Subscribe to theConsumers:
Michelle Winfrey
Phone: 609-395-5566
Media:
Jessica Rusack
Phone: 201-222-9188
PLAYMOBIL toys are synonymous with creative play, are loved among children and also have the highest standards of quality and safety. Parents place their trust in the brand for its expertise in providing high–quality products under the "Made in Europe" label.
For years, the toy market has been under enormous pricing pressure. However, increased costs of doing business should not affect quality or safety, especially in products for children. PLAYMOBIL proprietor Horst Brandstätter and his team make this issue their top priority, taking product safety into account through product development into manufacturing.
PLAYMOBIL is proud to finance an in-house development department with more than 60 designers, molders and crafters in addition to around 30 construction specialists and a mold-making staff of approximately 150 workers. This adds up to around 240 people who, long before production begins, are working to ensure quality and safety. The wealth of experience this team has gathered in the course of more than 30 years is of immense value and is unmatched in the toy industry. Safe, high-quality PLAYMOBIL toys are thus the result of a careful, multiple-stage process.
Producing safe, high-quality toys begins long before products are manufactured. The conception and development of new items, from the first idea to the market launch, can take up to three years. During the development process, long-standing staff members who are closely involved with the PLAYMOBIL brand take into consideration the play value, as well as ease of use and age-based design, all while eliminating possible safety hazards. The raw plastic material for each respective function is carefully chosen according to its quality and durability.
Testing production materials
The best prerequisite for producing safe and premium-quality goods is the careful selection of suppliers and the inspection of all production materials being used, including paint, before they are applied in production. These quality and safety tests are carried out by the LGA, a recognised independent institution, in accordance with the European and American safety guidelines.
Tests for quality and safety
Articles that have gone into production are also tested and checked in the LGA's laboratories according to American and European toy safety standards. Since 2001, all PLAYMOBIL products have been marked with the LGA's test seal. Numerous awards for its products attest to the PLAYMOBIL team’s consistent pursuit of quality, safety and educational play value.
Production ’in our own way’
The decisive advantage of PLAYMOBIL is its state-of-the-art production, storage and shipping facilities in Germany and its production plants in Malta, Spain and the Czech Republic. Company Proprietor Horst Brandstätter professes loyalty to their location: “Outstanding quality can only be obtained when the production is happening under one’s own supervision, with people who have developed an understanding of the market over a long period of time and have learned to produce the highest quality.” In order to remain competitive, the production plants - with those in Germany leading the way - have been made fit for the future, at a cost of over 150 million Euros. Just last year the PLAYMOBIL plant in the Franconian town of Dietenhofen was awarded the title of “Selected Location 2007" in the location initiative "Germany – Country of Ideas."
Less than 5 percent of the PLAYMOBIL product line is obtained from longstanding, ICTI-certified affiliated producers in China. This is predominantly the case with electronic parts and articles requiring a high degree of manual labour. Of course, these products are put through the same safety and quality tests as the entire product line.
Thus it is assured that the PLAYMOBIL brand today lives up to the trust placed in it by its customers, and will continue to do so in the future.
Press Contact:
Michelle Winfrey,
Phone: (609) 395-5566
E-Mail. Michelle.Winfrey@playmobilusa.com