MEDWAY, MA -- Gunter Erdmann, the former president of MPM, has died. He was 73.

Erdmann spent about 40 years in research and development in the electronics manufacturing industry. He held 13 patents for surface mount technology, including ones covering a reciprocating squeegee used for wiping paste into apertures on printed circuit boards, cleaning solder paste, and stencil frames, among others.

Erdmann was born in Hamburg, Germany, on Jan. 6, 1939. He came to the US in 1960, taking up resident in Massachusetts. After leaving MPM following its transition to Speedline, he founded QTS Engineering in 1995, and later worked as a mechanical designer for Milara.

He is survived by his son, Thomas, and wife, Gina, and four grandchildren.