Berlin--Horst Brandstaetter, 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 announced Monday.
"With Horst Brandstaetter the Playmobil family loses not just its chief, company owner and patriarch but the toy sector in Germany also one of its most distinguished personalities," the Geobra Brandstaetter company said in a statement.
He died last Wednesday, it added, without specifying the cause.
Known as "Herr Playmobil", or to colleagues simply as "HOB", Brandstaetter 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 was more in plastic products than metal ones and restructured the production facilities, developing the hula hoop in 1958 that became a worldwide hit.
AFP
