Although the Lego Company was founded in 1937, the now famous plastic Lego was created in 1947. In 1942 the Legos factory burned down from a short in the electrical unit. The factory quickly got back its feet creating wooden toys. Along with the production of the plastic toys Lego also created many other games during the 1940s. The Lego Company has through many obstacles over the years, but have been able create a multi-million dollar company. One of the founders went from nothing to a large company, Legos started to use plastic as way to make their toys, and the company has grown largely and is loved around the world.
Kirk Christiansen, one of the founders of the Lego Company, once owned a different business but it did not succeed. Christiansen was a carpenter, so he began using left over wood to make wooden toys (Mortensen). He never expected for the company to transform into to something so much more. It changed from a simple man with a failed business into a massive company over 70 years later that is very successful. Many children still today enjoy playing with the simple, colorful blocks. Even though he has passed away the overall development of the Lego Company has been amazing compared to where it started out at. Going
from a burned down business to
a very successful one is
something to brag about.
http://www.inhabitots.com/nova-naturals-handmade
-woodenlegos/
The Lego Company started out producing wooden toys with letters and characters. This was their main source of production and income. Eventually though the company spread its wings and bought a machine that used plastic to make other toys such as plastic balls for children to play with. The machine could be used for up to 200 different plastic toys. Some of the Lego toys included a toy fish, a sailor, and the famous Lego plastic blocks. (“Lego Facts”) The company continued to expand and created the game of “Monypoli”. The game was made to teach people about traffic rules and safety. The then popular game was even in the shape of the word “LEGO”.
Eventually the company began using the plastic machine, which was a mold, and used it to make the plastic Legos we know and love today. This made making the toys much easier and faster to make. Using plastic has made it a much quicker process even today rather than having carve each Lego block from wood. When they first came out as plastic toys there were only four different colors introduced. When the toys first came out they were only sold in Denmark, which is where they were first produced (Mortensen). Even though the market for the toys were for children, many adult would often use them to make small models of buildings, animals, and many more things.
The now famous plastic Legos are still used today. Children still enjoy playing with them and letting their imagination go wild. Whether is making different buildings or making cars or spaceships kids having fun playing with Legos. Legos are a good way for young aspiring architects to start building things and using them as models for when they are designing actual buildings. There are now many museums with art made out of Legos, from sculptures of people, superhero characters and even scaled down buildings.
People from all over the world come to these
museums to see the colorful creations
that look so real. A person has even made a life-sized
house out of Legos. Currently the Lego Company is the
largest toy producing
company (“Lego Facts”).
http://firstround.com/review/give-away-your-legos-and
-othercommandments-for-scaling-startups/
To conclude, the Lego Company has been through many things but has been able to come through the masses and become a very successful company. The founder was able to go from a failed business to a great one. People today still spend time playing with Legos to create amazing things, from buildings to life sized people. In the end the company is as successful today as what it was when it first began.
Works Cited
“Lego Facts." KidsKonnect. 26 January 2015. web. 20 September 2016.
Mortensen, Tine Froberg. "The lego group history." Lego. 09 January 2015. web. 20 September 2016.
Legos: The Story
