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Piko (stylized PIKO, pronounced "peek-oh") is a German
/ref>Company
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/ref> products in various model train scales: G-Scale: American and European-prototype weather-resistant models for indoor and outdoor use, including starter sets, locomotives, passenger and freight cars, track, buildings, controls and accessories. HO-Scale: European-prototype models including starter sets, locomotives (most in both 2-Rail DC and 3-Rail AC versions), passenger and freight cars, track, buildings, controls and accessories. TT-Scale: European-prototype locomotives and cars. N-Scale: European-prototype locomotives, cars, and buildings. Its headquarters factory in
PIKO official homepagePIKO official webshopPIKO America official homepageNews about PIKO G
{{Authority control German brands Companies based in Thuringia Model railroad manufacturers Model manufacturers of Germany Companies of East Germany Volkseigene Betriebe Companies established in 1949 1949 establishments in East Germany
Piko (stylized PIKO, pronounced "peek-oh") is a German model train
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, ...
brand 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 ...
that also exports to the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and other parts of the world.Groundbreaking for the construction of a new high-bay warehouse/ref>Company
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History
Founded in 1949, PIKO was once a state-owned enterprise in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
), supplying a share of model trains in Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...
. In 1992, after the reunification of Germany
German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...
, the company was purchased by PIKO Spielwaren GmbH. PIKO Spielwaren GmbH was founded in April 1992 by Dr. René F. Wilfer, PIKO’s President, who had been working in the toy industry since 1986 and had previously managed a model building company.
Products
PIKO manufactures more than 1,500 PIKO Product Archive/ref> products in various model train scales: G-Scale: American and European-prototype weather-resistant models for indoor and outdoor use, including starter sets, locomotives, passenger and freight cars, track, buildings, controls and accessories. HO-Scale: European-prototype models including starter sets, locomotives (most in both 2-Rail DC and 3-Rail AC versions), passenger and freight cars, track, buildings, controls and accessories. TT-Scale: European-prototype locomotives and cars. N-Scale: European-prototype locomotives, cars, and buildings. Its headquarters factory in
Sonneberg
Sonneberg in Thuringia, Germany, is the seat of the Sonneberg district. It is in the Franconian south of Thuringia, neighboring its Upper Franconian twin town Neustadt bei Coburg.
Sonneberg became known as the "world toy city", and is home to ...
(Thuringia
Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million.
Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
) Germany makes the G-Scale and some HO-Scale products, while its PIKO China factory in Chashan, China, makes the HO-Scale "Expert", "Hobby", "SmartControl", "SmartControlLight" and "myTrain" lines, as well as the N-Scale and TT-Scale lines.
Manufacturing
Distribution
In Germany, PIKO products are distributed from the firm's headquarters in Sonneberg to a network of retailers. In other countries, PIKO distributors and representatives perform a similar function. In America, sales and distribution to retailers is handled by PIKO America inSan Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
, CA.
References
External links
PIKO official homepage
{{Authority control German brands Companies based in Thuringia Model railroad manufacturers Model manufacturers of Germany Companies of East Germany Volkseigene Betriebe Companies established in 1949 1949 establishments in East Germany