Ole Kirk Christiansen, a carpenter from Billund in Denmark founded his company in 1932 with the goal of encouraging creative play and creativity among children. He initially made stepladders but the effects of the Great Depression forced him to adapt and evolve his business model. He switched his focus on the manufacturing of toys and developed one of the most loved brands.
Christiansen was a forward-thinking man who was quick to embrace new materials and technologies. In 1947, he became the first company to acquire a plastics injection molding machine in the world. This greatly increased the range of capabilities and options for Lego products. The machine also allowed him to experiment with a design that would eventually become an iconic Lego brick. The bricks came with pegs at the top and hollow bottoms that interlocked with each others, allowing children create intricate structures that are far greater than the capabilities of the wooden blocks of previous generations.
The 1950s were a time of growth for the company. Godtfred Kirk Christiansen’s daughter Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen joined the managerial staff, and she began to modernize the company’s manufacturing methods. This expansion was accompanied by the launch of a dollhouse line and furniture for girls and the first Minifigures, which are individual figurines. In 1979, the company branched out into space by introducing sets of astronaut minifigures and rockets, lunar rovers, and spaceships and into the medieval world with a castle theme.
In 1990, the company launched three Model Team Sets that were made for builders who were advanced. These sets introduced small parts like gears, axles and levers. They also offered the kind of realistic accuracy that was unparalleled in the Lego series at the time.