Meet the Members

Erwin Nunlist

Erwin Nunlist was born and raised in Switzerland. He graduated with a Mechanical Engineering Degree and then got a job with Brown Boveri Company in the Development Department for gas turbines. This employment, interrupted by service in the Swiss Army Boot Camp, was followed by compulsory, but intermittent, active service in an Alpine Division. Switzerland was determined to defend its independence and the threat of involvement in World War II was serious.

A few years after the war Nunlist took a job with the Bally Shoe Company, which sent him to the United States to study their methods of shoe manufacturing. Two years later he took a job in Hoboken, New Jersey, with Schock Gusmer Company as a Development Engineer for Brewhouse Equipment. The drastic improvements and up-scaling of the Brewhouse Equipment made by Schock Gusmer came to the attention of the Pfaudler Company, which manufactured Brewery Storage Equipment in Rochester, New York, The two product lines were not competitive but complementary, hence a good match for vertical integration by Pfaudler. When they purchased the Hoboken business, it was welcomed by Nunlist because Pfaudler had a much broader product line such as glass lined equipment for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, food processing machinery, and filling machines.

Gradually he became involved in all of these product lines, always in the field of development. Trouble shooting took him to many breweries and chemical plants in the United States, Europe, and South America. The search for newer and better equipment resulted in twenty-five US Patents and many foreign counterparts. In 1983 he was honored by the Rochester Intellectual Property Law Association as the ‘Inventor of the Year’.

At the urging of his boss he took the State Exam to become a Professional Engineer of New York State. He also joined the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and is still a member after forty-two years. In addition, he was urged to join the Lilac City Toastmasters where his boss and one of the sales representatives were members. This was a very fortunate move because he was hesitant to speak up, being by nature rather introverted. Besides these natural tendencies, his knowledge of the English Language was deficient. As a matter of fact, he thought he could shake some of his accent. This, however, did not work out, as his evaluators thought it was kind of cute.

Due to his acquired speaking skills, he was often called upon to participate in company sponsored seminars and presentations to management. In the forty two years he has been in Lilac City Toastmasters he has held all positions and some of them more than twice. He has also won Area Speech Competitions. Erwin has said, “I must be very thankful for all the benefits of Toastmasters. My life would have been much less splendid without it.”

Erwin has a son, two daughters, eight grandchildren, and is a widower. Since retirement from his engineering job he keeps himself busy on his hundred and seventy acre farm in the Bristol Hills where he is growing wine grapes commercially and produces hay for sale. Erwin has graciously hosted many Lilac City Toastmasters Club picnics at his home and remains a loyal, active member. We at Lilac City Toastmasters are proud and honored to have him as a member of our club.