Horst Brandstätter had worked at his toy company for over six decades and oversaw initial production of now-famous plastic figures during 1970s oil crisis

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

Horst Brandstätter, the head of the German toy company that produces Playmobil, the small plastic figures loved by children the world over, has died aged 81, the company has announced.

Known as Herr Playmobil, or to colleagues simply as HOB, Brandstätter joined the family firm at the age of 19, in 1952, when it was run by his two uncles.

He soon recognised that the future of toy manufacturing lay more in plastic products than metal ones and set about restructuring the company’s production facilities, developing the hula hoop in 1958 that became a worldwide hit.

But when the oil crisis of the 1970s drove up the cost of manufacturing plastic products, the company’s mould designer Hans Beck came up with the idea of making the small 7.5cm figurines using minimal amounts of plastic.

Under Brandstätter’s leadership, the company, based in Zirndorf in southern Bavaria, initially made just three models – a knight, a workman and a Native American. But figures today range from police and pirates to fairies and clowns.

Brandstätter paved the way for his succession in the mid-1990s by establishing a foundation to manage the company in accordance with his wishes after his death.