75 Years of ideas for miniature worlds

In 1946, things are gloomy in Germany. But new ideas full of optimism emerge despite the darkness in the period immediately after the nightmare of the Second World War and the Third Reich. In Stuttgart, for example, two brothers get together to contemplate what their future could look like. One of them had spent the past few years in an armaments factory, the other at Bosch in Stuttgart. Like many of their contemporaries, both are facing a great void. So Hermann and Edwin set out to fill it. Together they develop an audacious plan in those days of hardship. From now on they want to develop creative toys. Not just any toys, but small buildings that children can freely arrange to form their own worlds, just like the miniature wooden farm Hermann built for his daughter back then. This project could also be described as a way to playfully overcome the omnipresent destruction, at least on a small scale, and open up new perspectives for children.

The first step is always the hardest – but exciting

In the very same year, the two brothers found their company. The production of small houses is launched under the name “Hermann Faller”. Made of wood and printed cardboard, they are all handcrafted. In the same year, the small company moves to their parents’ house in Gütenbach – a house large enough for a workshop. There, the plan matures to offer a modular construction kit with prefabricated panels from which new building structures can be built and disassembled again and again. With its detailed instructions and inspiring suggestions, this first toy from the house of FALLER comes into the toy trade under the name “Marathon” and gives the two newcomers their first respectable success. In the meantime, the company has been renamed “Gebr. FALLER Spielwaren” and produces items for everyday use. These include combs made of beech wood, plus saucepan trivets. This, they calculate, will generate a secure basic income, because toys are only affordable for a few people in those times.

It becomes painfully clear as early as 1948 how accurate the prediction of the two Fallers is. The currency reform causes the fledgling toy market to collapse abruptly. The two young entrepreneurs have to lay off all their employees and write down sales. Hermann and Edwin switch to wooden clothes pegs but never lose sight of their original idea.

The model railway connection

Even during the severe crisis, the brothers continue refining the concept of the toy house and discover an allied idea in model railways in 1949. They conclude that a model railway really only comes into its own when it consists not only of tracks, points and trains, but also takes the stage with matching buildings and scenic elements. Following this realisation, the development of stations, signal boxes and goods sheds for the H0 track began, initially in the form of simple prefabricated models.

The breakthrough comes in 1950. At the Nuremberg Toy Fair, the company presents no fewer than 10 model buildings prototypes and a miniature brushed motor of their own design. Although not visible, it causes quite a stir, animating the new windmill and watermill, and turning blades and the water wheel. “Back then, we had our finger on the pulse of time”, says current Managing Partner Horst Neidhard. The brand’s core is established: emotion, faithfulness to the prototype, elements of surprise. This still typifies FALLER today.

From small to industrial enterprise

Despite its modest beginnings, the Gütenbach enterprise quickly becomes an industrial company with a high level of innovation. The potential of plastic injection moulding is recognised early on. It promises better detailing of models, higher quantities and lower prices for consumers. In 1954, FALLER was one of the first companies in south-western Germany to rely on this new production technology.

In the same year, FALLER launches the first model manufactured using this method, a viaduct bridge whose “ashlar” masonry fully matches the historic original. The bridge heralds a new era in two respects, as it is also the first kit. This not only sells the model, but also the fun of handcrafting, making building an experience of its own.

The two Faller founders complement each other ideally in their work: “While Hermann, who had an affinity for technology, took care of the technical side, Edwin Faller was the business management go-getter and enterprising marketing man”, Horst Neidhard sums up. In 1958, Edwin Faller had the first colour catalogue printed, and in 1959 new buildings were constructed in Gütenbach, naturally on an industrial scale. In the 1960s, FALLER experienced an “explosion of ideas”, according to Horst Neidhard. The “AMS” car racetrack is born and the N track is added to the product range. One success follows another, and in 1976 the catalogue contains 473 products.

Focus and records

In the 1980s, a new phenomenon puts the brakes on the company‘s success story. Price pressure is becoming noticeable in the market, triggered by low-cost production options in the Far East. Unlike many competitors, FALLER does not relocate production and remains loyal to its Black Forest location. The toy sector, which has come under pressure, must nevertheless be abandoned, and the “AMS” becomes history. The company again concentrates on its core business, model building, and launches the “Car System” product range in 1988, a real innovation with self-driving cars and control elements for road traffic. The core business runs splendidly. In 2003, the company realises a record turnover and has more than 1,500 model building items in its range.

The creeping crisis

Hermann Faller died in 1982 and his brother Edwin withdrew from the management of the company in 1986. Gradually, deficits long masked by the great demand become apparent. Enormous pension liabilities burden the company‘s ability to develop. “The innovative power was weakened, controlling was outdated, the company figures were not very transparent and new projects were increasingly left unfinished”, says Horst Neidhard. A general market crisis in the model railway industry hits the company hard. “In four years, sales plummeted by 40 percent. The company‘s capital resources were too low to absorb this loss.” This ultimately leads to FALLER having to file for insolvency in the midst of its needed restructuring.

New perspectives

A traditional brand like FALLER, with its incredible appeal, its enthusiastic fan community and its well-established, outstanding employees, was not to disappear so easily.In 2010, Horst Neidhard, the son-in-law of the daughter of company founder Hermann Faller, his wife and his brother join the company as new shareholders. Together with his team of experienced and new employees, Neidhard succeeds as managing director in restarting the company from insolvency. “The task was to continue to pursue the sustainable strategy developed in 2006 and already started to some extent, translate the exciting brand core into the future and implement innovations in sales and marketing.”

As a result, new manufacturing processes are introduced, new products are developed and the emotional side of model building is emphasised. Because “model building is creative, has to do with technology and history, is calming, cross-generational and tangible”, says Horst Neidhard. Model building as the antithesis of ever faster and more digital everyday life? “Absolutely. We have been steadily evolving upwards since 2010.” This does not mean that FALLER is shutting out digitalisation – on the contrary. The “Car System Digital” is based on this. Circuit boards control every new functional model, and digitally printed parts embellish a multitude of products. And the “FALLER CREATE” range introduced in 2019 is completely digital. Customers design the model they want on the computer using the online tool, and the model is then produced by FALLER on a 3D printer. “We‘re competing with a huge leisure industry today. There‘s also the issue of an increasingly scarce human resource: time.” So innovation takes on a new dimension. It‘s not just at product level but about creating positive experiences. “We see ourselves as idea absorbers and enablers. We develop products customers can use to successfully realise their very own ideas. The products are designed to stimulate the imagination, making crafting and playing an experience.” This means that today, 75 years after its foundation, FALLER is still fully in line with the intentions of Hermann and Edwin Faller.

75 plus – The future

“We will continue to focus on model building and offer something to all those who are passionate about this hobby. By the way, this doesn‘t necessarily need to be coupled with a model railway. Even dioramas on their own are very exciting too.” “FALLER CREATE” is resolutely developing in the direction of individualisation expanded with new possibilities to become the central source for all those who enjoy designing something unique. Technical innovations will also find their way into the “Car System Digital”, be it in the direction of miniaturisation or wireless control hardware. And of course new, fascinating models are always being devised: new accessories for the landscape and new technical add-ons to enliven the layout by means of movement, light or acoustics. “The sustainability issue concerns us enormously from an entrepreneurial point of view.” Sooner rather than later, FALLER wants to become a climate-neutral company, which includes internal processes as well as the product portfolio. “We are thinking in particular of the increased use of recyclates, new packaging and implementing the environmental issue directly into product development.” All this, Horst Neidhard emphasises, remains anchored in Gütenbach, because “we have a network of long-standing partners and short distances here, and can react quickly. Only when development and production can work hand in hand, do you get the right result.”

Faller is better equipped than ever for its 75th anniversary, with a treasure trove of new ideas and new concepts. Even the Covid pandemic has not been able to harm the company so far – on the contrary: “many people have rediscovered the model-building hobby in a time of crisis.”