40 Years of LGB (5): A Conversation with Klaus Baumann -- Trailblazer
"The LGB (loco) was a wonderful product but in the beginning there was no market for that" recalls Klaus Baumann. The former Vice President of Sales for Lehmann (Lehmann is the L in LGB) had to come up with something. Part of it was to podcast (a loco) in the hand of celebrities and VIPs.(And then ) Of course there were his TV appearances.
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| Klaus Baumann at his best: International Model Train Show in Cologne/Germany; standing in the outdoor layout "Little Erzgebirge" (Little Ore Mountains) at the LGB booth |
It is a fine fit to our series (of articles) "40 years of LGB"- that started in issue 1/2008 and will end in issue 1/2009- to converse with a contemporary witness. He is known by almost all LGB fans since he was always 'at the front', conversing, answering, representing at model train fairs and conventions. And when TV reports called for coverage it was he who represented Ernst-Paul Lehmann Co; and he always excelled at doing his job.
The book" Bewegte Zeiten" ("Eventful Times") with the subtitle "Ernst Paul Lehmann Patentwerk, Geschichte einer Spielwarenfarbrik" ( Ernst Paul Lehmann Patent Plant, History of a Toy Factory) (Tümmler Verlag Nürnberg, ISBN 3-921590-90-6) reports at length about the premiere of LGB in 1968 and about the up-and-coming times ahead. Hardly anyone knows more about this than Klaus Baumann, the longtime Vice President of Sales; the for-mentioned book introduces us to the beginning of his career at Lehmann:
"With Klaus Baumann a new Sales Director joined Lehmann in 1974 who knew this specific market segment very well due to his previous employment with the Nurember model train manufacturer Arnold (Arnold was the leading N-gauge manufacturer in Western Germany.Western Germany was the 'capitalistic sector' of the still divided Germany). He brought with him a lot of contacts, experience and new ideas and into (his new) company."H.Jürgen Neumann being familiar and tightly intertwined with the history of LGB ever since 1972 (when the LGB magazine shown right was issued) visited Klaus Baumann at his home in Schwanstetten where he interviewed him for the readers of GARTENBAHNprofi (GBP) while enjoying a cup of coffee with (Mr. Baumann's) Boxer "Felix" snugly crawled under the garden table.
GBP: Mr. Baumann, You joined Lehmann in 1974. What did you find, what were your thoughts, and what are your personal memories about that?
Klaus Baumann: My very first task on the job was not that of a sales director. There wasn't even such a position before I joined (the company); they managed that task themselves. I already knew Messrs.Eberhard and Wolfgang Richter from my time at the N-train manufacturer Arnold (he's referring to the N-gauge ). While an opinionated Arnold came to the conclusion they wouldn't need a sales director back then I found an open playing field at LGB. I realized right away that LGB was a wonderful product but there was no market for that.(Model) Trains got smaller and smaller back then. Märklin had introduced the Z-gauge in 1972 (scale 1:220). And we faced the problem: where (to) do we sell our trains? The dealers said:" Die Big Train is something for Christmas, come back before Christmas" and around Christmas they said:" That is something for the back yard, come back at spring time". So our thoughts went parallel to a simple, toy like entry. "Lehmann 74" was born as a starter bargain; it was a low-price battery train set with tracks made of Polystyrene with a retail price of DEM 49,50 (equals roughly US$ 18.00 in1974) ++++++++++++++++++++stop on page 17++++++++++++++to be continued+++++
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