In 1932 carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen founded his company in Billund, Denmark with the aim of encouraging creative play and ingenuity in children. He initially made stepladders however, the effects of the Great Depression forced him to be flexible and adapt his business model. He shifted his focus on the manufacturing of toys and created one of history’s most beloved brands.
Christiansen was a thinker who was progressive and quick to adapt new materials and technologies. In 1947, he became the first company to purchase an injection molding machine made of plastic in the world. This significantly boosted the range of capabilities and options for Lego products. The machine let him play around with and develop the Lego brick. The bricks were hollow on the bottom and had pegs at the top. They interlocked to allow children to build intricate structures that were far more complex than the ones made with wooden blocks from previous generations.
The 1950s were a time of expansion for the company. Kjeld Kirk Christiansen, Godtfred Kirk Christiansenβs daughter was a member of the management team and commenced modernizing the companyβs manufacturing methods. The expansion included the launch a line dollhouses, furnishings and Minifigures, individual figures. In 1979, the company branched out into space with sets presenting astronaut minifigures, rockets lunar rovers and spaceships in addition to the medieval world with a castle theme.
In 1990, the company introduced three Model Team Sets that were designed for builders with advanced skills. These sets contained small pieces like axles, levers, gears https://lego-x.com/2021/07/05/generated-post/ and other components. They were the first Lego sets to offer a level of realism and accuracy.