Former INRO manager Hofmeister dies at 85

ERJ staff report (TB)

Middletown, New Jersey -- Aldo H. Hofmeister, 85, former buffer stock manager of the now-defunct International Natural Rubber Organisation, died Aug. 2 in Middletown.

A 28-year veteran of the former Uniroyal Inc., Hofmeister became INRO buffer stock manager in the early 1980s, shortly after the 1980 ratification of the first International Natural Rubber Agreement. Based in Kuala Lumpur, he was responsible for buying and selling natural rubber stockpiles after certain trigger prices were reached, to keep an equilibrium on NR prices worldwide.

Hofmeister continued in the job until 1994, when he was succeeded by James Hegarty of Bridgestone/Firestone. INRO was disbanded in 1999 after NR-producing nations became dissatisfied with the organisation's ability to support prices.

Hofmeister moved to Savannah, Georgia, in 1996 and lived there until 2008, when he relocated to New Jersey to be near his children. He is survived by his son, Ronald Hofmeister; his daughter, Marjorie Bertrand; and two grandsons. His wife, Kathleen Cassidy Hofmeister, died in 2005.

From Rubber & Plastics News (A Crain publication)