Gender Male
Following the 1950s Negev salt crisis, Kibbutz Hatzerim realized it could not survive on agriculture alone. In the early 1960s, the Hatzerim assembly enlisted Uri, the kibbutz's treasurer, to find and establish an industrial plant that would strengthen its economic status. After conducting a thorough search process, Uri recommended that
Hatzerim set up a drip irrigation company. Winning overwhelming approval among Hatzerim's membership, Netafim was officially established on August 12, 1965, and its inaugural factory was opened on January 1, 1966.
Uri served as the company's first CEO until 1967, at which time he temporarily moved to the US for personal reasons. Upon his return to Israel in 1972, Uri served as Secretary-General of the Kibbutz Movement. Throughout most of the 1980s, Uri was Export Manager for Netafim Hatzerim's manufacturing plant, and then served as Far East Export Manager for Netafim Magal from 1992-1995. Uri continued to work on Netafim Hatzerim's assembly floor on a part-time basis until retiring in 2011 at the age of 80. Marking Israel's 60th anniversary, Uri was one of 12 leading industrialists to receive a prestigious government award in 2008.
