OBIT/James A. D. Geier, Former Milacron Chairman & CEO, Dies at 75.

City Desks

OBIT...

PORTLAND, Maine--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 2, 2001

James A. D. Geier, who led the redirection of Milacron's business into the field of plastics processing, died yesterday morning from complications of heart failure.

He was 75.

Mr. Geier suffered the trauma while engaging in one of his favorite pastimes, racing his sailboat. He was competing in his boat, The Mantelpiece, in the Volvo Leukemia Regatta near his summer home in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.

Mr. Geier was the son of Milacron's long-time CEO, Frederick V. Geier, and the grandson of Frederick A. Geier, one of the original founders of the machinery and industrial supplies company, which was first incorporated in 1884.

"Jim Geier was a warm and jocular friend," said Neil A. Armstrong, retired astronaut and a 20-year-long director on Milacron's board. "He had a fascination with machines, trains, boats and planes. And he worked incessantly on behalf of Milacron and the city of Cincinnati."

James A. D. Geier was born in Cincinnati on December 29, 1925. Following his graduation from Berkshire School, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. He attended Williams College before joining The Cincinnati Milling Machine Company in 1951. He was elected a vice president in 1964, and president and CEO in 1970, the year the company changed its name to Cincinnati Milacron Inc.

He became chairman in 1981 and led the enterprise until 1990, when he retired as an officer of the company. He continued to serve on the board of directors as chairman of the executive committee until 1996, at which time he was elected director emeritus. He remained supportive of the company throughout its transformation into today's Milacron Inc.

When he started at The Cincinnati Milling Machine Company, it was primarily a manufacturer of machine tools. Mr. Geier learned the business from the ground up by beginning as an entry-level machinist in the company's internationally recognized four-year apprentice program. Later, he was to draw on this in-depth experience as he guided the company through a period of major changes in technology and international competition, which greatly affected the machine tool industry and all manufacturing.

Throughout his 40-year career, Mr. Geier was a tireless advocate of research and the development of new products. Many of these involved new technologies and were departures from traditional metalworking. He is credited with Milacron's bold entry in 1968 into plastics-processing machinery, currently the company's largest business.

Following the legacy of civic commitment of his grandfather and father, Mr. Geier's community activities were extensive. He served as president of the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History for 16 years and played a major role in the relocation of the museum to its present site at Union Terminal. His philanthropic work also included continuation of his family's long-standing support of the United Way and Community Chest of Greater Cincinnati and the Children's Home of Cincinnati. He served on the Hamilton County Park District, the Cincinnati Zoo Advisory Council, the Cincinnati Arts Festival Executive Committee and Board, and was a director of the Cincinnati Chapter of the American Red Cross for 16 years.

An energetic booster of the city, Mr. Geier was an officer of the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce and a founding member of the Cincinnati Business Committee. He was a member of the Commercial Club, of the Cincinnati Council on World Affairs, and of the Kenton Country Airport Board for the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International airport.

His national associations and memberships included AMT - the Association for Manufacturing Technology, the Conference Board, the American Management Association, the President's Export Council, Manufacturers' Alliance for Productivity and Innovation, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Defense Department Advisory Committee on Trade, the Commerce Department Business Advisory Group and the Commerce Department International Policy Advisory Committee.

Mr. Geier had been a director on the board of many public companies including the Central Trust Company, Central Bancorporation, Clark Equipment Company, Marathon Oil Company, USX Corporation, BDM International and the Cincinnati Gear Company. He also served on the boards of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Berkshire School, University of Cincinnati Foundation and Owls Head Transportation Museum.

Mr. Geier was honored with doctorates from the University of Cincinnati, Wilmington College and Cincinnati State Technical and Community College. In addition, he received the Silver Order, awarded by the City of Vienna, Austria, the Distinguished Alumnus award from Berkshire School, Sheffield, MA, and a Great Living Cincinnatian award from the Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce.

He is survived by his wife, Christine Paske Geier; three children from a previous marriage, Deborah Anne Oney (Steven) of West Barnstable, MA, James Develin Geier of Miami Beach, FL, and Aylward Whittier Geier (Gloria) of Cincinnati; four grandchildren; two sisters, Mary Alice Turner of Cincinnati and Amey Acheson Garber of Melbourne Beach, FL; and a brother, Frederick V. Geier, Jr., of Santa Ana, CA.

Funeral services will be private. A memorial service is being planned for early next week in Cincinnati. Memorial contributions may be sent to the Geier Collections and Research Center at the Cincinnati Museum Center, 1301 Western Ave., Cincinnati, OH, 45203.

Photo of James A. D. Geier available electronically at: ftp://ftp.milacron.com/photo/

Milacron Inc. (NYSE: MZ) is a world leader in plastics processing and metalworking technologies with major manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia and 10,000 employees worldwide. For further information, visit the company's web site, www.milacron.com.