Kimball International Mourns The Loss Of Two Founders

Furniture World Magazine

Kimball International-the billion-dollar parent company of residential furniture manufacturer Kimball Home-lost two of its "founding fathers" earlier this year. Arnold F. Habig, founder of Kimball International, Inc., died on March 29, 1999. He was preceded in death by co-founder H.E. "Herb" Thyen, who passed away a month earlier on February 28, 1999. In 1950, Mr. Habig led a small group of investors in founding a small contract-manufacturing firm called The Jasper Corporation, renamed Kimball International in 1974. Under his leadership the company grew into a major manufacturer of office, hospitality and healthcare furnishings as well as such diverse products as electronics assemblies and cutting tools. Mr. Habig retired from Kimball International's Board of Directors in 1990. At the time of his death, he was Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer of Kimball International, Inc. and Chairman of the Board for Springs Valley Bank & Trust in French Lick and Jasper, IN. One of his proudest achievements was being the first employer in Dubois County to offer a profit sharing retirement plan. He was once quoted as saying: "Because I am a working man myself, I have tried all my life to do something for the working man, such as profit sharing, vacations, insurance, and so forth .... We have done a lot for our employee, and our employee has done a lot for us." Mr. Habig was 91 when he died. H.E. "Herb" Thyen was one of the four original "co-founders" of Kimball International. He held several key positions with the company, and until his 1990 retirement from the Board of Directors, served as Kimball's Corporate Secretary. At the time of his death he was serving as Assistant to the President. One of his major accomplishments was heading up Kimball's diversification in plywood in 1956, an operation hailed as the centerpiece of the company's vertical integration. Regarding Kimball's success, he was once quoted as saying: "While we never really thought Kimball would grow this large, we are not all that shocked, either. And if everyone continues working as a team-always giving an honest day's work-I think the company can continue growing forever and [still] be a fine place to work .... Mr. Thyen was 86 at the time of his death. "We were all honored to have known these two gentlemen," says Robert Cribbs, sales and marketing director for Kimball Home. "Not only were they fine businessmen, they both cared deeply about their company and community. And though they weren't directly involved in our division, we owe its very existence to their vision, wisdom and spirit. They will be missed."