He founded the “Lindauer DORNIER GmbH†(LiDO) in 1950 and led the company successfully for several decades. He was not only at home in the world of textile machines but also in the world of aircraft construction – as exceptional design engineer and entrepreneur who was far ahead of his times: Peter Dornier. The second eldest son of aeronautical pioneer Claude Dornier would have been 100 on 31 January.
Ideas, designs, trials: Peter Dornier was born into this world of aircraft construction in Friedrichshafen, Germany on 31 January 1917. Already as a young person, he started creating design drawings which he then kept together with his notes in his sketchbooks.
He completed his studies at the Munich Technical University, Germany, in 1944 as graduate engineer. Already during his training his father assigned him tasks at the Dornier Factory in Friedrichshafen-Manzell. It quickly became apparent that his unconventional ideas gave important impulses to aircraft construction.
From the very beginning of his entrepreneurial career, Peter Dornier trusted the abilities of his employees and promoted their talents – irrespective of their cultural background. As a prime example, two decisive weaving machine developments, the concept of the DORNIER rapier and air-jet weaving machines, were based on the ideas of a Greek, Nikolaus Kokkinis, and a Syrian, Dr. Adnan Wahhoud.
Peter Dornier would have been 100 years old on 31 January 2017.