KERNERSVILLE, NC — Grass America announced that CEO Jürgen Ahlfeld died unexpectedly of heart failure on May 3. He was 58 years old.

Ahlfeld was recently named CEO at the company and had served as vice president of operations at Grass America since October 2010. Prior to this, Ahlfeld served as technical director at Grass Austria, which he joined in 2000. As head of research and development at Grass Austria, Ahlfeld and his team developed the Nova Pro drawer system, among other well-known product lines.

In a statement, the Grass Board of Directors said, “Those of us who worked with him on a daily basis and those who knew him appreciated his human and positive nature – we are going to miss him, but his memory and dedication will remain with us. With Jürgen Ahlfeld we lose an extraordinary colleague, employee, and friend. Our thoughts are with his wife and his children. We wish them strength in this difficult time of grief.”