I S S U E 2 9 S E P, 2 0 2 5
November Issue # 30
The Youngest CMM in Europe
During visits to the facilities over two days—across Staad, Zurich, and Schnaitach—the philosophy becomes visible. Bauer knows names. He asks about specific projects, about families, about challenges. It's not performance. It's decades of practice.
At AeroVisto, the structure is called "Fördern und Fordern"—support and demand. Every employee receives mandatory aviation training, plus at least one additional development opportunity each year. When positions open, internal candidates get first consideration.
"When we hire someone, we don't just ask what they can do now," Bauer explains. "We ask: what could they do in the future?"
The best proof walks past: Amina. She started as a commercial apprentice at 15. Today, at 21, she's a Compliance Monitoring Manager—"the youngest certified CMM in Switzerland, possibly in Europe," Bauer says. "Amina gives our younger employees someone to look up to. Someone who came up through the system and achieved something really great."
In Staad, the specialized team working on film application techniques for VIP aircraft monuments represents another kind of growth—technical mastery built through years of focused development. "We have the best team in the world for this work," Bauer states simply. Not in boast, but in fact. The methods they pioneered are now used industry-wide.
It's what happens when you develop people, give them tools, and let them solve problems others haven't yet.
"My plan always: build a good company," Bauer says simply. "So that later, when succession comes, when new people take over, they can say: yes, this was built well."
That moment has arrived.
What Is a Life's Work, Really?
"I'd call AeroVisto a piece of my life's work," Bauer says, then pauses. "It happened in the last eleven years, at a certain age. What we achieved was connected to personal effort, personal courage, and extreme passion. That's why I'd call it a life's work."
Another pause. "But maybe the term isn't quite right. What is a life's work, really? I'm not sure."
What IS certain is that these years have reflected something consistent across four decades.
"What always defined my work was courage and passion—trying things, but with a plan behind it," he explains. "What I always enjoyed was building things. I'd be a bad administrator. I can't do that. But I can keep inventing things, bringing in new approaches. The joy of doing things differently than others—that's what drove me."
The goal was clear from the start.
"My plan always: build a good company," Bauer says simply. "So that later, when succession comes, when new people take over, they can say: yes, this was built well."
That moment has arrived.
"Time," he says. "That's what I'm looking forward to. Time with my family. Time to read a newspaper properly. Reading a book from start to finish."
The Next Chapter
At 56, Bauer began thinking about succession. He'd seen too many companies liquidated—not because they failed, but because succession wasn't planned. He wasn't going to let that happen to AeroVisto or to the eighty people who depended on it.
But he wasn't looking for just any buyer. He wanted a strategic partner who shared AeroVisto's values: long-term thinking, a focus on people, a commitment to quality.
He found that partner in Aero-Dienst, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ADAC SE. "It's the ideal match," Bauer says. "ADAC thinks in decades, not quarters. They care about employees the way we do. And for Aero-Dienst, acquiring AeroVisto expands their capabilities while keeping the culture intact."
The agreement was signed in October 2025. The transfer takes place in January 2026. Bauer will remain Managing Director through the transition, ensuring continuity. "My goal is simple," he says. "That ADAC and Aero-Dienst never regret buying AeroVisto."
Responsibility carried to the end.
And after that?
"Time," he says. "That's what I'm looking forward to. Time with my family. Time to read a newspaper properly. Reading a book from start to finish."
He'll keep exercising—that's been his recharge for years. But he's also planning volunteer work. Giving back, uncompensated, for what coincidence and hard work have given him.
Late on the second day, somewhere between facilities, a final thought surfaces.
"Time is probably the most valuable thing," Bauer reflects. "You can't buy it."
Were they coincidences? The leaflet in the mailbox. The phone calls from SWISS Airlines. The timing of a new warehouse opening exactly when COVID hit and space became critical.
Yes, Bauer says. Coincidences.
But the question was always: Do you recognize the opportunity? Do you have the discipline to assess the risks properly? And once you commit, do you do everything necessary to make it work?
Eighty employees across four countries. Eighteen million in annual revenue. A company built on solving problems and developing people. You could call it luck. Hermann Bauer would call it something else: recognizing opportunities, assessing risks properly, then committing fully to making them work.
Forty years of learning—from good examples and bad—turned into practice.
AeroVisto Group operates facilities in Staad and Zurich (Switzerland), Schnaitach (Germany), and Teplice (Czech Republic), specializing in VIP cabin refurbishment for business and commercial aircraft. The company holds EASA Part-145 and Part-21G certifications and is among the five authorized Collins Aerospace completion centers in Europe.
Hermann Bauer continues as Managing Director through the transition to Aero-Dienst/ADAC SE ownership.
