In Memoriam! Peter Örtendahl
May 27th, 2019Last week we were informed that Peter Örtendahl has passed away peacefully in his sleep November 29th, 2018. When I think of Peter, I first of all remember a true gentleman. A gentleman with a naughty & funny side. Honest, modest, open and really a fun guy to be with. A man with a vision, someone with an eye for opportunities.
Peter was the founder of Geotech AB in Sweden, which he started in the early 1970-ies. I met Peter when he owned a Dutch company, that I used to work for. A couple of months after I had left that company Peter gave me a call. He was planning to come to Holland and he invited me for lunch. That did not really turn out that way; in the end we spent the whole week together and had great fun.
As I was starting Gouda-Geo at the time he generously granted me a considerable stock of parts, that I only had to pay the moment it was sold and he entrusted me the design and manufacturing of the very first 100 kN CPT crawler. With these 2 gestures Peter gave Gouda-Geo a kick-start enabling us to conquer our position in the CPT market.
Peter loved his work and kept on working till the very last day in his company. His son Mats and daughter Tina have taken over the company quite some years ago now. I have the impression that he was really proud of the fact that the company staid in the family.
Tack så mycket, Peter. Jag kommer aldrig att glömma vad du gjorde för mig och vad du har menat för Gouda-Geo. Du kommer att leva i våra tankar och minnen.