EU Commissioner John Dalli visits Playmobil Malta

During a visit to Playmobil Malta, EU Commissioner John Dalli praised the company as "an example of sophisticated manufacture of safe toys."

Dalli was visiting the Playmobil plant in Hal Far on invitation of the company and the pan-European trade association Plastics Europe. The company's CEO Helga Ellul gave a brief presentation before the commissioner was given a tour of the plant.

Playmobil was first established in Malta in 1971 producing plastic toys such as walkie talkies, telephones and cash registers. The production of Playmobil figures started in 1974. In 2011, Playmobil Malta produced up to 100 million figures and 22 million sets.

The plant spread over 60,000 square metres employs 960 persons and last year alone had a turnover of €91 million. Since its inception, up 2.5 billion Playmobil figures have been sold world-wide.

Asked whether Malta should attract other company's of Playmobil's size, the EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policies said the country's economy does not need a large number of companies of Playmobil's size and stature but "smaller companies, employing 50 to 70 persons with higher added value."

Explaining that the Playmobil plant was built when he was finance minister, Dalli said the plant's construction was innovative because the company itself and not the government or its entities planned its construction.

He also explained that Playmobil is a "cutting edge" company because it manufactures safe toys which do not pose any danger to children thanks to the the advancement in the technology used.

Dalli explained that he is responsible for RAPEX, the EU rapid alert system on products posing a serious risk to the health and safety of consumers with the exception of food, pharmaceutical and medical devices, which are covered by other mechanisms.

The commissioner noted that Malta has never had a problem in this area and Playmobil and other leading companies manufacturing plastics never faced any sanctions.

"This reflects the intelligence and work ethic of Maltese workers," Dalli said as he addressed the press at the end of a tour around the plant. During the tour, Dalli was shown how plastic materials are processed and converted within the production chain and how health and safety issues are prioritised throughout the whole process.