Herbert Felix

Herbert Felix

Herbert Felix (1908 – 1973) was a Swedish entrepreneur of Austrian-Jewish descent and the founder of the food companies AB Felix and Felix Austria.

Herbert Felix was born in an Austrian-Jewish business family in the town of Znojmo, then part of Austria-Hungary (after World War I a part of Czechoslovakia and since 1992 of the Czech Republic). He started working for the family company Löw & Felix, which was known for its type of "Znaimer Gurken" cucumbers, and Herbert Felix was trained to become his father's successor as the company's CEO. He was responsible for the company's export and as such got the opportunity to travel around in Europe. During a visit to Sweden, he met his first wife.

In 1938, Herbert Felix decided to leave Czechoslovakia following the annexation of Sudetenland by Nazi Germany. He came as a refugee to Sweden and in 1939 he started working for the company AB P. Håkansson in Eslöv. The activity was first run as a part of AB P. Håkansson, which through its cooperation with Felix could find an outlet for its surplus of vinegar in the factory. The success came in the early 1940s and the name "Felix" was started to be used by AB P. Håkansson as its trademark.

During World War II, Herbert Felix fought as a volunteer in the Czech exiled forces and made unsuccessful efforts to save his family from the Holocaust. He joined as an officer in the Czech forces in Britain and participated in the Allies' war in France. In the end of the war, he came with the U.S. forces to Czechoslovakia where he became ultimately aware of his family's fate. His parents and brother had already in the autumn of 1944 been deported from Theresienstadt to Auschwitz where they had been murdered. On his way back to Sweden, Herbert Felix was however able to rescue one of his best friends from a prison camp controlled by the Soviet forces.

After the war, Herbert Felix returned to Eslöv to continue to develop the company, which he purchased together with the chairman of the board in 1948. Under his leadership, the company introduced classical Swedish food products such as "bostongurka", cucumber for sandwiches and ketchup in plastic bottles. The canned food department of the company was named Felix in 1955. In 1959, he started business in Austria after a request from his cousin, the Social Democratic politician (and later Chancellor of Austria) Bruno Kreisky. The new company became known as Felix Austria.

Due to economic difficulties, in 1961 Herbert Felix sold 80% of his holdings in the company to Svenska Sockerfabriks AB (SSA, Sockerbolaget) and the rest in 1964.

Herbert Felix died in Rome, Italy in 1973.

Further reading

*

Persondata
NAME=Felix, Herbert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Entrepreneur
DATE OF BIRTH=1908
PLACE OF BIRTH=Znojmo, Austria-Hungary
DATE OF DEATH=1973
PLACE OF DEATH=Rome, Italy


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Herbert Felix — (* 9. Juli 1908 in Znaim; † 5. Mai 1973 in Rom) war der Gründer von AB Felix in Schweden und Felix Austria in Österreich. Leben Herbert Felix begann im Familienbetrieb Löw Felix zu arbeiten. Er sollte Nachfolger seines Vaters als Firmenleiter… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • JOLOWICZ, HERBERT FELIX — (1890–1954), British legal scholar. Probably Britain s foremost scholar of Roman law, Jolowicz was born in London and educated at St. Pauls School, Cambridge University, and in Germany. After service in World War I, Jolowicz became a barrister… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Felix Ketchup — Felix Austria ist ein österreichischer Nahrungsmittelhersteller. Eine Flasche Felix Hot Ketchup 1868 wurde in Znaim das Unternehmen Löw Felix gegründet und eine erste Konservenfabrik für eingelegte Gurken errichtet. Das Unternehmen florierte und… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Felix Austria (Unternehmen) — Felix Austria Rechtsform GmbH Gründung 1959 Sitz …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Felix — ist ein männlicher Vorname sowie ein häufiger Familienname. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Herkunft und Bedeutung 2 Verbreitung 3 Namenstage 4 Bekannte Namensträger …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Felix Mendelssohn — Bartholdy, Gemälde von Eduard Magnus (1846) Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (* 3. Februar 1809 in Hamburg; † 4. November 1847 in Leipzig) war ein deutscher Komponist der Romantik. Er gilt unter anderem als entscheide …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy — Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Gemälde von Eduard Magnus (1846) Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (* 3. Februar 1809 in Hamburg; † 4. November 1847 in Leipzig) war ein deutscher Komponist, Pianist und …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Herbert von Karajan — Herbert von Karajan, 1938 Herbert von Karajan (* 5. April 1908 in Salzburg; † 16. Juli 1989 in Anif, Salzburg; geboren als Heribert Ritter von Karajan, in Österreich amtlich Heribert Karajan) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Herbert Runge — Daten Geburtsname Herbert Runge Gewichtsklasse Schwergewicht Nationalität Deutsch Geburtstag …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Felix von Weingartner — Felix Weingartner Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (* 2. Juni 1863 in Zadar; † 7. Mai 1942 in Winterthur) war ein österreichischer Dirigent, neuromantischer Komponist, Pianist und Schriftsteller …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”