HOPKINS, MN — Josef Pausch, president and chairman of the board of General Resource Corp. here, passed away on March 7. He was a pioneer in the development of modern pneumatic conveying and bulk material handling, and was awarded more than 50 U.S. and foreign patents.

Mr. Pausch was born in Vienna, Austria. As a teenager during World War II, he ran the family-owned flour mill. After the war, he designed for first pneumatic flour mill in Austria.

In 1952, he visited the United States under the auspices of the Marshall Plan with 27 other technicians, to study airborne dust problems related to flour milling and food processing. Recognizing the huge potential for pollution control, he emigrated to the U.S. in 1953. In 1962, he established the first of many companies serving the pneumatic conveying, airborne pollution control, industrial ventilation, and food processing industries.

Publication date: 04/22/2002