Roco, an Austria based model trains and railway equipment manufacturer, was found in 1960 by Heinz Rossler. The company's first attempt was the plastic molded minitank series.

Their first attempt in the HO Scale market came when they tasted success in the American markets with their minitank series. The HO scale products consisted of model trains, rolling stock, tracks and accessories like sceneries, figures etc. Their efforts also included products made for the N scale and the TT scale in the later years. The success rate of the products was so high that within no time, their product line covered Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Netherlands and USA. Another factor was the availability of every prototype in DC and AC power, which pleased customers.

After contributing to the industry for more than forty years, the company was declared as bankrupt in July 2005. It came to be known as Modelleisenbahn GmbH from then onwards. Owing to the high popularity of the Roco products, GmbH has been using Roco brand and logo for further products. Also, the distribution and rights for the highly successful Minitank series have been handed over to Herpa, a German model car manufacturer.