Modelleisenbahn Holding

Modelleisenbahn Holding GmbH is an Austrian holding company headquartered in Bergheim bei Salzburg. It serves as the parent company of two well-known European model railway manufacturers: the German brand Fleischmann and the Austrian brand Roco. The group was formed after the insolvency of Roco in July 2005, when the company was initially continued through a rescue company backed by Raiffeisenbank. In September 2007, Roco was sold to the Freising entrepreneur Franz-Josef Haslberger, who subsequently placed Roco Modelleisenbahn GmbH under the newly founded Modelleisenbahn Holding GmbH. Fleischmann joined the group in early 2008 after being sold by its owning family. By 2010, both brands were profitable again. In 2011, the entire group was acquired in a management buy-out by the then managers of Modelleisenbahn Holding GmbH—Leopold Heher (CEO), Roland Edenhofer (COF), and Johannes Steinparzer (COO)—through EHS Management GmbH, Salzburg. The buy-out was negotiated by UBG Unternehmensbeteiligungs GmbH, which was close to Raiffeisenverband Salzburg and was the sole shareholder of Model Railway Holding AG. In April 2011, UBG had taken over Franz Josef Haslberger's shares in Haslberger Railway Holding AG and subsequently renamed it Model Railway Holding AG. At the time of the takeover, Modelleisenbahn Holding GmbH employed 740 people in Germany, Austria, Romania, and Slovakia. The brands Fleischmann and Roco continue to operate as independent companies in the market. Roco offers a full range of H0 scale (1:87) products. Fleischmann initially focused on historical models up to about 1950 in H0 and produced a full range in N scale (1:160); from 2019, Fleischmann only produces in N scale. In 2016, the holding company outsourced parts of its production to Vietnam to return to profitability. In October 2017, it became known that Raiffeisenverband Salzburg (RVS) would again become the owner of the model railway group. Roland Edenhofer handed over his approximately 95 percent stake in the holding to the house bank and withdrew both as owner and managing director from the group.

The history of Modelleisenbahn Holding GmbH is closely tied to the fortunes of its two main brands, Roco and Fleischmann. Roco, an Austrian model railway manufacturer, faced insolvency in July 2005. It was initially continued through a rescue company (Auffanggesellschaft) supported by Raiffeisenbank. In September 2007, Roco was sold to the Freising entrepreneur Franz-Josef Haslberger. Haslberger then established Modelleisenbahn Holding GmbH as a parent company for Roco Modelleisenbahn GmbH. In early 2008, the German model railway manufacturer Fleischmann was sold by its owning family and joined the group. Under the holding, both brands returned to profitability by 2010. In 2011, the entire group was acquired in a management buy-out by the then managers of Modelleisenbahn Holding GmbH—Leopold Heher (CEO), Roland Edenhofer (COF), and Johannes Steinparzer (COO)—through EHS Management GmbH, Salzburg. The buy-out was negotiated by UBG Unternehmensbeteiligungs GmbH, which was close to Raiffeisenverband Salzburg and was the sole shareholder of Model Railway Holding AG. In April 2011, UBG had taken over Franz Josef Haslberger's shares in Haslberger Railway Holding AG and subsequently renamed it Model Railway Holding AG. At the time of the takeover, the company employed 740 people in Germany, Austria, Romania, and Slovakia. In 2016, the holding outsourced parts of its production to Vietnam to return to profitability. In October 2017, it was announced that Raiffeisenverband Salzburg (RVS) would again become the owner of the model railway group. Roland Edenhofer handed over his approximately 95 percent stake to the house bank and withdrew both as owner and managing director from the group.

• Roco insolvency; continued via rescue company backed by Raiffeisenbank.

• Roco sold to Franz-Josef Haslberger; Modelleisenbahn Holding GmbH founded.

• Fleischmann joins the group after sale by owning family.

• Both brands return to profitability.

• Management buy-out by EHS Management GmbH (Heher, Edenhofer, Steinparzer).

• UBG takes over Haslberger's shares and renames Haslberger Railway Holding AG to Model Railway Holding AG.

• Parts of production outsourced to Vietnam.

• Raiffeisenverband Salzburg becomes owner again; Edenhofer exits.

• Fleischmann ceases H0 production, focuses solely on N scale.

Leading European model railway group with a 25% market share in Europe (2013).

• Roco H0 scale full range

  Full range of H0 scale (1:87) model railway products.

• Fleischmann N scale full range

  Full range of N scale (1:160) model railway products; from 2019 only N scale.

1. 1Modelleisenbahn Holding - Wikipediade.wikipedia.org
2. 2Modelleisenbahn Holding - Wikidatawikidata.org