Obituary in Memory of Michael-Uwe Dreyling
written by Walter Thieme, Founder of WTH GmbH
The sudden death of Michael-Uwe Dreyling in November 2025 has deeply affected me. With him, I have lost not only a long-standing employee of WTH GmbH, but above all a personal friend – someone who accompanied me and the development of our company critically, loyally and with great dedication for more than two decades.
Over the years, an initial acquaintance developed into a genuine and sustainable friendship. In our professional cooperation, I found in Michael-Uwe an insightful, intelligent and empathetic advisor. His journalistic acumen, his direct yet always respectful manner, his courage to speak clearly and his sharp focus on what truly matters shaped our work together. He had the rare talent of condensing complex topics into concise and accessible texts. “Short and crisp, yet complete” – that was his guiding principle.
His thinking and actions were grounded in a socially liberal attitude, without ever losing sight of economic realities. The responsibility that family-owned companies have towards their employees was especially important to him – particularly in times of major economic and geopolitical change.
Together, we developed professional communications for our company – long before we started calling it “PR”. Our path led from the launch of a digital online magazine in 2004, later known as the WTH Blog, to numerous technical and organizational contributions about WTH GmbH, its people and its products.
Unforgotten is also our joint project “Stade Umzu” – the photo calendar that initially featured photographs from his press work, and which I have continued to design with my own photos since 2008. It remains highly appreciated by our customers and partners.
In 2016, he finally became a permanent part of the WTH family and enriched our internal and external communications with pointed texts, thorough research and his passion for making the history and identity of WTH visible. His multi-part company chronicle for our 25th anniversary in 2017 and our corporate image brochure clearly carry his signature.
His death leaves a painful void. We have lost a creative mind, a keen intellect and a strong personality. Our staff mourn a valued colleague whose openness and reliability enriched everyday working life.
I am grateful for the long journey we shared, for the many conversations, the continuous pursuit of good solutions – and for being able to call Michael-Uwe a friend. He leaves traces that will remain.
My heartfelt sympathy goes to his family, his friends, and all who were close to him.
Walter Thieme
Founder and Shareholder of WTH GmbH, Stade
