Stop presses... Fleischmann sold to...
Modelleisenbahn Holding GmbH (that also owns Roco) Article from Nürnberger Nachrichten at http://www.nn-online.de/artikel.asp?art=771480&kat=5&man=3 with the translation below. Fleischmann is sold NUREMBERG - The German-Austrian model railroad Holding GmbH makes the Nuremberg competitors Fleischmann. It upheld the tradition of Bavarian companies. The purchase price was not disclosed. The model railroad holding company has its headquarters in Freilassing in Austrian mountain home near Salzburg. The company is also the majority owner of the Fleischmann-rivals Roco. Behind the holding company, the Upper Bavarian businessman Franz-Josef Haslberger, with the dry mortar Hasit GmbH especially in the construction industry operates. "With the new owners, we have excellent opportunities for growth," said Fleischmann Managing Director Hans-Peter Forester in a written message. For further economic perspective, the company was now a "solid financial base". From the previous owner family to senior chief Horst Fleischmann was yesterday no opinion more. What impact the acquisition of Fleischmann on the staff, is still unclear. From insider circles was reported, however, that the model railroad holding parallel to the mark Roco wants to continue. The ongoing recovery plan at least financially declining company should also continue. This provides, inter alia, the concentration of production at the plant Heilsbronn. The location Dinkelsbühl, with eight employees will be no chance of survival more acknowledged. Whether the headquarters in Nuremberg has a future, is considered open. Fleischmann currently employs approximately 340 employees, and most recently a turnover of 22.5 million €. Just a few days ago had junior chief Rolf Fleischmann announced that this year the long decline in sales the first time, should be stopped. With Fleischmann loses the once large model train location Nuremberg to Arnold, Trix and LGB his last leading independent manufacturer in the industry. 1887 by Jean Fleischmann founded, the company initially tin toys such as ships and aircraft. 1938, the firm was also in Nuremberg established competitors Doll & Co., among other steam engines and electric cars already in the program. 1949 Fleischmann initially presented its own model railroad in size "0" before 1952, the company also available in the market today, the ones Gauge «» H0 (scale 1:87) einstieg - the final breakthrough. Since Fleischmann focused mainly on the model railroads and employed at the end of the 1970s and early 1980s more than 700 employees. The interim Author start of a race track-range but failed. The only slowly abklingende current crisis of the model train industry since the late 1990s, however, covered the Nuremberg - losses and sales declines were the result. With the sale to the Model Railroad Holding ranks, the company is now one of a long series of other industries sizes, which this phase is not without help from outside survived. So even survived leader Märklin few years ago only through the entry of the financial investor Kingsbridge. And the model railroad holding even rescued a few months ago the Austrian Roco final. The Fleischmann-rival incidentally stands today as bright - perhaps a positive omen.

Well... my jaw has hit the floor!

Well, I'll be a... :shock: But don't lose heart folks - the good news is that model railways are perceived to be good investments. The strong-headed market of business trading seems to be indicating a strong future for the hobby. And that IS something to be pleased about... Steph

I think the key point is "a solid financial base" - one presumes this means the company will have more secure or better funding than at present to produce new models - the other good thing I can see is that they seem open to running the two marques as seperate concerns.

I am looking at this sale from the bright side and using plain logic. Just simply looking at ROCO's 2008 new items I can just assume that these guys know what they are doing as they have raised ROCO from their ashes. Keeping my fingers crossed that they will get rid of the old, noisey ringfield type motor and the 6 pole sockets in Fleischmanns HO models, at least. :) Hope modellers will benefit at the end. E.Baykal

The problem lies in that Google translation of Bergheim as a "mountain home" instead of recognising it as a place name. Modelleisenbahn GmbH, Plainbachstrasse 4, A-5101 Bergheim

You can get some dodgy translations with the Google translators. Every time I translate something about Fleischmann, it comes out in the translation as "meat man".

Stop press...Fleischmann sold to...
To the gentleman that asked where I got this info. Here is the copy: The problem is that Roco has a "Distributor" in USA: Reynauld's, so the same problem we had with them in the years 1990's is again present. They mark-up too much the product for Dealers in USA to sell a product cheap as it should be. Always a middle men is to make things more complicated and more expensive. Fleischmann is death all over the World, so we have not too much interest on it and now, if this deal goes, is a way to make it disappear and have no competence. Roco is trying to kill Fleischmann for many years and now tries to buy it, weird.

Well, if distributors in the US are the same breed as they are in the UK (and retailers too, for that matter) I've learnt to take what they say with a healthy scepticism, or at least not to accept everyrhing at face value! I can see the logic behind the statemen abot Roco competing against Fleischmann, and hence fighting over market share, but surely that is just a feature of our glorious free markts - also if Fleischmann is weak, its assets can be bough for a bargain price, again nothing more than market forces... personally I do have sympathy for a Roco/Fleischmann merger, as there seems to be at least some commitment to maintain jobs and manufacturing in Europe...Roco in particular have for a number of years had a policy of producing models in Euuope in direct competition with other manufacturers' products produced in the far East (Eg the Ludmilla, which came out at the same time as the Brawa model, and more recently the RAM in competition with the Modern Gala product, the announced BR52, the DR V100, etc.) As for the issue of distributors, Roco lost its UK distributor a number of years ago, and personally I feel that a direct relationship with the manufacturer has been a good thing for the UK market - but Fleischmann have always employed a "UK Sales agent" in the UK, but my view is that this arrangement didn't work all that well, eve though I know the agent personally, so the cutting out of the middle man doesn't necessarily imply better service. As it's recently been announced that the UK distributorship for Maerklin and Trix is to change, I wait with anticipation to see if that'll be an improvement or not!