HAG is a Swiss maker of

model trains Railway modelling (UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland) or model railroading (US and Canada) is a hobby in which rail transport systems are modelled at a reduced scale. The scale models include locomotives, rolling stock, streetcars, t ...

. The company was founded by Hugo and Alwin Gahler on 1 April 1944 in

St. Gallen, Switzerland St. Gallen or traditionally St Gall, in German language, German; it, San Gallo; rm, Son Gagl) is a Switzerland, Swiss List of cities in Switzerland, city and the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of St. Gallen, St ...

. The Gahler brothers originally manufactured model trains in

O scale O scale (or O gauge) is a scale commonly used for toy trains and rail transport modelling. Introduced by German toy manufacturer Märklin around 1900, by the 1930s three-rail alternating current O gauge was the most common model railroad scal ...

but due to competition, particularly by

Märklin Gebr. Märklin & Cie. GmbH or Märklin (MÄRKLIN or MAERKLIN in capital letters) is a German toy company. The company was founded in 1859 and is based at Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg. Although it originally specialised in doll house accesso ...

H0 scale HO or H0 is a rail transport modelling scale using a 1:87 scale (3.5 mm to 1 foot). It is the most popular scale of model railway in the world. The rails are spaced apart for modelling standard gauge tracks and trains in HO.NMRA"Mod ...

, began the transition to H0 in 1954 with their final O scale set being manufactured in 1957. Today HAG manufactures

die-cast metal A die-cast toy is a toy or a collectible model produced by using the die-casting method of putting molten lead, zinc alloy or plastic in a mold to produce a particular shape. Such toys are made of metal, with plastic, rubber, glass, or other ma ...

model trains and is the primary manufacturer of HO scale Swiss model trains. Models are available in both two-rail DC and

-compatible three-rail AC.

History

The company was founded in 1944 by Hugo and Alwin Gahler in St. Gallen, and the name "HAG" came from the name as an abbreviation. The family business was managed from 1979 by Werner Gahler, the son of Alwin Gahler in the 2nd generation. In 1982 the company moved to Mörschwil. On January 1, 2012, the Hag company was sold to Tekwiss Engineering from Hagedorn. The spare parts for the older generation vehicles were sold at the same time to the Amiba locomotive shed, where they are still available. Werner Gahler continued to work part-time for HAG Modelleisenbahnen until the end of 2012 (closure) by looking after the former factory shop in Mörschwil.

Stansted location

At the end of October 2012, the production site in Mörschwil was closed with the move to Stansstad. The new location of the new company has been under the management of Heinz Urech since the beginning of November 2012.

Development of the workforce

As part of cost-cutting measures, the company had to lay off eight employees in January 2009 after natural fluctuation was no longer sufficient. The number of employees was then reduced to 23. At the time of the takeover by Tekwiss Engineering on January 1, 2012, HAG still had 12 employees in Mörschwil. Due to the abandonment of the production site in Mörschwil, the remaining 9 employees had to be made redundant.www.tagblatt.ch, Artikel ''Hag Modelleisenbahnen AG schliesst Betrieb in Mörschwil'' vom 22. August 2012
Abruf am 5. November 2012

References

External links

HAG's official website
Model railroad manufacturers Toy train manufacturers Swiss brands Model manufacturers of Switzerland {{model-rail-stub