Maker record
Stokys
Stokys is a Swiss maker of metal construction sets, first developed by the Stockmann brothers in Luzern during the Second World War. The system uses perforated metal strips and plates joined with screws and nuts to build mechanical models and structures. Its first standard sets appeared in 1942, using the half-inch hole spacing associated with Meccano and Märklin. The original basic sets remained part of the range, and the system later included gear sets and teaching models. Production moved between Swiss locations and continues in Bauma under STOKYS Systeme AG.
- Founded
- 1941
- Locations
- Littau, Luzern, Switzerland · 1986 · Walchwil, Zug, Switzerland · 2003 · Bauma, Zürich, Switzerland · 2007
- Founders
- Stockmann brothers
The story of Stokys
The company Gebrüder Stockmann was founded in 1941 near Luzern. Wartime disruption made imported construction sets difficult to obtain in Switzerland, and the brothers developed an initial Stokys design that year. They adopted a half-inch hole spacing associated with Meccano and Märklin; the first standard STOKYS metal construction sets followed in 1942. The basic sets became the foundation of the range.
In 1982 Eisen und Kohlen AG bought Gebrüder Stockmann AG and renamed it STOKYS EIKO AG. In 1986 a new owner renamed the business STOKYS AG and moved its machinery to Littau. After Jolanda Mäser took over in 1995, a 2002 fire damaged stock and production equipment. Mauro Mattesco and Herbert Schulthess bought the company in 2003, moved production to Walchwil and restarted it that August. In 2007 an investor group acquired the company, renamed it STOKYS Systeme AG and moved production to Bauma. The range and activity continued there, including new gear sets introduced in 2019.
