March 5, 2019
Once an Engineer, Always an Engineer
Thermo King retiree continues to make this world a better place
Bill Waldschmidt may have retired from Thermo King's Engineering Department in 2015, but he's not been idle. If fact, he's been quite mobile in keeping others mobile.
Those who knew Bill at Thermo King during his 46 years in Minneapolis remember his warm smile, his innovative thinking, his love for repairing and restoring classic cars, and his industry-changing contributions to various Thermo King product lines – he holds 17 patents. They also remember his positive attitude – about everything, especially the physical challenges he endured due to contracting polio as a youth.
Those challenges grew 10 years ago when symptoms returned in the form of post-polio syndrome, confining Bill to a wheelchair for his final years at Thermo King. We were excited to see what Bill has been up to since he last wheeled out of the building. Featured in a local broadcast news story in Minneapolis, Bill is not only being recognized for his innovative spirit, but also his big heart as he now repairs and restores power wheelchairs for those who need it most.
