LEGO is range of building kit products, produced by the Danish family company LEGO Group, with its main product of series of building kits including so called Lego bricks (small bricks) that can be connected together in any ways. These bricks are accompanied by numbers of parts of different colours and a lot of compatible material that works with the main bricks.
History
1932 Start of the company
Everything started in 1932, when LEGO was established by poor Danish carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen. He started making wooden toys.
1934 The origin of the company name
The name of the company was invented by Ole himself using Danish phrase „Leg godt“, which means “Play well “.
1937 Godtfred started producing his first models (he was 17 years old)
The start of the building kit originates in 1930s. The son of O. K. Christiansen, Godtfred, was also poor and the only toys he owned were wooden bricks carved by his father. The success of the building kit was great and so the father and son continued in that idea.
1947 The production of plastic bricks started
Ole Kirk Christiansen and his son received sample of the bricks produced by British company Kiddicraft after the war in 1947. Self-locking bricks were an invention of British child psychologist and they became a template for the similar bricks produced in the Danish factory in Billund.
1949 Automatic Binding Bricks
The factory in Billund started producing so called automatic binding bricks in 1949, bricks made of celluloid, they looked similar to the traditional wooden toys, but there were essential improvements, they were holding together thanks to protrusions. LEGO was offering about 200 different wooden and plastic toys at that time.
1954 Son of the founder becomes chief executive officer
The son of Ole Kirk Christiansen – Godtfred became chief executive officer in 1954. He had the idea about the new type of toy and invented LEGO as we know it today.
1960 End of wooden toys
The warehouse of wooden toys was completely destroyed by fire. The production of wooden toys was completely closed down.
1964 New plastics
New material ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) has been used for production of LEGO bricks since 1964. This material has high colour stability and it is very sturdy material.
1979 Third generation of Christiansens in management
Kjeld Kirk Christiansen, son of Godtfred, was named President & Chief Executive Officer of the company INTERLEGO A/S.
2000 LEGO toy of the century
British association of toys named LEGO brick “The Toy of the Century “.
2012 LEGO celebrates 80 years
LEGO Group celebrated 80th anniversary since its start on 10th August 2012.
LEGO today
Today the production of LEGO bricks is global thing. Instead of the two factories in Denmark, they are produced in Hungary, Mexico and since 2000 also in the Czech Republic in Kladno factory. The annual production of bricks is about 20 billion, which means about 600 LEGO bricks per second.