In 1932, carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen founded his company in Billund, Denmark with the aim of encouraging creative play and awe-inspiring in children. He began by manufacturing stepladders. However, the Great Depression forced him into a more flexible business model. He turned his attention to the manufacturing of toys and developed one of history’s most beloved brands.
Christiansen was a progressive thinker and was quick to adopt new materials and technologies. In 1947, he was the first company to acquire an injection molding machine made of plastic in the world. This significantly boosted the range of capabilities and options for Lego products. The machine also let him experiment with a design that would eventually become the iconic 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 intricate than those made using wooden blocks from earlier generations.
The 1950s were a time of growth for the business. Godtfred Kirk Christiansen’s daughter Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen joined the managerial staff and began to modernize the company’s manufacturing techniques. The expansion also included the launch of a line dollhouses, furnishings and individual Minifigures. In 1979, the company expanded its range of products to include sets of astronaut minifigures and rockets. They also introduced spaceships, lunar rovers and spaceships.
In 1990, the company released three Model Team sets that were intended for advanced builders. The sets introduced small components like gears, axles, and levers, and provided the kind of realism and accuracy that was unparalleled in the Lego series at the time.