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Märklin declares bankruptcy

Published: February 4, 2009
German model railroad manufacturer Märklin has declared bankruptcy, the company announced Wednesday. The filing comes after the company was unable to persuade a pair of banks to extend a $64 million credit line that expired last Friday.

According to the German business Web site Handelsblatt.com, the filing should allow Märklin to continue operations. "We are determined to restructure our traditional company … using the instruments of German insolvency law and establish it permanently in the market," Märklin executive Dietmar Mundil said in a statement.

Märklin teetered on the edge of bankruptcy three years ago before being purchased in 1996 by the Kingsbridge Capital investment firm. In 2008, the train manufacturer reported sales of $165 million.

Märklin's deal with Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg and Kreissparkasse Goeppingen for a 50 million euro ($64.2 million) credit line expired January 30. As a result, the company was unable to pay its workers their January wages.

The company is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, with special celebrations occurring at Nuremberg's Spielwarenmesse Toy Fair, happening now. Sources say Märklin's upper management has not made an appearance at the show.

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BARRIE HORNER from UNITED KINGDOM said:
I feel I have a personal stake in Marklin as over he past few years I have invested an awful lot of money in LGB models and track, so from a purely selfish viewpoint I sincerely hope they can pull through and survive.
TIMOTHY SERRANOS from SOUTH DAKOTA said:
I have noticed that kitsare still out there this may be a bit off subject but I seen some folks saying to buy buy buy so I have been buying kits ie: rolling stock, and structures, I have noticed that they are 25%-50% cheaper than the built up models and if you possess the required skill and tools they end up as good and sometimes better than the prebuilt models plus there is a sense of satisfaction and it keeps these companys in the black. Also you can build thecars how you wish ie: adding your own wheels (metal,plastic ect) so it gives you some leadway how they operate because you do it all. My suggestion is if you have the tools handy if you havent tried building a car or stucture give it try on a cheap model and you will be hooked, note I started about a month ago doing these kits with a cheap Atlas round house and now I have found DPM kits and they are a blast but might bit more of a challenge.
BENJAMIN KRAUSSE from CANADA said:
It really suprises me that such a great company can go bankrupt. I model Märklin and have loads of it. I love the easyness but still realism of it all. Märklin is a synonim to model railroading for me, and it has been running in the family. I even have an engine that is almost a century old. Diese verdammte Rezession!!! (this darn recession!!!)
BRIAN WORKMAN from CALIFORNIA said:
Marklin! Who's next? I guess that todays bankers never saw the movie "It's a Wonderfull Life"? Greedy Banks will be the downfall of model hobbies the World over if we don't support this hobby. Buy! Buy! Buy! Supprt your local hobby shop today!
JOSHUA CHRISTIAN from COLORADO said:
I am a model railroader in G,O,HO,and N. My only G scale source is LGB. I hope Marklin survives.
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