The Lift-it family mourns the loss of our brother, Wolfgang W. Kiel.
Wolfgang was born May 5, 1949 in Samoa and married the love of his life, Sao Keil on 10-26-1973. Their love produced three sons, Albert, Wolfgang and Shane.
Mr. Keil was one of the four original employees of Lift-It Manufacturing, with a 42 year career in the rigging industry. Michael J. Gelskey, Sr, CEO and Founder, Lift-It Manufacturing Co., Inc., remarked, “Wolfgang sewed hundreds of millions of stiches, each with diligence and dedication. Every sling he made was a work of art and he was an integral part in establishing the quality, service and ultimately the success of not only Lift-it, but successful load handling activities throughout the world. Wolfgang never worked for me, I was honored to have worked with him for over forty-two years.”
Michael J. Gelskey, Jr., Vice-president and General Manager, Lift-it Mfg. Company, Inc., stated” Wolfgang was without a doubt the world’s premier fabricator of synthetic slings. The slings he fabricated were be responsible for the handling of several billions of tons of materials, without incidence”.
The Lift-it Learning Center is undergoing modernization to include two load simulators and will be dedicated on October 2, 2017 as the Wolfgang W. Kiel Learning Center. Students from around the world will learn and benefit from Mr. Kiel’s legacy and his dedication to excellence that did not allow compromise.
Wolfgang was predeceased by his youngest son, Shane and is survived by Sao, his wife of 44 years and sons, Wolfgang, Albert and Steven.
