By test August 4, 2024
Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund in Denmark established his company in 1932, with the intention to encourage imaginative play and creativity among children. He began by producing stepladders. However, the Great Depression forced him into a more flexible business model. He turned his attention on manufacturing toys, and in the process he established one of the most adored brands in the history of the world.
Christiansen was a progressive thinker and quick to adapt new materials and technologies. In 1947, he was the first company to purchase a plastics injection molding machine in the world. This greatly enhanced the capabilities and selection of Lego products. The machine allowed him to experiment and create the Lego brick. The bricks were hollow at the bottom and had pegs at the top. They were interlocked to let children create intricate structures that were far more complex than those created using wooden blocks from earlier generations.
The 1950s were a decade of expansion for the business. Kjeld Kirk Christiansen, Godtfred Kirk Christian’s daughter was part of the management team and commenced modernizing the manufacturing processes of the company. This expansion included the launch of a line of dollhouses and furniture for girls and the first Minifigures, which are individual figurines. In 1979, the company expanded its product line to include sets of rockets and astronaut minifigures. They also introduced spaceships, lunar rovers and spaceships.
In 1990, the company introduced three Model Team sets that were intended for advanced builders. These sets contained small pieces such as levers, axles, gears, and other parts. They were the first Lego sets to offer the same level of realistic precision.