Successful training

Carolyn Hettich was a woman way ahead of her time. During an era when a wife's day consisted of household chores and hours in the kitchen, this spouse to tinsmith Friedrich Wilhelm Märklin was traveling the German country- side drumming up sales for her husband's business. The business, though, was vaguely reminiscent of 'a woman's work.' The tinsmith, who launched his company in 1859, crafted cooking utensils, in this case miniatures for dollhouse kitchens.

It wasn't until the Leipzig Fair in 1891, when the Märklin's two sons introduced a wind-up train running on sectional track, that the company made its mark as a model train manufacturer. The train's launch, considered a risk at the time, was a sensation and changed the fortunes of a faltering business.

In 1888 Eugen and Karl took over the family company, which had fallen on difficult times following the untimely deaths of Carolyn and Friedrich, and established Gebruder Märklin—or Märklin Brothers. Although the company's product line had expanded well beyond miniature kitchen utensils to include doll carriages, wagons, carts, boats, merry-go-rounds and tops, trains were destined to become the company's stock in trade.

"Trains," Märklin Inc.'s President Fred Gates tells PLAYTHINGS , "are an open-ended toy. They're like wooden blocks. The entertainment value is there and will remain," he adds. Märklin Inc. is the German company's American subsidiary.

Märklin's longevity is a testimony to the 'play' value of trains, which today is not limited by either age or gender, something that, no doubt, would please Carolyn Hettich.

The company's innovations through the years have contributed to its longevity as well. By 1898 Märklin introduced its first electrically powered trains and locomotives driven by live steam were launched before the end of the century. In the two decades between 1900 and 1920, Märklin manufactured trains for the 0 to 5 gauges and there was even a primitive forerunner to HO Gauge offered during the period. The company's product innovations have included the Z Gauge mini trains, which remain the smallest, mass-produced electric trains in the world, says Gates. Most recently Märklin launched the Maxi line of sheet metal trains for 1 Gauge, a line that captures the look of the old tinplate trains made before 1939.

For the most part, Märklin's products appeal primarily to the avid hobbyist and upscale consumer, says Gates.

With those upscale consumer and avid hobbyists in mind, Märklin this quarter is introducing along with new train models, one of its earlier products, in this case a passenger steam ship from the early 1920s. The 2002 limited edition Viktoria Steam Ship has a metal hull and finely detailed accessories as well as a wind-up motor to power both ship's propellers.

Global as well as product expansion has been integral to the company's business strategy too. Today, Märklin is a truly global company, Gates tells PLAYTHINGS. "In the late 1970s," he says "the company aggressively built 100-percent owned subsidiaries so markets could be better handled." In addition to its U.S. organization, among the company's other subsidiaries are divisions in Switzerland, Belgium and France.

In the years ahead, the strategy in the United States is to "develop more American prototypes," says Gates, who is confident that Märklin—now operating in a third century—will continue on a growth track. As long as there are trains out there in the real world, there will be model trains, he says.