Henri Grasso

Henri Grasso (1864 – 1944) was the son of Willem Grasso, founder of Grasso’s Royal Machine Factories Ltd. Henri was born to step in his fathers shoes. At the age of 19, he follows a refrigeration course in Mittweida, Germany with the latest developments in that field. At the age of 30, he takes over the business from his father. Under Henri Grasso’s lead, the company grew fast. In 1896, he moves the factory of butter/margarine machines from 's-Hertogenbosch to much larger premises at Vught, The Netherlands. In 1927, he celebrates his 50 years anniversary as manager. At this time, 260 employees are employed at the Grasso factory with a turnover of more than 0,5 million Euro.Only a few years before he was the manager, there were 18 people working for Grasso.Due to the economic crisis, the amount of employees falls back to 50 people. In 1944, Henri Grasso died at the age of 80. In the same year, the factory is almost completely destroyed during World War II so that business comes to a standstill. After the war, the Grasso factory is soon rebuilt.