you go into
a plant, you learn
something or you teach
something. If you don't
do either of those, it was
a waste of time.
FRANK HASENFRATZ
Founder of Linamar Corp.
A SIXTH SENSE
Hasenfratz had an ear for broken
equipment as well as opportunity. Even
as Linamar CEO, he could sometimes be
found tinkering on a machine on the shop
floor.
He sought good ideas from employees.
" Whenever you go into a plant, you
learn something or you teach something.
If you don't do either of those, it was a
waste of time, " he said in his biography.
He also had a sixth
sense for good deals.
By 1966, Hasenfratz
constructed his first
machine shop - in
his backyard - and
incorporated his
company under the
name Linamar, after
daughters Linda and
Nancy and his wife
Margaret, who died
in 2008.
Linamar
CEO Linda
Hasenfratz said
her father's
principles
and lessons
will continue
to guide the
company.
FILE PHOTO
Over time,
Hasenfratz diversified
Linamar's parts
production into aerospace,
defence, agricultural
and industrial
equipment. By
the late 1980s, he had
taken the company
public and secured several consecutive
multimillion-dollar deals with automakers,
positioning Linamar for its future as
a powerhouse in high-volume precision
parts.
When the early 1990s recession forced
some automakers to shut down their
in-house parts manufacturing, Hasenfratz
was quick to pick up the business. He
focused on projects that required major
investments in advanced tooling and
machining, highly skilled engineers and
maximizing production capacity.
Maintaining core expertise while
encouraging employee engagement and
expanding geographically are among
Hasenfratz's legacies, said Don Walker,
former CEO of Aurora, Ont.-based supplier
Magna International.
Flanked (left to right) by daughter Nancy, wife Margaret and daughter Linda,
Frank Hasenfratz is remembered as a devoted family man. PHOTO: LINAMAR CORP.
So was his " honest " demeanour. " I felt
that if I had a handshake with Frank, you
could take that to the bank, " Walker said.
" He [was] a real gentleman. "
Hasenfratz founded the Linamar for
the Performing Arts program in 2002. It
provides about 14,000 Guelph elementary
students two free tickets to local performances
every year.
He donated generously
to Guelph
General Hospital,
schools and countless
others that " didn't
make the headlines, "
said Guelph
Mayor Cam Guthrie.
" Behind the scenes,
he helped people that
were either really in
need or struggling. "
Guelph's economy
is strong and known
globally because
of Linamar, said
Guthrie.
praised Frank
Hasenfratz's
honest
" Frank built his
company in the right
way... a way that
respected people. "
After Linda
Hasenfratz took over
as CEO in 2002, Frank remained involved
in the business as executive chairman.
That role was filled by Linda as of Jan. 18.
In 2014, Frank Hasenfratz received
the Order of Canada, and in 2016, he and
Linda were inducted into the Canadian
Business Hall of Fame.
At his funeral, Linda shared the secret
to her father's success: " Set bold goals
and track your progress. Treat people
with care and respect. Act quickly.
Follow up. Win new business, every day.
Save and improve, every day.
" I take comfort that those lessons are
deeply embedded in all of us and will continue
to guide our decisions going forward, "
she said. - ANC
demeanor. " I
felt that if I had
a handshake
with Frank, you
could take that
to the bank. "
FILE PHOTO
LINAMAR CORP.
* Founded: 1964
* Incorporated: 1966
* Annual sales: $5.8 billion (2020);
Linamar ranks No. 60 on the 2021
Automotive News Top 100 Global
Suppliers List.
* Employees: 26,000, including
11,000 in Canada
* Locations: 60 manufacturing plants
and 12 R&D centres in 17 countries
* Notable acquisitions: White Farm
Equipment (1981) and Skyjack
(2001), which launched Linamar
into agricultural and industrial
equipment
Former Magna
CEO Don Walker
" When bad things happen to you, look
for the sunshine, " Hasenfratz wrote
in his biography, Driven to Succeed.
PHOTO: LINAMAR CORP.
Automotive News Canada - February 2022

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