Quoted from Lutz in an unrelated topic:



Good ongoing news.

regards
Kimball

Hi Nev,
Kingsbridge originally applied to the Court to be protected by insolvency rules and regulations, which is why it is currently in the hands of the administrator. Without other knowledge, I believe legally Kingsbridge still own the company.
regards
Kimball

Hold on there partner!

My memory is fuzzy. I thought there was 2 or 3 local banks that were creditors? Would not the creditors now "own" the company. And would not these banks for social cohesion not press for an immediate sale as long as Marklin does not drag them down?


Thomas

This is good news for Marklin, though it was expected since Mr. Pluta brought the Company in positive EBITDA very early. W.r.t. the ownership, I would expect that the equity of the Company should be somehow collateralised from the creditors and the loan providers (i.e. the local banks). So, the remaining question might be the running of the company, i.e. the short to medium term management. Again, congatulations to Mr. Pluta for safeguarding our hobby !!!
Akis

Great news, Stephen.

I hope that Stefan Löbich will quickly propel Märklin to its former glory.

Cheers,
Ranjit

Hi there, I have a question about the insolvency process, in this moment who is the owner of Marklin?, the banks? the suppliers? any one with the biggest debt to collect from the company? How does this work in Germany? Is Mr Pluta a goverment agent?

Well, the last I read about the Märklin's insolvency is not everything good news.
The creditors want some money back ......................

Link

Bankruptcy plan or not
More Bang for Märklin
----------------------
Märklin are still some hurdles to jump. The creditors have claims totaling less than 100 million €.
Pluta administrator wants to solve the problem by year end.

The insolvency plan for the model railway manufacturer Märklin is not yet set in stone.
The creditors' committee first discussed the plan administrator Michael Pluta.
This would end the bankruptcy of the traditional company from Göppingen the year.
Finally has to choose a meeting of all creditors. Their demands amount to a total of about 93 million €.

The date for the plenary meeting of the creditors are not yet finalized, said a spokeswoman for the
insolvency administrator. According to a report of the SWR (SWR), citing gives it a total of
1380 Amtsgericht Göppingen creditors, they could meet earlier than the end of November.

Märklin had filed bankruptcy in February 2009. Since the announcement of the insolvency had to walk
more than 400 employees, about 1,000 remained at the sites in Germany and Hungary.
Last week had become known that Märklin Stefan Löbich gets a new boss.

In mid-July had announced Märklin for the first half of 2010, an increase in orders of 74 to 78 million €. Revenues had grown from 40.4 to 42.6 million euros. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased compared to the same period of minus 1.5 million to 1.8 million euros plus.

Well, I'm glad they didn't disappear like some companies do when they go bankrupt... They were popular enough for that.

Above link not working.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11742016

Märklin: Creditors' meeting in two weeks

The creditors of the insolvent model railway manufacturer Märklin decide in two weeks on its future. As a spokeswoman said Michael Pluta in Munich of the press agency DPA, the creditors' meeting is set for 21 December. It is to decide on the insolvency plan - and whether the insolvency proceedings end as planned to the turn of the year. The demands of the creditors on the Göppinger enterprise amount to altogether approximately 93 million euros.

Since 2009 ended on a positive note regarding profit (ok, no dept payments due to the insolvency procedure) it shows that the company is alive and kicking a bit. Hope the creditors also recognize this and do not reclaim all debts on an immediate basis, which would lead to a bankrupcy and a disaster for the company.

Not to mention all of us...

The job of Herr Pluta should have been to sell the firm and thus repay the creditors. In this he has failed to find a buyer despite appearing to lower the amount required for a purchase. Many have looked at Marklin but none have thought the business worth buying.
If the creditors are prepared to wait for their 93 million ( and I expect this will be many years before repayment) then Marklin will continue. However if the factory can be sold along with stock and machinery etc which covers all or most of the debt then that is another way to go.
Marklin continues to ignore overseas markets and would probably be better to continue in a smaller way by selling in Germany and a few surrounding countries. By reducing overheads and also new product but providing quality models they could continue to trade and repay creditors.
We here can of course continue to purchase through German dealers.
German economy is doing fairly well at present and the Christmas period will be vital to Marklin to attract new people to the hobby.
The Banks I presume are already holding security (for what it may be worth) and as all Banks are writing off large debts (billions)the amount to write off in respect of Marklin is very small. However thet may not wish to finish off the Marklin business which is important in name for many years and a household name in Germany.
I always rated the firms chances of continuing as 50/50 and see no reason to change that and only the next few years will tell if we can still buy our favourite models.

dave

Greetings,

Who, exactly, are these 'creditors'?

Are they the suppliers who made and shipped goods to Marklin for it to build model trains? Are these the workers at Marklin, who, some of them, did not get paid for months?

Or, are some of the 'creditors' those in that screwed up management that looted the company of millions by paying themselves $$$Million Dollar salaries? What's the market Up Side Potential in the Model Train Business?? Tens of Millions? Billions? Who were those jokers fooling?

Marklin makes the most outstanding product in its field. Each of these model locomotives is hand built to exacting standards and they run like fine tuned watches. Ya can't outsource that ability to China and pay a worker there $2 a day. No, ya can't.

The Germans build the best darn product out there, and have been doing it for 150 years. Time to kick out the nonsense and move on with it.

I heard Marklin had revenues of over $9 Million in the past year. Oustanding, in a down world wide economy.

My father spend an outragous $500 back in the mid-70's buying Marklin products. My son has a $2000+ train set to play with. German engineering at it's best, hands down, quality sells, keeps its value and is worth having.

<Salute Marklin, Salute Germany>

Paul

Sorry to rant on this board guys. I just needed to say all that.

Hi John Agree. Anybody of course can trade at a profit if you dont repay debts etc. As you say creditors will probably wait for their money.

Akis. The Banks are not looking for a buyer that is the job of the administrator. They would liquidate by selling the factory to property developers (or anybody) and sell off the stock cheap to dealers. If this brings them sufficient to keep them happy then that is the way they will go. That is the one thing we do not want and will probably not happen as the firm appears to be more or less worthless (as clearly shown by the lack of buyers.
We all like Marklin stuff here but that does not make it a well run firm.

dave

Dave,
My point is that Marklin was a well run firm with an outstanding product. It has enjoyed a loyal collector base because it produces quality products that people want to buy. Plus, the longer one keeps his older locomotives, in good condition, the more the fetch at auction.

Marklin was bought up and LOOTED by those bought it. They took the profits from the sales, did not pay the workers and suppliers and just about ruined the good name of Marklin.


Paul

The Marklin of old was well run and did produce great products. Because of poor management the firm went bust and there are also problems with quality (just look at the many threads on the forum here)
This is not being negative but just giving the facts.
We now hope for greater things.

dave

Paul,

Wikie leaks may provide us with proof.

Paul wrote:

I just heard that Marklin has come out with a new digital control unit...after 25 years of 'research'. Hopefully a good start :)

Which one are we talking about ? any more information ?

John

RJF is talking about the MS2 and other necessary bits. Nothing real new but new to US Dealers or it is a new shipment. Been around for over 12 months

NN

Topic "Marklin out of insolvency by the end of this year" merged into this topic.

Tim,
There is a company that does you you describe: Produce the top quality hardware, most of the software, and it's products are the end results of a global supply chain. This company is called Apple Computer. :)

It can be done, if the leadership has a dynamic understanding of the market place and is willing to take chances on innovation.

Looks like digital is a doubble edge sword for Marklin. Once the digital secrets are understood, production and product development become 'easy'.

The look of Marklin's 2010 catalogue is outstanding, in my opinion. Too bad to hear that they have gotten the 'bells and whistles' wrong. Imbarassing, since it is a RR Model company after all :)

As far as 'scale' and markets, it seems that the model RR companines are responding to customer preferences. While most of us are sticking with HO, there are enough who want a smaller scale and I hear that the large 'Garden RR' is becoming popular.

(Don't get my started on how Marklin has screwed up the North American market and all those spend a fortune and get 'insider' models..that extortion never works)

Paul

Märklin has over the many years, since production has started, many followers.

You can't exclude or include the many changes this hobby has encountered over the years and this has effected the modeltrain market.
Not long ago we all set by a typewriter and when we finished our assignment, we posted it.
Today, markets, correspondence and consumer items move very quick around the world and unless you are able to adapt your self to such a vast growing technology of moving parts, producing products and market them in such a fashion everyone is aware of your product, your market share is collapsing to such a degree, your investment is no longer able to support these products.
We've said many times before, the modeltrain market has shifted and dwindled and it is not going to get healthier.
We are an aging population whereas before our fathers and grandparents gave as presents, consisting mainly of modeltrains.

The financial hardship Märklin has encountered has never and will never be solved or replaced with plenty off, it will be for many years in a limping mode and unless prices come down to a realistic level, there will be more fatalities in this industry.

The Märklin- ESU relationship didn't last for long and the end result of the new digital system was something of a nightmare but not only contained to Märklin.

ESU may finish up the same way of expanding or expanded very quickly and it would depend what their investment outlay consists of, since the day, Märklin and now Roco has abandoned them.
There are other sound decoder manufactures on the market and time will tell how ESU can adapt themselves to allegedly shrinking sales.

Coming out of insolvency is a sign of stability but no way a sign of triumph or full steam ahead.
The company will be marked for years by being very careful of how they spend any surplus money they may enjoy and any investment into new technology will be looked at from companies who can supply this technology with caution.

John

Hi Paul,
My point was in the end, despite their greater financial resources (compared to Marklin), it didn't work for Apple.
True, that they kept their reputation as makers of premium PCs, but they never came to dominate the market like they used too... that time had passed.
they were forced to make compromise from their original philosophy in terms of PC business;
And, they were also forced to diversify from the PC business to be where they are at the moment...

Apple nowadays is more renowned for their iPads and iPods more so than their iMacs.
Anyone buying an iPod will not be compelled to buy an iMac. It doesn't work like that anymore.

The point was that a single strategy of trying to "lock in" your customer with your own products will never work,
this was what Apple tried and failed..
You are basically trying to challenge the combined creativity might of the entire world... guess who will win in the end?

The current iMac are even hackable and can even be made to run Microsoft Windows. Talk about exclusivity...

Noone else in the PC business did what Apple tried..
Intel was concentrating on processors, while Microsoft was concentrating on its operating system; and both came to dominate the respective market. Their success, lays with their ability to synergize their strategy with the PC industry, and in cooperation with other PC component makers/sellers.

Marklin OTOH was still trying to out-Apple the old Apple.

Sometimes it's better to be good at just one thing, and do it good enough to better most others and make profit (example: Dell - synergizes Internet and PC assembly) rather than trying to be the best of everything for the sake of it and suffer...

So guess which one will last the test of time? MFX or DCC?



True.. MRR is a dying breed of toys... this is a given.
But does Marklin management even recognize this as a fact?

Their strategy surely didn't reflect that.

If Marklin just listened to there loyal customers and actually implement some of these ideas i'm sure it would help.
Are the management of Marklin actaully model rail enthusiates, i would never employ someone who knew nothing of my product and had no new ideas on how to take the product forward and compete but still be the best.
My wife bought me a Marklin starter set about 5 years ago and i've loved the product and Marklin since.I love being an Insider Club member even though i just recieve nothing but the magazine, but i still feel special and valued when the magazine drops on my doormat.
My question is basically do the people who run Marklin, have the passion needed to take it forward, or do they just see the monthly pay packet as what really matters.

Kevin

Media people say: "Only bad news are good news!"

Decision about the insolvency plan will be made on December 21 (this is known since December 7). Pluta says the majority of creditors support the plan.
So I hope there is nothing to worry about.

We can only hope. I would sell Trix and LGB if anybody would buy the brands. Concentrate on Marklin HO and also Spur 1 (sorry but I would also stop Z gauge) Marklin needs to be smaller but also to expand overseas sales with high quality items along with a few of the Hobby range for younger folk (just in case the loco bounces off the floor)
This is an expensive hobby and does not require a constant stream of new items which appear for 12 months or less then disappear. And if the firm wants to run an overseas Insider Club then at least get somebody to do it properly.

dave