Promotex Inc (AKA Herpa Canada)

The story started in 1985 except that I didn’t know that this was the beginning of a story. (…) As I was walking the flea market, my eye fell on a golden colored Porsche 911. On a whim I purchased it – for old time sake. Arriving back in Canada I put my Porsche on a bookshelf.

I was running six restaurants at the time. It was stressful and time consuming. For years my wife Dagmar and I had an adoption application pending. On my birthday in 1987 we received the long hoped for phone call. “We have a new-born boy for you”, the voice said.

Sitting at home in my office, with a new baby in the house, my thoughts were directed towards the future. I knew one thing for certain: There was no way I would work 16-18 hours a day in my restaurants and miss my child’s childhood. But what to do?

My eyes roamed around my office and my gaze rested on my golden Porsche. I picked it up and examined it more closely than I had examined before. It was at this point that I decided I was going to try selling HO-Scale vehicles. The manufacturer of my Porsche was ‘Herpa’. I had never heard of it. There was no such model maker when I was a boy.

I contacted Herpa and after many conversations it was decided that I could buy Herpa vehicles and bring them to North America for sale. I knew nothing of this market, nothing about modeling … but I did have fond childhood memories.

Armed with my total ignorance, I tackled the market place. I thought people would share my enthusiasm for these cute little vehicles. Well, one year later I could still count all my enthusiastic supporters on one hand. I had invested a lot of money and almost nothing to show for my investment.

By chance I found out that Herpa had made North American truck models in the early 1980’s to try to establish itself on this continent. I asked Mr. Claus Wagener, the owner of Herpa, if I could buy these models. The answer was ‘yes’ … the molds were in China at a factory. I gathered a few licenses and made my way to China to see what could be done. I placed my initial order and … low and behold … some 9 months later I received my first truck runs.

The initial response was not great but I was determined. ‘The runs were too long, the delivery time way too long and really this would never work this way’. Those were my thoughts in a nutshell.

Mr. Wagener and I had scheduled to meet in a hotel in Toronto. It was 1989. We had met for three days and discussed market conditions and how we could improve our combined lots in North America. All along I had one thought in my mind: We have to make these trucks in Canada if we wanted to have any chance of success.

– Riding with Mr. Wagener to the airport I finally had mustered enough courage to ask him the one question that was on my mind all these days: ‘Will you let me make Herpa trucks in North America using the Herpa trademarks?’

I know that will not appear to be such a difficult question to my North American readers. But I was raised in Germany and I have much of the cultural baggage of that country in my blood. Asking Mr. Wagener this question was akin to David asking Goliath for a rock for his sling.

Mr. Wagener’s answer was almost immediate: ‘Yes.’ – ‘Yes?’ is that what he had said? ‘Yes!’ I was speechless for a moment or two (that doesn’t happen very often). Such a grave and all-important question and my hesitations and trepidation, and all he has to say is ‘yes’? I was floored and overwhelmed by his immediate generosity. Nothing like this had ever happened to me.

My friend and partner, Bernie Penner, and I discussed Promotex’s future. We would make trucks in North America. We would print them and paint them, assemble them and box them right here, from parts supplied by Herpa. Oh it was great! We were full of hope.

Along came another friend – George Wiebe. He also was looking for new fields of activity. Sitting down at the Red River in Manitoba, fishing, I tried to convince him that he should run our little factory to be. He agreed.

I will never forget the first truck made in Canada. It was # 6019, a GMC General with a 40′ van bearing the colors of Beatrice Foods. It was beautiful! It was the beauty that only the parents of a newborn child see.

Over the years our trucks got much better. Every new run that came out of our little factory was my pride and joy. I was still working three jobs but things were looking up.

That was the beginning of HO-Scale model trucking as I recall it.

Based in : Altona, Manitoba, Canada