Henry M. Rowan Presented with The Union League's 'Founders Award For Business Leadership'
November 17, 2008 - One of our industry leaders was honored at the Union League in Philadelphia this week, when Henry M. Rowan, founder and Chairman of Inductotherm Group, received The Founders Award For Business Leadership. This award recognizes an outstanding business leader who has gained both national and international prominence in his business career and who has demonstrated a broad and consistent commitment personally and professionally to education, human health and social services.
Mr. Rowan and his wife, Betty (deceased 1997), started their company in 1953 when they built Inductotherm's first furnace in their backyard. From these modest beginnings, Inductotherm, and now Rowan Technologies, has become a global industrial organization of more than 60 companies, with over 4,000 employees, facilities in more than 15 nations and customers all over the world.
As a business leader, Mr. Rowan also contributed in other ways, particularly in the area of education, when he made a significant donation to a New Jersey state college known today as Rowan University for the establishment of an engineering school, which, at the time, was the largest gift ever given to a public college or university.
"Mr. Rowan's commitment to the community and to the highest standards of business ethics sets him apart in these troubled times. We at the Union League are privileged to honor Henry M. Rowan for his outstanding accomplishments," said Frederick C. Haab, President of the Union League of Philadelphia.
Mr. Rowan, a Professional Engineer, has been the recipient of numerous awards including the George Washington Medal Award from the Engineers Club of Philadelphia, Outstanding Engineer of the Year and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Professional Engineering Society of Southern New Jersey, Inc., and in 1998 was inducted into the prestigious National Academy of Engineering.
