Kibri
| Kindler & Briel GmbH (Kibri)
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|---|---|
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| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1895 |
| resolution | 2011 |
| Reason for dissolution | Insolvency, takeover of the brand by Viessmann |
| Seat | until 2007 in Böblingen / Baden-Württemberg , Germany . From 2007 to 2010 in Schopfloch , Baden-Württemberg , Germany |
| Website | www.viessmann-modell.com/kibri |
The Kindler & Briel GmbH (Kibri) was one of the oldest manufacturers of toys and later model articles in Württemberg . The company's headquarters were in Böblingen from 1895 to 2007 and in Schopfloch from 2007 to 2010 . In July 2010, the company filed for bankruptcy. The company Viessmann Modelltechnik from the Hesse Hatzfeld has all rights to the in 2010 brand Kibri adopted by the Kibri GmbH and carries the brand continued since then.
History until 2000
1895 to 1945
The company was founded in Böblingen in 1895 under the name of Kindler and Briel by Wilhelm Kindler senior. (1864–1916) and Adolf Briel and originally only manufactured metal toys. Items made from other materials usually came from suppliers. Produced numerous toys , mainly from sheet metal , including for doll and toy shops as well as accessories for model railways. The company's first location was at Böblinger Karlstraße 19 until the major fire in 1973.
After the death of the founder Wilhelm Kindler sen. in 1916 his son Wilhelm Kindler jun. (1888–1941) took over the management. After the death of Wilhelm Kindler jun. Management was again passed on to his son, Paul Kindler, and his brother-in-law Rudolf Gußmann (1912–2002).
The stations, signal boxes, level crossings and other accessories for the model railways of tracks 1, 0 and 00 of the years 1930 to 1940 and 1949 to are particularly valued by collectors of old model railways , although they are relatively simple made of sheet metal, but are very effective thanks to the clever choice of shapes and colors 1955. In addition to the sheet metal products, there was also a bridge and ramp construction system made of wood, as well as small tunnels with painted wooden portals, a cardboard cover and an application of a plaster of paris-glue mixture (called plastic in the Kibri catalogs at the time). Before the war, Kibri supplied the sheet metal buildings and wooden tunnels with minor deviations, especially in the color scheme, also for the Trix Express range. During the war years, stations were built for the large lanes, where sheet metal parts had to be replaced with wood due to material shortages.
post war period
After the Second World War , Kibri continued to produce from 1948/49. There are Kibri buildings, which were obviously made of tin plate shortly after the war and which have the characteristic can lid embossing. The post-war buildings were initially marked with the stamp "Kibri - made in US Zone Germany". From around 1952 the stamp "Kibri - made in West Germany" was used. It is noticeable that many old buildings from this period can now be found through online auctions in the United States. This is due to the fact that the American soldiers stationed here bought Kibri products and took them with them when they returned to the United States. In 1954, 1955 and 1956 there were Kibri catalogs in English, some even with prices in US dollars. In the years 1950 to 1953, Kibri supplied newly constructed sheet metal buildings for the 0-gauge range of the Fleischmann company .
From the mid-1950s, metalworking was slowly being replaced by plastic injection molding technology. As with the other manufacturers, polystyrene was used. Alongside Faller and Vollmer, Kibri became one of the most important manufacturers of model railway accessories . From 1959, one of the most famous plastic models from the Kibri company was the tank farm - made up of Kibri parts. The complete tank farm consisted of five individual kits, which were also offered as finished models until 1972. In the course of time, numerous other models, mostly based on specific models , came onto the market in Germany, but also in other countries, in H0 , N and Z gauges .
In October 1973 an arson attack on the Böblingen factory stopped production; but in 1975 a new building was erected in Böblingen-Hulb. Since there was a branch in Schopfloch near Freudenstadt, production could be maintained. The Kibri company archive was destroyed in the aforementioned arson attack. Therefore, today you have to rely on old catalogs and collections to trace the history of the Kibri company. For the 100th anniversary in 1995, Kibri published a commemorative publication that provides an overview. In addition, Kibri had a reprint of the 1937 catalog made, in which the entire range of that time is shown.
Unlike most of its competitors, in addition to buildings and landscaping elements, Kibri also offered an extensive range of kit models for road and rail vehicles such as trucks, construction machinery, cranes, track construction vehicles and other commercial vehicles for H0, N and Z gauges. In 1976, the first 1:87 scale construction machine models appeared, which were advertised for years under the slogan "Kibri has the special ones". Kibri caused a sensation in the late 1980s and early 1990s with its large crane models; Among other things, there was a model of the Gottwald AMK 1000 from 1990 , which was the most powerful truck crane in the world at the time.
History from 2000
Crisis, takeover and rescue
In 2005 Kibri ran into financial difficulties because the previous managing director, Klaus Sick, wanted to retire at the age of 60. But since his succession was not clarified and the shareholders did not agree on how to proceed further (there were several shareholders with different interests), the banks reduced the credit lines . In order to keep the company alive at least for 2006, Klaus Sick decided to remain managing director for another year; however, at the end of 2006 he finally retired. After much back and forth, a new managing director was appointed at the beginning of 2007.
Takeover by the company RiRe
On September 4, 2007, the takeover of Kibri by the Wuppertal company RiRe Maschinen GmbH was announced. Their accounting has been based on the going concern premise since 2007 and was only considered a small GmbH. By refusing to open insolvency proceedings due to lack of assets, they were dissolved by a legally binding decision of June 10, 2014 by the Wuppertal District Court.
All 50 Kibri employees were to be taken over. In December 2007 the administration was relocated from Böblingen to Schopfloch near Freudenstadt, where there had been a branch up until then. The previous plant in Böblingen was sold. Franz Josef Roos, managing director of RiRe Maschinen, has been appointed as another managing director of Kibri. With the move to Schopfloch, a 112 year long era of Kibri in Böblingen came to an end.
The takeover of Kibri by RiRe resulted in the following innovations for the end user:
- Online direct orders from Kibri (until then this was only available to specialist retailers)
- Weekly factory sales on Friday morning. However, this was discontinued at the end of 2009.
- A club membership, which enabled participation in model building competitions. Club membership also made it possible to obtain the catalogs and discounts on the range of models free of charge.
On September 27, 2008, on the occasion of “Community Day” in Schopfloch, a factory tour for the public with factory sales took place for the first time.
Production relocation and takeover
Relocation of production to Hungary
Since November 2009, Kibri models have been produced in a Hungarian plant of Viessmann Modelltechnik GmbH . At the beginning of February 2010, Viessmann announced the complete takeover of the machines and tools and the relocation to Hungary and Romania. The employees at the Schopfloch site had previously been dismissed.
Takeover by Viessmann Modelltechnik GmbH
Since February 2010, the Kibri brand has been fully owned by Viessmann Modelltechnik GmbH in Hatzfeld (Eder) in Hessen . 115 years after the company was founded, its existence as an independent company has come to an end. From April 9th to 11th, 2010, a warehouse sale took place on the occasion of the closure of the plant in Schopfloch.
Kibri bankruptcy
On July 20, 2010, Kibri GmbH in Schopfloch filed for insolvency at the local court responsible. In 2011 the company was dissolved.
Today's range
The range includes polystyrene construction kits for buildings and model railroad accessories in the H0 , N and Z scales as well as models of road and rail vehicles in H0 , N and Z scales .
Well-known buildings
The buildings produced by Kibri often have real models. Well-known buildings that have appeared in the model at Kibri are, for example:
- Bonn Central Station
- Calw train station
- Feldafing train station
- Kehl train station
- Alsfeld town hall
- Michelstadt town hall
- Falkenstein Castle (Carinthia)
- St. Sebastian Church, Ramsau
- Westerheversand lighthouse
Web links
- Kibri brand website
- Walter Pliscke's private page with documentation of the old Kibri catalogs and a systematic listing of all sheet metal articles
Individual evidence
- ^ Friedrich Salzmann, Rudolf Gußmann: 100 Years of Kibri 1895–1995. Editor: Kibri Spielwarenfabrik GmbH, Böblingen, 1995
- ↑ Kibri tank farm units 1959 , on modelleisenbahnfan.de
- ↑ Federal Gazette
- ↑ Company: RIRE Maschinen GmbH ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ A feat of strength when it comes to Kibri - Viessmann takes over production in Hungary
- ↑ Südwest Presse of February 2, 2010: Kibri closes in Schopfloch. Retrieved May 6, 2020 . , onwirtschaft-regional.de
- ↑ Viessmann press release, January 25, 2010 ( Memento of January 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 920 kB)
- ↑ Kibri remains ( Memento from January 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 131 kB) Press release from Viessmann Modellspielwaren GmbH, August 19, 2010
