Business · Companies · 3 hrs ago
Steiner plush toy maker files for insolvency
The Steiner plush toy company has filed for insolvency in Germany.
The maker, based in Georgenthal in Thuringia, employs about 20 people, whose wages are secured for three months through insolvency payments.
The company, which dates back to a toy-making business founded in 1889, is known for making custom plush toys by hand.
Its business is expected to continue operating for now while a preliminary insolvency administrator reviews options for keeping it running.
The administrator plans to look for investors to support a possible continuation.
The outcome matters for the workers and for a company that says its specialist production is offered by few other businesses.
Steiner, a German maker of plush toys, filed for insolvency proceedings in mid-October.
The company’s operations in Georgenthal, Thuringia, are expected to continue for now.
About 20 employees remain at the business, with their wages secured for the next three months through insolvency benefits.
Provisional insolvency administrator André Rombach plans to look for investors and assess whether the company can continue.
The company traces its origins to a doll factory founded in 1889.
- Who
- Steiner Plüsch GmbH, a plush toy maker, filed for insolvency proceedings.
- What
- It applied to open insolvency proceedings. The business is to continue operating for now.
- When
- The application was filed in mid-October 2026.
- Where
- The company is based in Georgenthal, Thuringia, Germany.
- Why
- Not stated.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The doll factory Franz Schmidt & Co. was founded.
The business was expropriated during nationalization and became VEB Plüschspielwaren Georgenthal.
Helga and Harald Steiner resumed production of plush toys as Steiner GmbH.
Steiner applied to open insolvency proceedings at the Erfurt District Court.
- Employees
- About 20
- Wage support
- Insolvency benefits for the next three months
- Location
- Georgenthal, Thuringia
- Insolvency administrator
- André Rombach
- Company origins
- Franz Schmidt & Co., founded in 1889
What people are saying
The Steiner Plüsch GmbH stands for a special manufacturing tradition in Germany.