Playmobil orders 30 presses from Sumitomo Demag

The company behind Playmobil, geobra Brandstätter GmbH & Co. KG, actually placed the order, tasking Demag to deliver 30 of its hydraulic Systec 25-120 molding machines for the Playmobil factory in Dietenhofen, Germany.  Playmobil is one of the very few toymakers in Europe that has kept its manufacturing—primarily injection molding—in Europe.

geobra Brandstätter has invested about €500 million in its German manufacturing base in the last 10 years. Playmobil's headquarters in Zirndorf, Germany is about a 20-minute drive from the Sumitomo (SHI) Demag HQ in Schwaig.

The Dietenhofen facility is responsible for about 60% of the toymaker's complete annual production, and is home to more than 400 injection molding machines which mold, daily, about 7 million parts. The machines are kept running, too; Robert Benker, technical director at Playmobil, told Sumitomo (SHI) Demag officials during the K show that his company in 2007 had implemented a five-shift system in its molding and painting operations.

geobra Brandstätter's production facilities are in Germany, Malta, Spain and the Czech Republic. The company employs about 3000 and had 2009 revenue of about €518 million.