Maker record
Mehanoteknika
Mehanotehnika was a Slovenian toy maker based in Izola, established in 1952 and renamed Mehano in 1990. Its products included metal and plastic toys, educational and technical playthings, and model railway locomotives and rolling stock. The company began production in 1953, and its first puzzle toy supplied the name Mehanotehnika. Its range combined practical play with technical learning; the 1959 electrical experiment set Pioneer Electrical Engineer, for example, enabled children to assemble devices and conduct experiments.
- Founded
- 1952
- Countries
- Slovenia
- Locations
- Izola, Slovenia
- Founders
- Unknown
The story of Mehanoteknika
Mehanotehnika was established in 1952 as a company for the production and sale of metal and plastic products. It initially had no dedicated production site; a building and machinery were acquired by the end of 1953, and production began in June that year. The company’s first products reached the market that month. The name came from its first puzzle toy, made entirely by the company. In 1959, production moved to a 5,000-square-metre hall in Izola, and the company first appeared at the Nuremberg Toy Fair. A second production site opened in Materija in 1962.
In 1965 Mehanotehnika began a collaboration with the University of Ljubljana’s Department of Child and Adolescent Psychology on its “Good Toy” project, leading to toys with educational and psychological aims. Plush-toy production moved to Materija in 1971. A distinct example of the company’s technical playthings is the Pioneer Electrical Engineer set, dated 1959 in the Museum of Yugoslavia’s collection; it offered components for experiments and the assembly of electrical devices.
Mehanotehnika changed its name to Mehano in 1990. The later company developed model locomotives and rolling stock, including the Blue Tiger locomotive in 2000. In 2004 Mehano was acquired by LIVE d.o.o. of Izola. The company history also records a preschool “My First Train” range launched in 2010.