Renato Meiohas, who was involved in sales and marketing for Italian fabrication machinery in the United States and Canada for the past two decades, died July 30 at the age of 55 from Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease, a rare brain disease, at a hospital in Turin, Italy.

Director of sales for AGM, he had recently moved to Tenafly, N. J. to open a new office for the company.

He had joined AGM in Toronto in 1987, after a stint as North American sales manager for Bottero SpA. He became the driving force behind AGM's expansion by opening an office in Charlotte, N.C. He was also instrumental in establishing the present AGM subsidiary structure with five locations throughout the U.S. and Canada, and had been active in the stone industry as well as the flat glass industry.

"Renato was well known to customers, suppliers and competitors. He has touched hundreds of people with his humor and stories of adventures. Renato was always brimming with new ideas, and was constantly looking for the next new challenge. He was energetic and passionate and lived life to the fullest without any regrets," stated Bernard Micalizzi, one of the owners of AGM.

He is survived by his wife Yoko Kurobe Meiohas, his daughter Chiara, son Davide, mother Renata Meiohas, brothers Daniele and Moreno and sisters Manuela and Jardena. He was born in Turin on August 20, 1949 and his interests included traveling, skiing, running, parachuting, rally car racing and motor cycling.

The funeral was held August 4 in Turin.