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| Thomas replicas licensed https://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24091 |
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| Author: | bobyar2001 [ Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:28 am ] |
| Post subject: | Thomas replicas licensed |
I saw this on the Park Trains list. Don't have time to post it to Flimsies right now. I presume these are 1/8-size trains, 7.25-7.5-inch gauge, but don't know for sure. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wale ... 037830.stm Thomas licence puts firm on track An Anglesey miniature train manufacturer has won the rights to build replicas of the children's favourite Thomas the Tank engine. Cromar White, based at Valley on the island, hopes the deal will help double sales over the next three years. The US, where the trains are seen as the ultimate toy for the super- rich, is its biggest market. Later this year the company begins work on installing rail tracks for the wife of Egypt's President Mubarak. Owner Tony Martin said winning the licence to build miniatures replicas of Thomas the Tank which people can ride in should mean his company hits a turnover of £700,000 within the next three years. He bought out the firm five years ago and moved its operation from Hampshire to Anglesey. New workshops have been built in anticipation of a growing order book for its diesel and electric engines, narrow-gauge tracks and carriages. "We've been working hard for the last five years to win the right to build the Thomas the Tank engine," said Mr Martin. "It has been a very tough deal to land. This is a major brand and we had to keep pushing and pushing for them to take us seriously. "We're really punching above our weight as a small company from Anglesey." The engines for the American market will be put together by the company's US business partner Roll Models Inc, while those for sale in Europe will be built on Anglesey. "We've just got the product agreed and signed off," said Mr Martin, who is in Texas for meetings with the brand owners of Thomas the Tank, HIT Entertainment. "Artistically, we've had to produce everything to exactly the specifications that HIT wanted." But he admitted that the miniatures, which include Thomas's coaches Annie and Clarabel, are not cheap. "We are aiming at the top 15% of earners in the US. This is the ultimate present for their children and a real one-up on their rich neighbours," he said. Each set of engines and 180 metres of track costs around £23,000, and the first order is already in. The company is keen to expand into other areas, and in December Mr Martin's team will fly out to Cairo to install miniature tracks and signalling for Egypt's first lady, the wife of President Mubarak. |
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