Our Story

How It All Began: From the Stage to the High-Tech Globe

Our story sounds almost like a movie script – and that is no coincidence! It all started with courage, a close-knit family spirit, and a brilliant idea.

An Actress with a Poor Sense of Direction

Stellanova's roots lie in the world of theater and television. The founders, Ingrid and Herbert Pachler, were successful actors and directors. Ingrid Pachler even made television history: she was named Austria's best actress and played the first-ever female detective in the German cult crime series "Soko 5113."

Away from the camera, however, she had a little secret: geography was absolutely not her thing. And that is exactly how the vision was born: a globe with an integrated computer that could display tens of thousands of locations!

From a Teenager's Bedroom to the Prototype

In the 1980s, this was an extremely ambitious project – especially for a family of artists. But their son, Andreas Pachler, then still a high school student and a passionate hobby electronics enthusiast, jumped at the challenge and developed the idea from scratch. After a year of intense development work, he completed the world's very first prototype of the computer globe.

The world's first prototype of the Stellanova computer globe — The world's first prototype of the computer globe

The Kickoff for Stellanova

From then on, everything happened very quickly: a patent was filed, awards were swept up at inventors' trade fairs, and investors were thrilled. In 1988, Stellanova officially launched. By 1998, we had steadily expanded our product range step by step together with a partner in Slovakia – by then also including classic variants without computer electronics.

Advertising brochure for the Geograph 2, the Stellanova computer globe — The "Geograph 2" – this is the product that launched Stellanova in 1988

A Tiny Globe That Changed Everything

In 1998, a new development turned our plans completely upside down: we designed a small 10 cm globe which, thanks to a special mounting, could be rotated in all directions simultaneously. The response to this mini globe was so overwhelming that our production capacities in Slovakia were soon exhausted.

Two 10-centimeter mini globes by Stellanova — The mini globe in 10 cm format that made demand explode

A Global Network: Commitment to the IMTA

Strong connections are crucial for gaining a foothold in the global market. In 2000, Stellanova became a member of the IMTA (International Map Trade Association) – the world's most important association for the map industry. Andreas Pachler was heavily involved there for many years as Director and Board Member, including three years as the elected President for the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region. Thanks to these valuable contacts around the globe, we successfully expanded our distribution network in the following years. Today, the association operates under the name IMIA (International Map Industry Association).

The World Map Becomes More International

Inspired by these global impulses, we started a collaboration with a major educational supply manufacturer in China, who had the capacity to process up to 4,000 globes a day. The core piece – the printing of the cartography – remained in Germany.

For us, this marked our step onto the global stage. To perfectly organize local logistics, we established a branch office in Hong Kong. From there, we shipped around 6 million globes to 43 countries over the years. The renowned German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung even dedicated a large feature to us with the tongue-in-cheek headline "Wolfratshauser Weltherrschaft" ("Wolfratshausen World Domination") on SZ.de.

Back to the Roots: Moving to Our Own Factory

After intense years of global logistics, we felt in 2013 that it was time for the next step: we wanted to bring the entire manufacturing process back to Europe. Thanks to our excellent network in the Slovakian industry, we built our own modern factory there together with new investors, utilizing all resources as sustainably and efficiently as possible. Today, a dedicated team of up to 40 employees manufactures up to 1,500 globes per day using five state-of-the-art injection molding machines.

From Tinkering in a Bedroom to Modern European Manufacturing

From the first tinkering sessions in a teenager's bedroom to modern European manufacturing, it has been a journey filled with exciting milestones. Take a look at our gallery below and join us on a trip through our vibrant company history – from the very first ideas, through our trade fair appearances, to glimpses behind the scenes!