TERRY SMITH tells us about his recent visit to this Danish manufacturer.
Just before Christmas, Gaugemaster's MD, Ian Fowler, and I took a trip out to Denmark to visit Heljan. The trip started with a 3am drive to the airport and an early morning flight to Copenhagen. We got on the train to Odense and were picked up from station by Heljan's MD Kim Nannestad. Kim drove us out to the Heljan factory in Sonderso. We then spend 2 days at the factory working on exclusive models and looking over plastic kit tooling. After this whistle-stop tour we then headed home, arriving in the UK at around 2am Wednesday morning. If you work it out, that was 47 hours away with just 8 hours sleep and we didn't get to see much of Denmark or even Copenhagen - except the airport!
The factory in Sonderso, which opened in 1966.
This was a business trip however, and sometimes it pays to meet face to face. We did come back with some great news to tell the troops at HQ. We had added two exclusive weathered OO Class 33s to the Gaugemaster Collection, that we can offer to both the trade and public. The trade deal was also good news and we have become Heljan's UK distributor from the start of the year, as well as the UK source for spares from March 1st 2020.
The building has a ferocious guard dog Gizmo, who also accompanies Kim into work every day!
One of the reasons I wanted to go was to look at all the model building and structure tooling - I wanted a good rummage through all their old back catalogue of construction kits. This was something we have done successfully with our partners at Faller to bring to the UK market the Fordhampton range. this will now be added to, with some of the wonderful OO kits that Heljan have produced over the years.
Ben Jones on the left, with Heljan MD Kim Nannestad who was once a professional hand-ball player!
Perhaps it's time to tell you what I found out about the company while I was out there. It was formed in 1957 by Kim's grandfather Niels Christian Nannestad while he was still a serving police officer. The company first started producing card kits of railway buildings, but by 1962 they had bought their first plastic injection moulding machine which is still on display in the factory's foyer. The company grew and moved to their purpose build present location in 1966. By now, Kim's father Jan had joined the company and still comes in most days to his office there. In the 1970s they branched out into producing HO model railway locomotives and rolling stock initially of Danish outline as well as OO building kits for the British market.
Where the plastic kits all began, with this second-hand moulding machine designed to make UVPC windows!
Heljan founder N.C. Nannestad on the left, and a young Jan who still calls in most days.
A milestone as far as the UK modeller was concerned was the announcement in 2002 that the company was to produce its first ever British locomotive, a Class 47. Since then Heljan has moved more and more into the UK, with some years back entering the growing O Scale market and today almost 90% of what they produce is destined for the UK. Two years ago, ex Model Rail and BRM editor Ben Jones joined the company and now works as researcher and product developer bringing his wealth of knowledge of the British Railway scene with him.
First released in 2002, the OO Scale Class 47 has now been joined by many other OO and O Scale locomotives and rolling stock, making the UK the Heljan's largest market.
British outline O Scale models adorn this wall.
Like many other companies throughout the world the models are no longer made on site but produced in China, but there was a bit of a buzz as a delivery of Beyer-Garretts had arrived and were being test run on some of the huge test tracks on site. In fact, one thing they are not short of is space, and in 2012 Heljan started RC Kongen which is one of Denmark's leading supplier of RC Racing models. The building now features a huge indoor track for Radio Control racing. Kim did fire up their car race simulator and I ended up doing over 25 laps of the Donnington GP circuit in a Touring car, so maybe it was a bit of a jolly after all!
Yours truly racing a Touring car on the simulator inside RC Kongen's huge Radio Control shop and racing complex.