In 1932, Ole Kirk Cristiansen, a Danish carpenter, founded the LEGO Group. Unlike LEGO that we know nowadays as a leading global manufacturer of toys, at that time, it was a small woodworking shop where Cristiansen, together with his son Godtfred, produced ironing boards, stepladders, and wooden toys. By the end of 1930s, LEGO factory had 10 employees and created its first popular toys – wooden LEGO ducks. It is interesting to note that the name LEGO was created from two Danish words “leg” and “godt”, meaning “play well”.
In 1940s, LEGO underwent a significant development and expansion of business activities. One of the most remarkable achievements during this period was the implementation of plastic injection-molding machine in the production process which made it possible to create plastic toys (plastic ball for infants, plastic fish, and plastic sailor). The company also experimented with exporting wooden toys to India. Plastic molding machine was used to create LEGO’s Automatic Binding Bricks which were the forerunners of modern LEGO bricks. In 1950s, the company witnessed a significant growth of production capacities and expansion of product categories. LEGO went global by establishing subsidiaries in France, United Kingdom, Belgium, and Sweden. During this period, the first models of LEGO bricks emerged. Ole Kirk Cristiansen passed away and his son took up the leadership in the company.
By the end of 1960s, LEGO had bought its first computer for salary administration, the number of employees grew to 843, and new products like LEGO car tyres, DUPLO and motorized truck set were introduced. It is also important to note that in 1960s the first LEGOLAND appeared. During the period of 1970s – 1980s, the company expanded to nearly 6,000 employees. Since 1990s until our days LEGO continues to develop and offers its customers innovative educational toys. In 2015, LEGO partnered with UNICEF in order to improve learning opportunities for children and protect children’s rights.
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