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Toy company stays in the family
By Dan McLean ~ GANNETT NEWS SERVICE
Wausau Daily Herald
MIDDLEBURY, VT
Every weekday about 1,500 wooden train cars, each in the shape of a letter of the alphabet, are assembled at Maple Landmark Inc.
The brightly coclored NameTrains - once the cash crop of the business - remain a big seller, but are now just one of roughly 1,000 items made at the business, a family enterprise with four generations working at the 15,000 square-foot facility.
The owners are company president Mike Rainville, 43, and his wife, Jill, who handles customer service. Mike Rainville's sister, Barbara, deals with public relations and marketing; his mother, Pat, paints items in the finishing room; and his 88 year-old grandmother, Hattie Brown, works on the assembly line. Rainville's children also lend a hand.
The company, using the trade name Maple Landmark Woodcraft, creates wooden products including trains, trucks, puzzles, picture frames, train whistles, game sets, rattles, yo-yos, blocks and christmas tree ornaments. Most of the wood used, including maple, pine and cherry, is from Vermont...
...many retailers seek products made in other countries to keep prices down. At the wholesale level, Maple Landmarks Goods are typically 25 percent to 35 percent more espensive than those made in China, [Mike] Rainville said.
But after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commision recalled a Chinese-made wooden train line last month for use of lead paint, Rainville is hoping Maple Landmark's "Made in Vermont" label will help him win new customers.