Peter Adrian likes to see the whole picture. Not only when the longtime private pilot takes off with his machine. “Flying is a challenge that requires full concentration. You can always develop there, too,” said the 66-year-old, a lover of historic aircraft and thoroughbred entrepreneur, once in an interview with the German Press Agency. One thing is just as important when it comes to work and flying: “Keep a cool head!”
Even as an entrepreneur, the native of Cologne, who grew up in Trier, likes the vision. His Trier real estate company Triwo AG is now present at around 30 locations nationwide: With large industrial and commercial parks that Triwo is developing and renting out to companies. The group with more than 200 employees includes four airfields in Egelsbach (Hessen), in Oberpfaffenhofen (Bavaria), Zweibrücken (Palatinate) and Mendig (Mayen-Koblenz district) as well as manufacturer-independent car test centers.
Purchase of the Hunsrück Airport Hahn
Now Adrians Triwo AG buys the Hunsrück Airport Hahn. According to insolvency administrator Jan Markus Plathner, all around 400 employees at the only major commercial airport in Rhineland-Palatinate will be taken over. Flight operations should continue.
Adrian has long been involved in volunteer work beyond his own company. Since 2006 he has been President of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) Trier, which is one of the smaller chambers with around 29,000 companies. And he has been doing this nationwide since March 2021 – as President of the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DIHK). There he heads 79 chambers of industry and commerce and represents more than three million companies.
The experience as a pilot also helps him in his job: The worst thing you can do as a pilot is either not to react at all or to succumb to hysteria. “And that actually also applies to us entrepreneurs. We too are confronted with unexpected situations that we simply have to work through,” he said. Adrian has had a German and an American pilot license since he was 29 years old.
First company founded at the age of 23
After an apprenticeship at a bank, the entrepreneur studied economics at the University of Trier. While still a student, at the age of 23, he founded his first company. In 1989, Triwo was founded, which, according to the DIHK, now includes 36 subsidiaries in the areas of industrial and commercial parks, vehicle test centers and special airports.
For Adrian it is clear: “Employees are the most important asset in the company. You can only keep that up if you have a good atmosphere, if you manage to get along well together. And that only works on an equal footing,” he said in spring 2021.