The Building Block Company Called LEGO®
The company LEGO® was founded by Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1932 in Billund, Denmark. He was in the business of manufacturing stepladders, ironing boards and of course wooden toys. His son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen started working for the family business when he turned twelve. Two years later, the company was officially named LEGO®, formed from the Danish words 'Leg godt' which meant to play well. Afterwards, it was realized that translated in Latin, the name meant 'I put together'. Perhaps, with hindsight, they now see how apt the name of the company was as the toys they have produced usually meant children playing by putting blocks together to form miniatures of objects and places, among other things.
In 1947, LEGO® created the board game called 'Monypoli'. A year after that, the company was the first to use a plastic injection molding machine in toy manufacturing. And finally, in 1949, the first LEGO® Automatic Binding Brick with four and eight studs was brought to the market. In 1951, the building base with 10 x 20 studs was introduced. This is an important addition that they made because it added dimensions to creations one could make using the building blocks. A year after that, the company expanded its product line and now manufactured plastic and wooden cars. In 1954, windows and doors, among others, were added to the LEGO® toy line.
Godtfred Kirk Christiansen traveled to England and incidentally met a purchasing agent. In their discussion of toys, the latter commented that the toys lacked what he termed as idea and system. GK Christiansen took this comment by heart and a year after produced the LEGO® System of Play consisting of 28 sets, eight vehicles and supplementary elements.
In 1958, another innovation was added to the LEGO® system to make models more stable and realistic looking: the stud and tube coupling system and slated roofs. In the very same year, the founder of the LEGO® enterprise, GK Christiansen's sire, passed away and consequently transferred the reins to his son. In 1961, the LEGO® hits upon another terrific add-on to their toy line: the wheel. By now, the toy company is already exporting their products to other countries like Sweden and Australia. Their first foreign branch had been established years ago in Germany. They also by this time had just entered the United States, Canada and Italy. Two years after that, the president of the company presented ten product characteristics that ensured the company's long-running success. This included unlimited play potential for any age and gender and the assurance that there would always be extra sets available.
Today, LEGO® continues to ride on the waves of their success, thanks to their dedication and commitment to satisfying customers. So popular in today's times that the mere mention of the word "LEGO®" would make anyone, regardless of what age they are or gender they may be or even what continent of country they came from, reminisce of their childhood days of building and making something out of these cute and colorful little blocks. No one else still comes close to LEGO®'s popularity, not even their close arch enemy, Best Lock. LEGO® today have even made profitable ventures by allying themselves with big and popular names like Star Wars, Harry Potter and Knights' Kingdom.
