Sven Eichhorn, Sales and Marketing Manager at TILLIG Modellbahnen

“Even though the world is becoming increasingly digital, trade fairs like INTERMODELLBAU are perfect for TILLIG to present itself and maintain personal contact with model railroaders.”

1st question:
What do you always look forward to most at INTERMODELLBAU?
I particularly look forward to the conversations and the exchange of ideas with nice visitors to the Dortmund trade fair. It’s also always important for me to maintain contact with other colleagues from our industry. Trade fairs are the perfect place for this. As I am a model railroad hobbyist myself, I am of course always interested in: What’s new to see? Which clubs will be there with their fantastic model railroad layouts?

2nd question:
What do you think makes a trade fair like INTERMODELLBAU so important for the model-making world?

INTERMODELLBAU is important for TILLIG, as there is always a very broad and international audience in Dortmund. Even though the world is becoming increasingly digital, trade fairs such as INTERMODELLBAU are perfect for TILLIG to present itself and maintain personal contact with model railroaders. From the model railroaders’ point of view, a trade fair is the right place to talk to the TILLIG trade fair team, for example, to have questions answered, discuss ideas or view the current and highly detailed models live.

3rd question:
What topics and trends are driving the industry/your sector this year?

The model railroad industry is not as innovation-driven as the entertainment industry, where an even larger screen diagonal with even higher resolution is presented every year. This is not to say that the model railroad industry is not innovative. The innovations in our industry are just more durable and more detailed. What I’m trying to say is that we as manufacturers want to make our products even more detailed and closer to the original, with more elaborate paintwork and printing and great light and sound functions. As a manufacturer, we always have to manage the balancing act between a highly detailed but still affordable model. This is not always easy in today’s world, with the constant new regulations and requirements from the legislator or the increase in costs for raw materials and production.