Page 16 - Jetpower (January 2020)

008-016 Runway 1-20:Layout 1 Englisch 09.01.2020 13:38 Uhr Seite 16

Graupner no longer exists in Germany

Graupner / SJ GmbH announced in a press release that the site in Kirchheim / Teck will probably be closed. Graupner / SJ is a mo-
del building company with a very long tradition. It was founded in 1930 by Johannes Graupner in Stuttgart-Wangen and under the tra-
de name Graubele. Now in the long run the business operations at this location in Germany will be discontinued. An application for the
initiation of insolvency proceedings due to imminent insolvency has already been filed. Here the complete press release:

South Korean parent company Graupner Co, Ltd
carries out a restructuring and relocates Production
back to headquarters

The parent company Graupner Co, Ltd of Graupner / SJ GmbH, located in Kirchheim, Germany, is closing its manufacturing plant for
Graupner products in China. The extremely tense market situation in the company's environment for a long time and the constant loss and
insolvency of many global OEM / ODM customers makes the continuation of the manufacturing operation in Shenzhen / China still unprofi-
table, even after restructuring has been completed. Rising wages, taxes and costs of manufacturing in China as well as imitation products
and direct imports also made the situation more difficult. In contrast, products from the remote control segment of the Graupner HoTT brand
are enjoying growing demand. The demand for charging technology, servos and other RC electronics also remains stable. The focus and
continuation of the production and development of precisely these core products will take place directly at the headquarters of the parent
company near Seoul. In addition to streamlining the corporate structure and increasing efficiency, this should also benefit direct control and
influence on the production processes and quality control. "Made in South Korea" will in future raise the quality standard of Graupner pro-
ducts even further.
For the sales department and thus directly for Graupner / SJ GmbH, this reorientation and restructuring of Graupner Co. Graupner Co.,
Ltd. will generate completely new distribution channels within the scope of the restructuring and relocation of production, so that Graupner
/ SJ GmbH in Kirchheim will no longer be part of the distribution chain. Due to the reorientation, Graupner / SJ GmbH in Kirchheim will no
longer receive any products or support. As Graupner / SJ GmbH in Kirchheim does not have any in-house production, this reduction of the
portfolio, restructuring and relocation of production back to the headquarters means that the business operations in Kirchheim / Teck with
the corresponding storage capacity, staffing levels and cost structure will be foreseeable and no longer competitive in the long term. Without
the delivery of goods / products and provision of support, Graupner / SJ GmbH has no future. The high costs existing at the Kirchheim lo-
cation can therefore not be compensated. In order to avoid a long agony of Graupner / SJ GmbH, to have planning security for all parties in-
volved quickly, Graupner / SJ GmbH has filed for the initiation of insolvency proceedings due to imminent insolvency. It had to be taken into
account that all know-how, including trademark rights, is owned by Graupner Co., Ltd.
Graupner Co., Ltd. will provide separate information on future sales and distribution partners and thus the nationwide assurance of sup-
plies to Graupner customers as well as the service of Graupner core products.
My comment

This message came unexpectedly for the employees in Kirchheim / Teck and was a shock for all model pilots, not only in Germany.
My first thought was: Good that Hans Graupner does not have to witness this anymore! We all associate the name Graupner with mo-
del making par excellence. Like many others, I took my first steps into remote control flying with the Amigo II. The trade fair appearan-
ces in Nuremberg were always an experience and when Hans Graupner invited me into the holy of holies, his meeting room, it was li-
ke a knightly accolade. I am proud to have had a very special relationship with Hans Graupner. He supported the idea of rookie mee-
tings and promoted the up-and-coming jet aviation with his own products. I was allowed to organize the great jubilee flight day for the
75th anniversary of the company on the Hahnweide. An event that will remain in the memory of all participants.
Now everything is over and I will miss the Graupner company and I would not know of anyone who could fill this gap. What remains
for me are the memories, old photos and letters and the one or other catalogue. Everything has suddenly become a valuable memen-
to. I very much hope that all employees will soon get a good job again and I wish them a lot of strength for a new beginning.

EU aviation law for model flying

The Federal Model Flight Commission in the DAeC has laid a milestone in the development of the foundations for the implementati-
on of European regulations for its members: The "Standardized Rules for Model Flights" (StRfF) are ready. For this purpose, countless
legal texts, ordinances, notices to airmen, ascent permits or terrain permits and flight regulations have been viewed and processed over
the past 18 months. All sports and technical advisers have been involved for their respective areas and model flight classes in order to
be able to incorporate the respective special features in the best possible and practical way.

16 JETPOWER 1/2020