Vollmer

Wolfram Vollmer began the business in 1946, making wooden pull-along toys from local pear trees. Metal collar buttons and other small goods followed. The 1948 currency reform reduced demand for steel buttons, so Vollmer learned to use injection-moulding machinery and began producing plastic buttons. He then developed plastic masts and overhead wiring for model railways, presenting a patented system at the Nuremberg Toy Fair in 1949. Serial production followed.

From 1954, Vollmer expanded into bridges and other railway structures. Its building kits served H0, N and Z layouts, with G gauge added in 1995. Model kit production has taken place in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen since 1956. By 2012, the company also made industrial products alongside model railway and model-building ranges, and had introduced kits using bio-based plastics. Viessmann integrated the Vollmer brand in 2014; Viessmann's company history continues to list Vollmer buildings, bridges and accessory sets among its brands.