Brandstätter Group (geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co. KG) is a German company, headquartered in

Zirndorf Zirndorf () is a town, which is part of the district of Fürth. It is located in northern Bavaria, Germany in the Regierungsbezirk of Middle Franconia. Neighbouring municipalities The following towns and municipalities share borders with Zirn ...

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...

. The group is composed of toy company

Playmobil Playmobil () is a German line of toys produced by the Brandstätter Group (Geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co KG), headquartered in Zirndorf, Germany. The signature Playmobil toy is a tall (1:24 scale) human figure with a smiling face. A wide range ...

, Playmobil 1.2.3 Ltd, Inmold Ltd, Hob Electronics Ltd, Hob Components Ltd, HOB Inc., HOB GmbH & Co KG, and Hob Software Ltd. In 1876, the company was founded by Andreas Brandstätter in

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the t ...

and produced ornamental fittings and locks. By 1921, the company mainly was producing metal toys such as

piggy bank Piggy bank (sometimes penny bank or money box) is the traditional name of a coin container normally used by children. The piggy bank is known to collectors as a "still bank" as opposed to the "mechanical banks" popular in the early 20th century ...

telephone A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into e ...

cash register A cash register, sometimes called a till or automated money handling system, is a mechanical or electronic device for registering and calculating transactions at a point of sale. It is usually attached to a drawer for storing cash and other v ...

s, and

scales Scale or scales may refer to: Mathematics * Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points * Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original * Scale factor, a number w ...

. In 1954, production shifted to

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

s and in the following years produced toys such as the Multi-Worker play-se

The Playmobil line of products was introduced in 1970 under

Horst Brandstätter Horst Brandstätter (June 27, 1933 – June 3, 2015) was the owner of the German company Brandstätter Group. The company was founded by Andreas Brandstätter in 1876. At the age of 19, Horst Brandstätter followed in his father's footsteps by joi ...

and marketed worldwide in 1975. The Brandstätter Group produces exclusively in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, chiefly at its main factory in

Dietenhofen Dietenhofen is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the district of Ansbach (district), Ansbach in Bavaria, Germany. Geography This small village is located in the Franconian Heights about 28 km west of Nuremberg, 14 km north e ...

, 25 km from Zirndorf, with a workforce of 750 people. Although Playmobil also has factories in Malta (700 employees),

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, Horst Brandstätter expanded production in Germany, and invested heavily in the Dietenhofen factory. New products included the Lechuza self-watering planters.Grosse deutsche Familienunternehmen 3525403380 Markus Plate, Torsten Groth, Volker Ackermann - 2011 "Vertrieben werden sie unter dem Markennamen »Lechuza« (spanisch: Eule). Horst Brandstätter persönlich hat das Pflanzbehältersystem mit Selbstbewässerungssystem erfunden, das Erdpflanzen bis zu zwölf Wochen lang mit Wasser ..."

References

External links

Playmobil
Companies based in Bavaria Playmobil German companies established in 1876 Toy companies of Germany Toy companies established in the 19th century Manufacturing companies established in 1876 {{Toy-company-stub