Learning through play, joyfully discovering the world
Interview with Gerhard Gollnest, Partner of Gollnest & Kiesel GmbH & Co. KG
The realization that overflowing playrooms neither contribute to the happiness nor the joy of playing for our children is becoming increasingly apparent to more and more parents and grandparents. The alarming amount of plastic waste and trash produced with toys is another factor that encourages rethinking. At Gollnest & Kiesel, the largest toy company in Northern Germany based in Güster, quality is a priority. It is especially known for its innovative wooden products with which children can learn through play.
"The joy of working has been there from the beginning, when Fritz-Rüdiger Kiesel and I decided to reorient ourselves in 1981," emphasizes Gerhard Gollnest, partner of Gollnest & Kiesel. "We then stuck with toys, initially as a trading house, then with our own brands goki, HEIMESS, and HOLZTIGER. Dealing with toys is fun, also for our 500 employees. There is no Monday when I would not have liked to go to the company."
Today, Gollnest & Kiesel not only produces at two locations in Germany but also according to its own quality standards in China and Romania, supported by Frank Jungclaus and Thorsten Koss as further managing directors, and achieves an annual turnover of 30 million EUR.
Broadly Positioned
"We continue to expect normal growth," confirms the shareholder. "Our products are distributed to approximately 8,000 buying customers worldwide through representatives and partners. Thanks to our broad positioning, we are not really vulnerable. We place great importance on personal contacts and continue to maintain them, but by telephone. In product development, we look for niches. We maintain a strong ecological approach and are developing into an absolute wood brand. The entire life cycle of the trees must be considered if one wants to produce flawless products. Therefore, we donate a tree to Schleswig-Holstein for every newborn, amounting to 400,000 since 2004, an entire forest."
Not Just Entertainment
Numerous goki toys are adorned with seals and awards. "We are not the entertainment industry for children," says Gerhard Gollnest. "Wood products with educational value are important. Children should develop skills such as tactility, arithmetic, reading, and writing with our toys. The fact that they are also fun creates the incentive to play, which is essential."
A typical toy in this context is the goki-Kugelbahn Ritterburg, which won the ToyAward in the PreSchool category. "With our products, children develop motor and fine motor skills. We encourage their curiosity by allowing them to dismantle age-appropriate toys. We are essentially preparing them analogously for the digital world," adds the shareholder. For Gollnest & Kiesel, he sees a continuation of trustworthy business relationships and generally desires a strengthening of the middle class.