Meccano, one of the largest European toy manufacturers, has recently moved a segment of its production operations back to France.
Alain Ingberg, Managing Director, explains that the move was done in stages over two years, and the investment began back in 2005 with the upgrading of facilities in Calais. "Now we are able to put a 'Made in France' logo on all our Calais-produced toys," he said.
According to Ingberg, Meccano decided to move back a portion of their Chinese manufacturing to Calais for two main reasons; "Firstly, we already had facilities there but they were under-used. We wanted them to be working to full capacity. Secondly, production in China was beginning to be problematic. The cost of labour was rising and delays in delivery had doubled and were increasing." Since moving production back to Calais, Meccano are able to offer significantly more flexibility.
Another influence was currency - the company's investment in China was primarily to serve the dollar market. It's more difficult to sell to Americans and Australians in euros than in dollars. Now that the euro is so much stronger than the dollar, Meccano has less interest in these markets.
Regional support in France offered another draw. "We didn't make the decision based on state funding, but we were helped enormously by the regional development agencies (CDCE et de Finorpa) during the difficult transition period," explains Ingberg.
Background:
Meccano is probably the oldest toy manufacturer in the world. Founded in Liverpool in 1898, its first factory was built in the UK. Meccano subsequently and for many years ran one factory in East Germany and one in France. The German factory closed down during the Second World War, and the British one closed around the same time due to low profits. So, only the French factory remained, first in Bobigny and then - from the 1950s - in Calais.
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