A memorial service for Ralf Bronnemeier, Grob Systems CEO, who died in a plane accident on July 27, will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, July 31, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Bluffton. Rev. David Ross will officiate.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Bluffton Food Pantry, P.O. Box 52, Bluffton, Ohio. 

Bronnenmeier, 47, of Findlay, was born on April 7, 1967, in Mindelheim, Germany. He was the son of Arnulf and Cilli Bronnenmeier.

He received a Bachelor of Engineering (BE), Mechanical Engineering from University of Augsburg and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA), Business Administration and Management, General, from University of Munich.

He started working at Grob Werke GmbH & Co KG in Mindelheim, Bavaria, Germany in March 1994.

Working in Germany March 1994 to December 2003, he served Grob in several capacities, including Mechanical Engineering, Assistant to the CEO, Controlling, Financial and Production Planning.

In 2003 he moved to the United States and became the CEO of Grob Systems, Inc. in Bluffton.

He was a member of Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s Executive Workforce Board.

According to his associates at Grob, he had a passion for engineering. His hobbies included working on his motorcycle, car and airplane. He was always an enthusiast for Porsche cars. He was a great friend and was loved by everyone who knew him. He will be greatly missed.

During his tenure as CEO Grob experienced tremendous growth.

According to the Grob website:

“Last year’s intensive campaign designed to promote Grob’s universal machines was a major success. It opened many new doors for Grob Bluffton, not just to the automotive industry, but also to the aviation and aerospace industry.

This development was aided and abetted by an enormous investment program at GROB’s Bluffton works, but also by the stabilization of the U.S. economy. 



“Last year Grob Bluffton embarked on a series of significant marketing initiatives, the objective being, not just to enhance the Grob brand’s profile in the universal machine business, but also to open up new market segments. 

“In 2013 GROB’s sales and marketing team had a presence at all the American trade fairs that mattered. And that meant attendance in Toronto, Alberta and Montreal in Canada. And also in California, Connecticut, North Carolina and at various in-house exhibitions organized by other businesses.

“Everywhere they went they did a great job demonstrating the benefits of the GROB universal machines and the merits of the new milling/turning technology. And this year GROB Bluffton will be pursuing a similar trade fair strategy, with special attention to the year’s top trade fair in September, the International Manufacturing Tool Show (IMTS) in Chicago. 



But it was not just at trade fairs that GROB Bluffton sought close contact with its customers in the universal machine business. The G350 and G550 universal machines were showcased to a wide range of interested parties in GROB’s Bluffton plant, in the form of demonstrations on test parts.

Visitors to the GROB plant in Bluffton were impressed by its cleanliness, the outstanding process flows, the friendly manner of the workforce, the professional work procedures in the construction of universal machines, but also particularly by the technical expertise. 

What also impressed the visitors was the precision and quality of the parts created by GROB universal machines and just how highly GROB values service and customer care, even after delivery of the machines.