Page 84 - BWM March 2013

84 | Business World Magazine | March 2013
Geisen’s brilliance was bolstered by experi-
ments involving the immersion of jute cloth
into vats filled with heated bitumen. The
byproduct was a sheeting material that was
not only light-weight and flexible, but also
solid, strong, durable and capable of meeting
demand for waterproofing. He ultimately
invented what many regard as the first wa-
terproofing membrane of the modern era.
Large discoveries often demand large titles
and Geisen dubbed his product with propri-
etary and pachyderm terms as Mammouth
(French for Mammoth). He went on to es-
tablish a contracting division comprised of
highly-trained installers and business ex-
ploded.
As it was, political powder kegs would
also soon detonate. The advent of the World
War I would compel Geisen to relocate the
company to Switzerland for a duration when
it was then known as “Asphalt Emulsion Zu-
rich.” Operates would resume in Strasbourg
by 1918, but by this time Giesen and his wife
were also busy raising a son named Pierre.
Over the years that followed, Pierre went on
to earn degrees in engineering and by 1933,
he was appointed with management of the
company.