In 1932 carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen founded his company in Billund, Denmark with the purpose of encouraging imaginative play and ingenuity among https://lego-x.com/2019/11/15/what-lego-vdr-users-can-teach children. He initially made stepladders but the effects of the Great Depression forced him to be flexible and adapt his business model. He turned his attention on the production of toys and developed one of history’s most beloved brands.
Christiansen was a forward-thinking person who was quick to embrace new materials and techniques. In 1947 he was the first company in the world to acquire an injection molding machine made of plastic that greatly expanded the range and capabilities of Lego products. The machine allowed him to experiment and to create the Lego brick. The bricks were hollow on the bottom and had pegs at the top. They interlocked to allow children to create intricate structures that were far more intricate than those made with wooden blocks from previous generations.
The 1950s was a time of growth for the business. Kjeld Kirk Christiansen, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen’s daughter was part of the management team and commenced modernizing the company’s manufacturing methods. The expansion also included the launch of dollhouses, furniture and individual Minifigures. In 1979, the company branched out into space with sets featuring astronaut minifigures, rockets, lunar rovers and spaceships and also into the medieval realm with a Castle theme.
In 1990, the company launched three Model Team sets that were made for advanced builders. The sets introduced small components such as axles, gears and levers, and offered a degree of realism and precision that was unheard of in the Lego series at the time.