History
Antonio Pasin started building wooden toy wagons in Chicago in 1917, selling them to area shops. His business grew until the Liberty Coaster Company, named in honour of the Statue of Liberty was formed in 1923. In 1930, the company was renamed Radio Steel & Manufacturing. The renamed company produced steel-bodied wagons and used assembly line manufacturing techniques. The new Radio Flyer wagons were named for Pasin's fascination with radio and with flight. In 1933 Chicago was the host of the World's Fair, Century of Progress, and Radio Steel was asked to be a part of the celebration. Antonio Pasin took on major debt to fund the construction of a 45 foot tall wood and plaster Coaster Boy statue depicting a boy riding a Liberty Coaster wagon. Below the Coaster Boy exhibit Pasin sold miniatures for 25 cents. During World War II, steel was essential war materiel; from 1942–1945, the company shifted production to portable five gallon Blitz cans for the US Army.
In 1987, Radio Steel changed its name to Radio Flyer after its popular flagship little red wagon. Today, the company produces a wide range of children's products, including scooters, bicycles, tricycles, ride-ons, horses, and wagons. Robert Pasin, Antonio's grandson, has been CEO since 1997.
Read more about this topic: Radio Flyer
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“All objects, all phases of culture are alive. They have voices. They speak of their history and interrelatedness. And they are all talking at once!”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
“The disadvantage of men not knowing the past is that they do not know the present. History is a hill or high point of vantage, from which alone men see the town in which they live or the age in which they are living.”
—Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936)
“Three million of such stones would be needed before the work was done. Three million stones of an average weight of 5,000 pounds, every stone cut precisely to fit into its destined place in the great pyramid. From the quarries they pulled the stones across the desert to the banks of the Nile. Never in the history of the world had so great a task been performed. Their faith gave them strength, and their joy gave them song.”
—William Faulkner (1897–1962)