Driven to Succeed: How Frank Hasenfratz Grew Linamar from Guelph to Global

by Rod McQueen and Susan M. Papp

The story of what one daring entrepreneur with dreams and determination can achieve. Frank Hasenfratz grew up in Hungary learning to dodge bullets and avoid land mines during the Second World War. When the 1956 revolution erupted, he and his army unit joined the insurgents. After the revolution was crushed, he fled to Guelph, Ontario, where he gambled everything on a one-man operation making oil pumps for Ford. The company he founded, Linamar, today has 15,000 employees in eight countries and is the second-largest maker of auto parts in Canada. To create this global empire, Hasenfratz stayed ahead of competitors through hard work, visionary leadership, a cost-conscious regimen, and a skilled workforce.In 1990, Hasenfratz designated his daughter, Linda, to succeed him as chief executive officer but first put her through a prolonged apprenticeship that took her from the plant floor to head office. Driven to Succeed is the story of what one daring entrepreneur with dreams and determination can achieve.

Genres: Biography, Business

466 pages, Paperback

First published October 13, 2012

Reviews

[Chuck Howitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an exceptional book in many respects. The early chapters are the most interesting, telling the harrowing story of how Frank Hasenfratz and his family were forced from their middle-class home in Hungary by the Russians at the end of World War Two and had to rebuild in a rundown shack in the mountains. Equally fascinating is how Hasenfratz had to flee his native country in 1956 as the Soviets crushed the Hungarian uprising. Co-authors McQueen and Papp tell this story convincingly with vivid detail. The narrative of how Hasenfratz built Linamar into a global corporation is also compelling, but the book suffers in later chapters from a lack of objectivity. It appears that Hasenfratz was allowed to edit and approve the manuscript before it was published. No entrepreneur is that perfect. Still, an interesting read for anyone who is interested in the Linamar story.