Sieper
| Sieper GmbH
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| legal form | GmbH |
| founding | 1921 |
| Seat |
Ludenscheid , Germany
|
| management | Britta Sieper, Klaus Galinski |
| Number of employees | 241 |
| sales | 47 million euros |
| Branch | Toy maker |
| Website | www.siku.de |
| As of December 31, 2014 | |
The Sieper GmbH is in Lüdenscheid -based toy company, mainly for his miniatures of metal and plastic is known. Well-known collector's items are especially the models, mostly vehicles of the brands Siku ( Si EPER Ku nststoffe) and Wiking .
Corporate structure
- Sieper Lüdenscheid GmbH & Co. KG, Lüdenscheid
- Sieper GmbH, Lüdenscheid, SIKU toy models made of metal and plastic, different scales
- Wiking-Modellbau GmbH & Co. KG, Lüdenscheid, traffic models made of plastic, scale H0 and N and vehicle models made of metal and plastic on a scale of 1:32 (agriculture) and 1:43 (fire department)
- Sicom GmbH, Lüdenscheid, advertising and communication
- Sieper Beteiligungs GmbH, Lüdenscheid
history
In 1921 Richard Sieper founded a foundry company in Lüdenscheid. This became the basis of today's Siku company. Before the Second World War , mainly consumer goods such as cutlery or ashtrays were manufactured. With the advent of thermoplastics , they were used to produce small pieces of furniture such as bathroom mirror cabinets and shelves. In 1943 another production facility was opened in Hilchenbach-Müsen . In 2007, the Müsener Sieper-Werke were converted into SieBad GmbH . This had to file for bankruptcy in 2009 . The factory was closed.
The rise as a model toy manufacturer began in 1950. Siku was registered as a trademark and was one of the exhibitors at the first Nuremberg Toy Fair . Toys made of plastic were shown for the first time. From 1951 toy models were manufactured, initially exclusively using the plastic injection molding process. This was followed by 32 Siku models in 1:60 scale in 1954. The production of metal models began in 1963. These are still made using the zinc die-casting process.
1950s
Initially, plastic toys were made, for example farms or animals. The first Siku model cars in the 1:60 scale, which was then quite common for toy models, were produced in 1954 from colored plastic. Since the then Article numbers always a V was preceded by ( V erkehrsmodelle) has the term plastic V-series developed. In addition to the common vehicle models that could be found on German roads in those years, American road cruisers were also produced as models. In the interior of the vehicle models, there was a metal block attached to the chassis to increase the weight. For the various types of motor vehicles such as trucks, trailers, cranes, military vehicles and buses, an extremely extensive range of accessories consisting of traffic signs , figures, buildings and street plans as well as a model of the association type - tram car was offered.
1960s
In 1963, Siku manufactured the first models from die-cast zinc under the name Super Series , which is still used today . To distinguish them from newer models, collectors usually refer to the earlier ones as the metal V series . The official scale of these models was still 1:60, but in reality it varied from model to model. The vehicles in the plastic series continued to be produced, but gradually fell out of the range until the plastic series was completely discontinued in 1969. In addition to the vehicle models that were current at the time, the metal series also featured exotic vehicles such as American road cruisers and racing cars.
1970s
In 1970 Siku presented itself in a new corporate design , which was characterized by the colors purple, magenta and orange. In addition, new car releases have now been designed to be simpler and more toy-like and have smoother wheels. The range was further supplemented by buildings that could be dismantled, such as a garage or gas station, each of which served as a load for a low-loader. In 1975 there were further changes. Among other things, the former three-digit article numbers became four-digit, which is why models from 1975 onwards are referred to as the 1000 series by collectors . The official scale was changed to 1:55, but there were still new releases in 1:60 and 1:50. Some models of the metal V series were adopted in the new numbering scheme and often optically adapted to the actual 1000 models, among other things through the use of newer wheels. The 1:55 scale series still partially exists today.
1980s
From 1980, the range was expanded to include large models in a scale of 1:27 made of die-cast zinc, which were particularly intended for playing outside. But by 1984 all models in this series had disappeared from the sales program.
The agriculturally oriented Farmer series on a scale of 1:32 was established in the product portfolio in 1983 ; Before that there were only farm models from Britains Ltd. in Germany . and from Hausser Elastolin , occasionally also from Ertl .
In 1984 the traditional Berlin company Wiking Modellbau was taken over. Wiking mainly produces detailed plastic traffic models on a scale of 1:87 ( nominal size H0 ) and, in parallel, also in 1: 160 ( nominal size N ).
1990s
_front.JPG)
In 1990 Siku introduced two new series. On the one hand, the so-called Club series , which rounded off the range with immeasurable, inexpensive machines, vans, and truck and bus models. Although these models were integrated into the super series back in 1993 and their own series designation was abandoned, the series of non-scalable models is still maintained today.
On the other hand, the special series , which consisted of 1:55 and 1:32 vehicles with special functions such as horn and flashing lights, was less successful . In 1994 this series had completely disappeared.
The 1:43 series launched in 1992 , which only produced two different types of cars, was just as unsuccessful as the attempt to re-establish itself in the area of aircraft models.
The car models in the Super Series received more detailed prints from 1993 onwards. In addition, plastic base plates have become standard in new models, making the models lighter. In the same year the company logo was changed again. In the place of the white circle with black letters framed with the rainbow colors there was now a red circle with white inscription.
While the production of the blister models was outsourced to China at the beginning of the 1990s, the second production site in Złotoryja, Poland has been supporting production in Lüdenscheid since 1995. In the same year, a logistics center with a fully automated high-bay warehouse was built in Lüdenscheid.
In 1998 Siku again presented large models for outdoor play with the Junior series. This time, however, the models were made of plastic. By 2006, however, this series also disappeared from the market.
2000s
At the beginning of the 2000s, mainly new construction vehicles were initially developed, but later also increasingly truck models and vans only in the widespread 1:50 scale. In addition, the Chinese production, which is gradually starting also for larger models, enables more detailed prints. With the car models, there are increasing fluctuations between the 1:70 and 1:50 scales in order to adapt the models to the uniform size of the blister packaging.
For the first time, Siku offered blister models in the H0 scale 1:87 under the Super series in 2001. In 2003, the range was expanded to include more expensive folding box models, which ran under the new series designation M87 . Since 2007, the H0-scale models have been fully assigned to the Super and Farmer series.
In 2002, historic tractor models appeared for the first time with the Farmer Classic series. By 2008, a wide variety of tractors, trailers and attachments that previously shaped rural life were implemented on a 1:32 scale. Due to insufficient demand, the series was finally discontinued and the individual models are gradually being removed from the range.
Siku entered a completely new field with the Control series in 2004. This initially involved infrared-controlled tractors and trailers. From 2007 radio remote control became the standard. Truck models and, most recently, a crawler excavator have also been added to the range.
In 2005 the Super Classic series was introduced, the models of which were already manufactured exclusively in 1:50 scale. With the last vehicle in the novelty year 2008, the series only had three truck models before it was discontinued, which are now gradually being removed from the range. In parallel to the truck models, historical car models were also implemented from 2007 onwards, but there were only three models here.
Starting in 2006, simply constructed car models similar to the former Club series will be produced, which are similar to Matchbox and Hot Wheels toy cars . Although these real models are also modeled on, they are manufactured without a license and accordingly differ in proportions and small details from the originals and have fictitious names. Since 2009, however, no more innovations have appeared in this area either.
In 2007, Siku finally opened its own production facility in China in order to meet the growing global demand for Siku models.
2010s
With the introduction of the Farmer series for the 1:50 scale, tractors for the 1: 55/1: 50 scale were available again for the first time since the 1990s. Ship models on a scale of 1: 1400 and simple sliding railroad models in 1: 120 ( nominal size TT , but greatly shortened) slowly found their way into the range from 2010 onwards. However, the area of railway models has not been maintained since 2013.
On June 27, 2012, the Siku / Wiking model world was opened in Lüdenscheid, where over 3500 exhibits are shown on approx. 500 m².
At the International Toy Fair in Nuremberg in 2013, the newly presented racing series was awarded the ToyAward and the Trader's Favorite. These are track-independent, remote-controlled racing cars on a scale of 1:43. The World game system was also released in 2013 . Here, play worlds can be set up with various printed base plates and played with Siku models in various scales.
Another plant in Poland went into operation in 2016.
Product range
The product range includes toy models made of metal and plastic in various scales and diverse topics. The super series includes all car models and mainly covers the subject areas of city, rescue, construction site and special vehicles in the scales 1:87, 1:55 and 1:50; There are also some inexpensive models without a fixed scale. Agricultural vehicles (e.g. tractors, harvesting machines and attachments) in 1:87, 1:50 and 1:32 scales belong to the Farmer series. The Control series includes all remote controllable models (e.g. tractors, trucks and attachments) on a scale of 1:32. The racing series, on the other hand, includes remote-controlled racing cars on a scale of 1:43. The racing cars can drive freely and are not tied to tracks or rails. The World series includes a game system in which a separate game world can be built for existing Siku models from various base plates. The city, agriculture and fire brigade topics are covered here.
Siku models as a collector's item
Due to the high quality and prototypes in connection with extensive accessories, the products from Siku were popular with collectors from the start. Some collectors have specialized in a certain series, for example the early plastic models, the super series, promotional models, export models or just the Farmer series. But there are also enthusiasts who collect almost everything, from models to packaging and advertising material. These can be catalogs, price lists or stickers and posters. But there are also towels and golf balls with the Siku emblem.
In addition to the normal series models, there are models that were specially manufactured for foreign markets and were only available in the respective countries. One of the reasons why early foreign models are now sought-after rarities. In the meantime, most of the current export models can also be purchased from local specialist dealers.
The replicas by the company Rei from Brazil, which had used cast molds from Siku in the 1970s and 1980s , were not made by Sieper himself . These models are extremely rare and very popular. It is similar with the replicas of the Hungarian company Metchy , which also manufactured Siku products in new colors and with the modified base embossing MADE IN HUNGARY in the 1980s .
The promotional models, which are often only produced in significantly smaller numbers than the standard or foreign models, are particularly valued by collectors. These are models that Siku manufactured on behalf of customers and according to their specifications. On the one hand, these models can be regular series models, which have only been supplemented by the respective company name, or, on the other hand, models that are lavishly printed and painted in special colors, which can also be packed in special advertising boxes. Siku had such industrial orders right from the start, so the development of the first 32 Siku models of the V series was realized with the proceeds from the production of so-called margarine advertising figures. Although there were already advertising models in all Siku series, the broad breakthrough for Siku models as an advertising medium did not come until the 1980s. A wide variety of models for company anniversaries or trade fairs were produced, from cars to combine harvesters in the Farmer series. Sometimes they had real models, sometimes they were fantasy vehicles. Previously there were only very few advertising models, which today can often be worth several hundred euros. Some of these models can hardly be obtained because industrial customers only issued them to business partners and / or the circulation was very small. But there are also promotional models with a circulation of 10,000 or more and which are available well below the price of the series model. In between, the variety, but also the price range, is very large.
Siku itself repeatedly offers limited special models for special occasions, such as the IAA . In addition to self-promotions, these are sometimes models from the Blackline series. These are mostly painted black, packed in a special box and provided with the appropriate imprints.
The privately run Siku Museum in Stadtlohn , which presents almost the entire model history of the Siku brand in a permanent exhibition, was also created from a collection .
literature
- Ulrich Biene: The SIKU story: lively car dreams from childhood. Delius Klasing, Bielefeld 2012, ISBN 978-3-7688-3491-9 .
- Siku collector's catalog Rawe 2006, ISBN 3-9802941-6-1 (reference work for all models from 1954 to 2005 with illustrations and evaluation)
Web links
- Official website of Siku
- Overview of Siku models from 1954 to today
- Website of the Siku / Wiking model world
- Numerous models in pictures
Individual evidence
- ↑ Imprint
- ↑ a b Federal Gazette : Annual financial statements as of December 31, 2014
- ↑ a b c d e story - SIKU - siku.de. In: www.siku.de. Retrieved July 29, 2016 .
- ^ Sieper works soon to be history. Retrieved September 10, 2012 .
- ↑ Company website ( Memento from August 18, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ http://www.siku.de/de/siku/chronik.html ( Memento from April 19, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Article from the Lüdenscheider Nachrichten on the opening of the Siku / Wiking model world
- ↑ http://www.siku.de/de/news/product/toyaward-2013.html ( Memento from October 3, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ http://www.siku.de/de/sortiment/sikuworld.html
- ↑ http://www.siku.de/de/sortiment.html
Coordinates: 51 ° 12 ′ 53.5 " N , 7 ° 38 ′ 47.6" E