KENOSHA, Wis.—Long-time engineer, inventor, businessman, silicone industry innovator and philanthropist Charles Herbert Heide died May 30 at the age of 99.
Heide, who enjoyed a lifelong love of aviation, was an owner of Vesta Inc. in Wisconsin from 1982 until 2007.
As the son of a Nash Motors engineer and executive, technology was in Heide's heart and defined his career, according to his family. Born in 1922, family believes he was named after his father's boss, Charles Nash of Nash Motors. His middle name was in honor of President Herbert Hoover, whom his father admired for the work he led after World War I as then head of the American Relief Administration.
Known to his friends and family as Chuck, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 after the attack on Pearl Harbor. When the war ended, Heide was assigned to completely dismantle B-24 Liberator aircraft.
This experience along with one other event created a lifelong love of aviation. When Chuck was 4-and-a-half years old, Charles Lindbergh flew nonstop in 33 hours from New York to Paris. This feat had a profound impact on him, helping to shape his life.
Heide's first professional job was at Webster Electric in Racine, Wis., a manufacturer of specialty audio and hydraulic products. When the Korean War started, Heide moved to El Segundo, Calif., to join Douglas Aircraft as a test engineer in the manufacturing of landing gear for carrier-based aircraft.
Missing the friendliness and camaraderie of the automobile industry, Heide returned to Wisconsin to work in Nash Motor's experimental engineering department. After four years, he was recruited back to Webster Electric to develop and produce audio tape recorder and intercom systems that could provide communication channels between a naval base and submerged atomic-powered submarines thousands of miles from base. The communication system was used on the USS Nautilus in 1958, during a submerged transit of the North Pole.
In 1982, he and business partner Bill Anderson purchased Vesta. He used his engineering and analytical skills to advance the company and developed patented silicone applications, working in the evenings on his lathe and milling machines in the family home workshop, according to his family.
Known as a solutions-based engineer, Heide developed new punching techniques and experimented with different ways to cut silicone. These were incorporated into the development of eye sleeves for cataract surgery, where single-use disposable products were in big demand. He said this product was not just the bread and butter of Vesta, but the "bread, butter and shoes" of the company's growth for years to come.
Heide's purchase of Vesta was in some small way the realization of a mutual desire with his father to run a small business, the family said. He drew on the skills, aptitudes and values he learned from his father, and created a vision and strategic road map for growth.
With a legacy of innovation and years of persistence, Heide created small molding machines and a system to run high-precision tubing, incorporating new materials and rubber curing systems.
He developed specialty punching and online extrusion cutting equipment, meter mix delivery systems and silicone injection heads. Vesta steadily became a premium supplier of custom-made silicone medical products for medical device companies. It grew to employ 287 people, and was known as a low-cost, high-quality manufacturer.
Heide's son, Charles, was named national market development manager and played a large role in expanding sales throughout the U.S.
"My father was a relentless innovator, never reluctant to try new approaches to improve products and solve customer challenges," the younger Charles Heide said. "He also insisted on building personal relationships with clients. This combination of technical innovation and attentive relationships created fiercely loyal employees, customers, vendors and many lifelong friendships."
Heide sold the company after 25 years to Roundtable Healthcare Partners in 2007. The company was acquired by Lubrizol Corp. in 2014.
The family said Heide used a portion of the proceeds from the sale of Vesta to establish the Brookwood Foundation, which contributed to community programs, solar projects, student scholarships and church outreach.
Heide maintained a passion for flying. He bought his first plane in 1953, owning several planes during his lifetime. Like his father, Heide also loved automobiles, owning numerous vintage cars.
Chuck and Kathryn Heide were married for 63 years before her death in 2019. He is survived by daughters Kathryn (Tim) Thompson, Krista (Lloyd) Reck, and Paula (Louis) Heide-Poggenburg; and son Charles (Ann) Heide, all living in the Racine/Kenosha area. He also is survived by nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.