Dear colleagues, members & friends,

we have received the sad news that our former chairman of the board and honorary member Uwe Fresenborg passed away unexpectedly and suddenly Wednesday night at the age of 56.

He got to know and appreciate Additive Manufacturing at Airbus and then paved the way for this exciting technology within the DB Group. As a convinced networker, Uwe Fresenborg was the visionary initiator of Mobility goes Additive, as he recognized very early on that the potential of 3D printing can only be exploited in cross-industry collaboration.

He was very proud of the fact that since 2016 this idea has found over 130 comrades-in-arms and he expressed this appreciation with great persuasiveness at our Annual Meetings when he walked through the rows and spoke about the joint projects and successes of the network. The involvement of suppliers and close cooperation between the European railroads was also a matter close to his heart.

Anyone who knew him personally will be able to confirm that the man from Cloppenburg in northern Germany had a very strong personality. A full-blooded producer whose passion was the operational business. A man with an impressive stature and a powerful voice, who liked to address people personally and was a real “Spotlight Tiger”. A “doer” and a friend of clear, direct words – yet with a soft core.

Before joining Deutsche Bahn Fahrzeuginstandhaltung, the trained engineer worked for Airbus for many years. After that – in November 2019 – Mr. Fresenborg took over the CEO position of the company Deharde GmbH until last. At that time, he also relinquished the chairmanship of the network’s management board. To honor his achievements, he was awarded honorary membership in “his” network.

Uwe Fresenborg was particularly proud of his two sons and four grandchildren. We extend our special sympathy to his family and relatives in these difficult times.

Uwe Fresenborg will always remain in our best memories!