The PKV mourns the loss of Mr. Jürgen Evers
He shaped PKV like few others: We are sad to say goodbye to our former managing director and partner Jürgen Evers.
Jürgen Evers passed away at the age of 87. We extend our deepest sympathy to his entire family. Few people have shaped our company as Jürgen Evers did for decades – he was actively involved in the plans and developments of PKV until the very end. A papermaker through and through, he was dedicated to his company with heart and soul. His life’s work was dedicated to PKV. We are very, very grateful to him for this. And we will miss him.
Jürgen Evers joined PKV as Managing Director in 1980, after 16 years as Mill Manager at the Zanders fine paper mill. In Varel, together with Hellmut Barthel and Günter Dieball, he laid many of the foundations from which PKV can now move forward into the future. When Jürgen Evers took over the technical management of PKV, the company was producing 100,000 tons per year, the PM4 had been built a few years earlier and the PM5 was still a dream of the future (PKV’s current capacity: 930,000 tons). Commitment, responsibility, independence and foresight were some of his guiding principles – easily recognizable, for example, in his committed decisions for energy efficiency and the economical use of fresh water. Under his direction, PKV set industry-wide standards in both areas.
Jürgen Evers was always active and committed to “his” paper industry, even beyond the boundaries of his company. He had been a member of the Zellcheming association since 1961 and was awarded the Eugen Lendholt Medal for his life’s work in 2011. For a full 26 years, he was Chairman of the Technical Committee of the Packaging and Corrugated Board Paper Association and a member of the Executive Board. Jürgen Evers was also involved in the Research Council of the Association of German Paper Mills from 1990 to 2002.
His retirement from management in 2005 by no means marked the end of his active time for PKV. As a shareholder, Jürgen Evers always remained involved in the company’s current events and strategies, and as a board member and chairman of the Gertrud and Hellmut Barthel Foundation, he created and shaped a broad support network in the areas of environmental protection, education, training, teaching, research and monument preservation.
In Jürgen Evers, we have lost an impressive personality and a pragmatic technical expert with vision, who was also concerned about sustainability issues. We are losing a sincere, likeable person, guided by firm principles, a role model and a leading figure for many others. We are grateful that we were able to accompany his life and his life’s work.