Kader
Encyclopedia
Kader Industrial Company Limited was founded in Hong Kong
in 1948 by Ting Hsiung Chao. It was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1985 and presently trades under the name of "Kader Holdings Company Limited".
The company today is one of the world's largest manufacturers of toy
and hobby railways, and also has wider manufacturing interests as well as substantial investments in property. The vision of Mr. Ting Hsiung Chao is shared by the Ting family, which continues to lead the Kader Group.
Kader's initial focus product was to manufacture plastic
flashlight
s, which at the time were a novelty.
, PRC
. Manufacturing operations are divided into two categories, ODM manufacturing
(the contract manufacturing of goods for the brand/design owner); and manufacturing of precision model railroads designed and marketed by Kader group companies. ODM customers have included toys for Disney, Hasbro
and Mattel
; and electrical goods housings for National
Panasonic
.
In light of falling profits and financial difficulties at its customer Bachmann Bros., in 1984 Kader acquired Bachmann. It changed the name to Bachmann Industries
and used the brand to expand the offering to North American customers.
As well as introducing its own brands to North America, Kader under the Bachmann brand built itself up as the largest volume seller of model railways by purchasing other failing companies, using the Bachmann name to front a series of purchases in the rest of the world to combat the then poor perceptions of Hong Kong based production quality. In 1989 a European division was set up initially reusing the moulds previously used for the Palitoy
'Mainline' UK model railway products to create the Bachmann Branchline
models. 1992 it bought Liliput of Austria and in 2000 it bought Graham Farish
. In 2007 it acquired the assets of Williams models and launched "Williams by Bachmann".
Kader's business model for each take over, from its original purchase of Bachmann to the present day, is to buy a perceived quality brand in the target market or country. The company then closes local in-country production facilities, and then improves quality by re-engineering the models in Hong Kong, and reduces cost by producing the models in mainland China
.
Presently Bachmann offers trains in HO scale
, N scale
, On30
, and G scale
around the world, in addition to buildings and accessories:
In November 2008, Kader also took over Sanda Kan, its nearest competitor for precision model railway items in the Hong-Kong based ODM contract manufacturing business. Sanda Kan's biggest client had been Bachmann's dominant rival in the UK market Hornby Railways
, which had concentrated production there since 1997-2001. The company also manufactured for Lionel
, Atlas, Life-Like, Brawa, Märklin
, and of the order of 50 other model train companies. However it had been experiencing severe production and debt problems after a takeover by J.P. Morgan private equity. The merger was hailed by one producer as "a marriage made in heaven", although it is not yet clear what long-term effects the concentration of the ownership of production will have. Kader announced that Sanda Kan would continue as a distinct entity, and that Sanda Kan's original owner W.S. Ting had agreed to come back to lead the company. Hornby's managing director pronounced the acquisition "a welcome outcome [that] removes the uncertainty over the future of Sanda Kan". Most Hornby production has so far remained with Sanda Kan, although the company has also been talking with three alternative suppliers.
at the Kader Toy Factory, a joint venture managed by their Taiwanese partners, in Thailand
. 188 people were killed, and over 500 were seriously injured. Most of the victims were young female workers from rural families. More people were killed in this industrial accident than in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
; despite this, the incident received little media attention outside Thailand.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 1948 by Ting Hsiung Chao. It was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 1985 and presently trades under the name of "Kader Holdings Company Limited".
The company today is one of the world's largest manufacturers of toy
Toy train
A toy train is a toy that represents a train. It is distinguished from a model train by an emphasis on low cost and durability, rather than scale modeling. A toy train can be as simple as a pull toy that does not even run on track, or it might be operated by clockwork or a battery...
and hobby railways, and also has wider manufacturing interests as well as substantial investments in property. The vision of Mr. Ting Hsiung Chao is shared by the Ting family, which continues to lead the Kader Group.
Kader's initial focus product was to manufacture plastic
Plastic
A plastic material is any of a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic organic solids used in the manufacture of industrial products. Plastics are typically polymers of high molecular mass, and may contain other substances to improve performance and/or reduce production costs...
flashlight
Flashlight
A flashlight is a hand-held electric-powered light source. Usually the light source is a small incandescent lightbulb or light-emitting diode...
s, which at the time were a novelty.
Present day
Today the companies main facilities are located in DongguanDongguan
Dongguan is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong province, People's Republic of China.An important industrial city located in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the south, and the Pearl River to...
, PRC
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Manufacturing operations are divided into two categories, ODM manufacturing
Original Design Manufacturer
An original design manufacturer is a company which designs and manufactures a product which is specified and eventually branded by another firm for sale. Such companies allow the brand firm to produce without having to engage in the organization or running of a factory...
(the contract manufacturing of goods for the brand/design owner); and manufacturing of precision model railroads designed and marketed by Kader group companies. ODM customers have included toys for Disney, Hasbro
Hasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
and Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
; and electrical goods housings for National
National (brand)
National was a brand used by Panasonic Corporation to sell home appliances, personal appliances, and industrial appliances and was the first name used by Konosuke Matsushita's electric firm to sell his battery-powered bicycle lamps, hoping that they would be a product used by all of Japan, hence...
Panasonic
Panasonic
Panasonic is an international brand name for Japanese electric products manufacturer Panasonic Corporation, which was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd...
.
Precision model railways
Bachmann Industries
Bachmann Industries is a Bermuda registered Chinese owned company, globally head quartered in Hong Kong; specializing in model railroading....
and used the brand to expand the offering to North American customers.
As well as introducing its own brands to North America, Kader under the Bachmann brand built itself up as the largest volume seller of model railways by purchasing other failing companies, using the Bachmann name to front a series of purchases in the rest of the world to combat the then poor perceptions of Hong Kong based production quality. In 1989 a European division was set up initially reusing the moulds previously used for the Palitoy
Palitoy
Palitoy was the name of a British toy company.It manufactured some of the most popular toys in Britain, some original items and others under licence...
'Mainline' UK model railway products to create the Bachmann Branchline
Bachmann Branchline
Bachmann Branchline is a brand name of Bachmann Industries used for British outline 00 gauge model railways.Bachmann, a US company founded in 1835, was purchased by Kader Industries in 1987. Kader had previously produced models for Palitoy under the 'Mainline' brand...
models. 1992 it bought Liliput of Austria and in 2000 it bought Graham Farish
Graham Farish
Graham Farish is a company that produces large quantities of British outline model railway equipment in N gauge.-History:The Poole, Dorset based manufacturer of radio parts and kits entered the model railway business in the late 1940s, after the need for radio sets reduced post World War II...
. In 2007 it acquired the assets of Williams models and launched "Williams by Bachmann".
Kader's business model for each take over, from its original purchase of Bachmann to the present day, is to buy a perceived quality brand in the target market or country. The company then closes local in-country production facilities, and then improves quality by re-engineering the models in Hong Kong, and reduces cost by producing the models in mainland China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Presently Bachmann offers trains in HO scale
HO scale
HO or H0 is the most popular scale of model railway in the world.According to the NMRA standard S-1.2 predominantly used in North America, in HO scale, represents 1 real foot ; this ratio works out to about 1:87.1. According to the MOROP standard NEM 010 predominantly used in Europe, the scale is...
, N scale
N scale
N scale is a popular model railway scale/track gauge. Depending upon the manufacturer , the scale ranges from 1:148 to 1:160. In all cases, the gauge is . The term N gauge refers to the track dimensions, but in the UK in particular N gauge refers to a 1:148 scale with track gauge modelling...
, On30
On30
On30 is the most common term used to describe the modelling of narrow gauge railways in O scale on HO gauge track. Other terms used include O16.5, Oe, and On2½. It is part of the hobby of rail transport modelling.- Definitions :...
, and G scale
G scale
G scale is a scale for model railways, and because of its size and durability, G scale is often used outdoors. Such installations are known as garden railways.-LGB:...
around the world, in addition to buildings and accessories:
- North America - Bachmann Industries, Williams by Bachmann
- United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
- Bachmann BranchlineBachmann BranchlineBachmann Branchline is a brand name of Bachmann Industries used for British outline 00 gauge model railways.Bachmann, a US company founded in 1835, was purchased by Kader Industries in 1987. Kader had previously produced models for Palitoy under the 'Mainline' brand...
offer 00 gauge models, while Graham FarishGraham FarishGraham Farish is a company that produces large quantities of British outline model railway equipment in N gauge.-History:The Poole, Dorset based manufacturer of radio parts and kits entered the model railway business in the late 1940s, after the need for radio sets reduced post World War II...
produce British scale (1:148) N gauge models under the Graham FarishGraham FarishGraham Farish is a company that produces large quantities of British outline model railway equipment in N gauge.-History:The Poole, Dorset based manufacturer of radio parts and kits entered the model railway business in the late 1940s, after the need for radio sets reduced post World War II...
name - Europe - Liliput and PalitoyPalitoyPalitoy was the name of a British toy company.It manufactured some of the most popular toys in Britain, some original items and others under licence...
- China - from 2000, Bachmann also started producing Chinese outline models under the Bachmann China name, opening the world's first Bachmann speciality retail shop in ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
in 2005
In November 2008, Kader also took over Sanda Kan, its nearest competitor for precision model railway items in the Hong-Kong based ODM contract manufacturing business. Sanda Kan's biggest client had been Bachmann's dominant rival in the UK market Hornby Railways
Hornby Railways
Hornby Railways is the leading brand of model railway in the United Kingdom. Its roots date back to 1901, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was produced in 1920. In 1938, Hornby launched its first 00 gauge train...
, which had concentrated production there since 1997-2001. The company also manufactured for Lionel
Lionel, LLC
Lionel, LLC is a designer and importer of toy trains and model railroads, based in Chesterfield Township, Michigan. Its roots lie in the 1969 purchase of the Lionel product line by cereal conglomerate General Mills....
, Atlas, Life-Like, Brawa, Märklin
Märklin
Gebr. Märklin & Cie. GmbH or Märklin is a German toy company. The company was founded in 1859 and is based at Göppingen in Baden-Wurttemberg. Although it originally specialised in doll house accessories, today it is best known for model railways and technical toys...
, and of the order of 50 other model train companies. However it had been experiencing severe production and debt problems after a takeover by J.P. Morgan private equity. The merger was hailed by one producer as "a marriage made in heaven", although it is not yet clear what long-term effects the concentration of the ownership of production will have. Kader announced that Sanda Kan would continue as a distinct entity, and that Sanda Kan's original owner W.S. Ting had agreed to come back to lead the company. Hornby's managing director pronounced the acquisition "a welcome outcome [that] removes the uncertainty over the future of Sanda Kan". Most Hornby production has so far remained with Sanda Kan, although the company has also been talking with three alternative suppliers.
Thailand fire
On May 10, 1993, there was a major fireKader Toy Factory Fire
The Kader Toy Factory fire was a fire on 10 May 1993 at a factory in Thailand. It is considered the worst industrial factory fire in history. 188 people were killed, and over 500 were seriously injured. Most of the victims were young female workers from rural families...
at the Kader Toy Factory, a joint venture managed by their Taiwanese partners, in Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. 188 people were killed, and over 500 were seriously injured. Most of the victims were young female workers from rural families. More people were killed in this industrial accident than in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city of New York and resulted in the fourth highest loss of life from an industrial accident in U.S. history...
; despite this, the incident received little media attention outside Thailand.