The model trains produced and assembled by the 225 employees in Arad go to 42 countries.
“The Arad investment was quite small, of 500,000 euros. The plant has 4,400 square meters in four rented halls and equipments were transferred from the plants of Germany and Austria,” said Leopold Heher, chief executive officer of Modelleisenbahn.
Modelleisenbahn SRL, a company run by two 29-year old Romanian women, in 2012 reached net revenue of RON10.7 million (EUR2.36 million) and net income of RON100,000 (EUR22,000), according to Finance ministry data, ranking fifth among the toy producers of Romania.
Heher did not confirm the data, saying the group’s policy is to publish financial figures at group level.
In Romania, Roco and Fleischmann, the two train brands of the group, had sales of around EUR300,000 in 2013.
“Romania is a small country, but with a high growth potential. There are clubs of model train lovers in almost all the big cities of Romania,” said Heber.
The German group chose Arad as a location for its plant due to good infrastructure and wages.
For 2014, the plant, whose management was last year taken over by a team of Romanian executives, plans to recruit five employees for the dye and varnish unit.
“The management team is made up of two Romanian young women, Romina Moldovan, 29, and Bianca Ardelean, 29, both of them having joined the company in 2008,” said Heher, who visits the plant 3-4 times a year.
The management change took place after the former head of Arad operations was promoted as head of production for Roco and Fleischman brands at group level.
In online specialized stores, the price of a set of trains for starters begins from 319 lei (EUR70) and prices for a set of two trains can go as high as RON1,375 (EUR299) or RON1,445 (EUR320).
In the 2014 product catalogue launched by Roco, the most expensive locomotive costs EUR1,519. Prices in the case of Fleischman brand can reach EUR1,369.
The fact that model trains are an expensive hobby is also indicated by prices of dioramas. “Per square meter, a diorama costs almost as much as the construction of a house,” says Marius Luican, 38, owner of Reveal Market Research. He has a collection of hundreds of carriages, locomotives and houses.
“I bought most of them from Romania. There are quite a lot of online stores. In many cities of the country there are even specialized stores,” added Luican.
Modelleisenbahn launches around 1,000 new products annually, selected by a team of internal experts based on recommendations made by consultants, dealers and clients around the world.
(English version by Catalina Apostoiu)