Passings: Bernard Thibaut

Bernard Thibaut, 70, founder of Thibaut S.A.. in Vire, France, passed away on May 3.
With family roots in the polishing-head business, Thibaut built his namesake company into a worldwide leader in stone-processing machinery. Thibaut Co. now numbers 125 people, with annual revenues of (E)20 million ($25.4 million).
Thibaut, whose father operated a polishing-head-repair firm, began his business with his wife in 1959, manufacturing the GB 10 slab-polishing machine. By 1966, the company grew to 26 employees, moved into a new 6,400 ft² shop, and sold its first international-market machine. The company also added countertop-production machinery to its line in 1983,
Thibaut “brought a lot to the stone business, while innovating permanently and writing many patents,” noted a statement from his sons Jacques and Christophe, who became, respectively, chairman and managing director of the company in 1998. Thibaut began training his sons in their teenage years on technical matters and foreign languages to prepare them to guide the company in the future.
Several buildings, shop moves and expansions ensued under Thibaut’s leadership, including a new 21,500 ft² facility in 1992 and further expansion in 2002.
“The Thibaut family has been very sensible to the sympathy shown for the death of Bernard Thibaut,” his sons noted in their statement, “and wishes to express their sincere thanks to customers, suppliers and partners for their support.”
The sons also wrote that Thibaut was “well-known for his simplicity, honesty and sense of respect.
“Many customers became his friends,” they added. “He had a genuine passion for his job: Granite was his life!”