Manufactory for wooden jumping-jack figures, mobiles, children's coat racks and fairy-tale figures – since 1927 in the Eifel region
Jan Heller e.K.
Dreis-Brück (Eifel)New on Amplifa
Heller – a traditional company in the Eifel
Jan Heller e.K. is a family manufactory that has been producing decorative items and wooden toys for children's rooms since 1927. The product range includes jumping-jack figures, mobiles, musical mobiles, children's coat racks, clothes hangers, measuring sticks, wall clocks and fairy-tale figures. Production, from design to finished product, takes place entirely in-house in Dreis-Brück in the Vulkaneifel. The materials used are birch plywood and laminated birch (4 mm or 9 mm), solid beech and softwood, aluminium rivets and cord; paints are water-based. Special production techniques include sawing out the figures on a hand-guided band saw – without dark burn edges – and the traditional screen-printing process with colour stencils for an even, durably luminous colour application. The products comply with the children's safety standards of the European standard EN71. In addition to distribution through its own online shop and retailers, the company produces custom-made items and manufactures for renowned companies as well as independent clients in smaller batches. In Japan, a retail partnership with the company Niki Tiki has existed since the 1970s.
- Site
- Dreis-Brück
- Processes
- Sawing out figures on a hand-guided band saw, Screen printing (colour application with stencils), Painting/handcraft (large-area painting with water-based paints), Manufacture of jumping-jack figures, mobiles, children's coat racks, measuring sticks, wall clocks,, Custom-made items / contract production in smaller batches, Custom-made items, Production for third-party brands/clients in smaller batches, Shipping/online shop
- Materials
- Birch plywood / laminated birch, Beech (solid), Softwood (solid), Aluminium (aluminium rivets), Cord, Aluminium rivets, Screen-printing process, Water-based paints
- Certificates
- EN71 (toy product safety standard)
- Founded
- 1927
- Industries
- Children's room decoration, Wooden toys, Arts and crafts, Kindergarten equipment (historically wall design)
- 01
Design (artistic creation)
- 02
Sawing out the figures on the hand-guided band saw
- 03
Screen printing (colour application via stencil) / large-area painting
- 04
Assembly and balancing
- 05
Shipping / online shop and retail distribution
Materials and production techniques
Birch plywood / laminated birch
Base material for jumping-jack figures (4 mm), wall clocks (9 mm), fairy-tale figures and mobiles.
Beech (solid)
Solid wood for mobiles, clothes hangers, coat rack base and hooks.
Softwood (solid)
Solid wood to complement the material range.
Aluminium rivets
Stable rivet connections at the joints of the jumping-jack figures.
Screen-printing process
Colour application per colour via stencils for even, durably vivid colouring.
Water-based paints
Large-area painting with water-based paints.
Sawing on a hand-guided band saw
Traditional production without dark burn edges; the edges retain the light wood colour.
Production site
Dreis-Brück
DEProduction and administration (company headquarters)
- Lot size
- Small batches and custom-made items
- Materials
- Birch plywood, beech, softwood, aluminium
- Band saw (hand-guided)
- Fretsaw (motorised scroll saw)
Products
Inside the production
Industries
Processes & technical limits
| Processes | Tolerance | Max. part | Weight | Lot size | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sawing out figures on a hand-guided band sawMachining | – | – | – | – | Birch plywood, Beech, Softwood |
| Screen printing (colour application with stencils)Surface | – | – | – | – | Birch plywood |
| Painting/handcraft (large-area painting with water-based paints)Surface | – | – | – | – | Birch plywood, Beech, Softwood |
| Manufacture of jumping-jack figures, mobiles, children's coat racks, measuring sticks, wall clocks,Assembly | – | 50 cm (jumping-jack figures) × 50 cm (coat racks) | – | – | Birch plywood, Laminated birch, Beech, Aluminium, Cord |
| Custom-made items / contract production in smaller batchesEngineering | – | – | – | – | Birch plywood, Beech, Softwood |
2 Anlagen & Maschinen
| Machine | Manufacturer / model | Quantity | Working area | Year built | Site |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fretsaw (motorised scroll saw) | – | – | – | – | Dreis-Brück |
| Band saw (hand-guided) | – | – | – | – | Dreis-Brück |
Additional services
Reference customers
Quality and safety
The products comply with the children's safety standards of the European standard EN71. The entire production takes place in the company's own workshop using traditional techniques and elaborate handcraft.
| Evidence | Dreis-Brück |
|---|---|
| EN71 (toy product safety standard) |
Company history
- 1927
Founded by Magda and Georg Heller in Wuppertal; both graduates of the Wuppertal School of Arts and Crafts.
- Anfang der
Relocation to Dreis-Brück in the Eifel; founding of "Heller-Kunst", member of the German Association for Arts and Crafts, participation in the Leipzig Trade Fair; workshop extension (approx. 250 m², later increased in height).
- 1966
Death of Georg Heller; son Ralf takes over the business and expands the product range to include coat racks, measuring sticks, mobiles and jumping-jack figures.
- 1970er
Contact with the Japanese company Niki Tiki; in the 1980s, an export boom to the USA, which was ended by Far Eastern imitators.
- 1994
Death of Magda Heller.
- 1996
Ralf Heller hands over management to son Jan; leadership in the third generation, supported by sister Sabine.