Henry William Kuechenmeister is a prominent figure in the industrial and commercial circles of St. Louis as the secretary and treasurer of the St. Louis Paper Can & Tube Company. He also has other important interests and is recognized as a dynamic force in business affairs-one who inspires others with his contagious enthusiasm and who never stops short of the successful accomplishment of his purpose. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, January 22, 1877, and is a son of John Kuechenmeister, whose birth occurred in Mecklenburg, Germany, but who came to America in 1868, settling in Chicago, where he engaged in business as a brick contractor. He continued his residence in that city for more than a half century, passing away in March, 1919. His wife, who bore the maiden name of Bertha Schwartz, was also a native of Germany and their marriage was celebrated in Chicago in 1872. They became the parents of four sons and two daughters, all but one of whom are living.
Henry William Kuechenmeister pursued his education in the public schools of Chicago and started out on his business career in that city but soon afterward came to St. Louis, where in connection with his brother he has been active in the development and conduct of the business carried on under the name of the St. Louis Paper Can & Tube Company. His brother, John Henry Kuechenmeister, is the president of the company while Henry William Kuechenmeister is the secretary and treasurer. They have developed an enterprise of extensive proportions notwithstanding the fact that they started out with limited capital and small equipment. Today their plant covers several acres, is furnished with the latest improved machinery to facilitate work of this character and employment is given to several hundred people. Their product is sold not only throughout the length and breadth of this country but in various foreign countries as well. The business has steadily grown and developed along most substantial lines and notable success has been won by the corporation. Mr. Kuechenmeister of this review is also the secretary and treasurer of the Martha Investment Company which handles the real estate for the can company and he is a director of the Mound City Trust Company and of the Natural Bridge Bank. He and his brother, John Henry Kuechenmeister, are most closely associated in all that they undertake, the labors of the one supplementing and rounding out the efforts of the other, making theirs a most strong business combination.
In politics Mr. Kuechenmeister has always maintained an independent course, voting for men and measures rather than party. He belongs to the Missouri Athletic Association and the St. Louis Auto Club. He is likewise identified with the St. Louis Drug & Chemical Club, with the Employers Association and with the Chamber of Commerce and is interested in all those forces which make for the improvement and development of the city and the extension of its business relations. His religious faith is that of the Evangelical Lutheran church and his life has ever been characterized by high and honorable principles that are manifest in all of his varied relations.