Produced private company Lego Group, located in Denmark.
The LEGO Group is dedicated to developing creative thinking in children through play and learning. Based on the world-famous LEGO bricks, the company today offers toys, games and educational materials for children in more than 130 countries. The LEGO Group employs approximately 8,000 people and is the world's fifth largest toy manufacturer.
The company's main products, usually called "bricks" Lego, includes colorful, easy-to-connect plastic modules and accompanying accessories, minifigures (also called fans Lego like minifigs) and other designer details. There are other parts Lego, which can be assembled and connected different ways. For example, toy cars, trucks, planes, trains, buildings, castles, sculptures, ships, spaceships and even robots.
But, first of all, the details of the designer in its different versions are parts of a universal system. Despite the radical changes that have occurred over the years in the design and purpose of individual parts of the construction set, each of them remains compatible in a certain way with other parts. Bricks Lego, manufactured in 1963, still fit with items made in 2007, and sets for young children are compatible with sets for teenagers.
Bricks, beams, axles, minifigures and other construction elements Lego manufactured to a specified degree of accuracy. After connection, the parts must be securely attached to each other. They cannot be too easy to separate or unreliable when assembled. But they cannot be too difficult to separate, since there should be no difficulty in dismantling one image and creating another. To ensure these conditions, the design elements are manufactured with an accuracy of 2 microns.
Since 1963, Lego pieces have been made from a durable, flexible plastic known as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). When manufacturing designer elements, there is precision processing along with small molds for casting, strict quality control of the products, which eliminates significant deviations in the color or thickness of the elements. Used forms are securely hidden to prevent them from falling into the hands of competitors. According to representatives of the Lego Group, about 18 bricks out of every million do not meet the required standards.
Lego bricks are produced in many parts of the world. Plastic injection molding is carried out at one of two plants in Denmark and the Czech Republic. Brick finishing and packaging are carried out in factories in Denmark, USA, Mexico and the Czech Republic. The annual production of Lego bricks averages about 20 billion (2 × 10 10) pieces, or 6,000 pieces per second.
In 2006, the Lego Group announced a restructuring of its current production organization, including the outsourcing of certain production to Singapore-based Flextronics. The Lego Group plans to close its production facility in Enfield, Connecticut, and outsource the work to a Flextronics plant in Mexico. Flextronics will also oversee production at the plant in Kladno, Czech Republic. In addition, Czech production capacity will be expanded due to the planned closure of the Swiss plant in Baar, which was the main producer of TECHNIC parts.
The Lego Group was founded by Ole Kirk Christiansen (7 April 1891 – 11 March 1958). He was born into a poor farming family in Jutland, Denmark. After learning to be a carpenter, he founded a company in 1932 producing everyday items such as ironing boards and ladders. The company did not bring much profit, and then, together with his son, Gottfried Kirk Christiansen, he began producing wooden cubes. It must be said that this idea not only helped them stay afloat, but also completely changed their lives. New company for the production of toys Christiansen namedlego, combining two Danish words -leg And godt (play And Fine).
Lego expanded into producing plastic toys in 1947. The bricks became plastic with identical pins, allowing them to be connected to each other. It must be said that the idea of such bricks was no longer new and was popular among British children. After studying the samples of the British foundry, Ole changed the design of the brick and began stamping completely new samples. They were not as strong as wooden ones, but they connected effortlessly and fit tightly to each other.
This is how the first LEGO constructors were born. After the death of Ole Kirk Christiansen in 1958, the company was headed by his son Gottfried, who with great zeal continued his father's work and brought the company to an international level. But in order to interest buyers on the foreign market, Gottfried decides to create an entire toy system. But the bricks still had some problems from a technical standpoint: their gripping ability was limited, and they weren't very versatile. In 1958 the brick design was established, but it took another five years to find the right material for it. The final version of the Lego brick was patented at 1:58 pm on January 28, 1958. The bricks from that year are still compatible with today's bricks.
The Lego Group's motto is "det bedste er ikke for godt", which means "the best, never too good." This motto was created by Ole Kirk to encourage employees. The most important thing for the company is the quality of its products, which they have never skimped on. The motto is still used within the company today, allowing employees to take pride in their work. The quality of plastic for toy production is under strict control and is appreciated by buyers all over the world.
Since its founding, the Lego Group has released thousands of sets with a variety of themes, including such famous ones as , . New items are often released with new sets. There are also Lego sets designed specifically for girls, such as the new series. They are made up of small interconnected parts that are designed to encourage creativity and application skills.
At the same time, there are sets with a military theme such as: German and Russian soldiers in the series, green soldiers from and knightly tournaments from the series, but in no line there are sets directly on military theme. Ole Kirk never wanted to see violence and war in toys.
Over the years, Lego's range has expanded. Additional engines, mechanisms, lights, sensors and cameras began to be used, which are widely represented in the and series.
Separately, it is necessary to mention the series and. These kits are for ages 7-16. The parts of the heroes had characteristic hinges that helped them perform all the movements characteristic of humans and animals.
One of the largest Lego sets ever put on sale is from the Large Scale Models series. The number of parts in the set exceeds 5900, and the dimensions of the structure itself are 51x41 cm. In second place in terms of the number of parts is . It contains 4287 bricks and is 102 cm long.
In May 2011, the Space Shuttle Endeavoro delivered 13 Lego sets aboard the International Space Station so that astronauts could build models and study how they react in the microgravity of space. The results of the experiments were shared with schools as part of an educational project.
The LEGO brand is the most famous in the world of toys today. Even more famous than the Barbie doll. But few people know that the Danish company began its history as an ordinary manufacturer of wooden products. And the first LEGO toys were completely made of wood.
How did the word LEGO come about?
The father of LEGO toys, famous today all over the world, is a certain carpenter from Denmark, Ol Kirk Christiansen, who back in 1932 opened his own small business producing carpentry products. At that time, the main production in his workshop was the manufacture of ladders and ironing boards.
In the same year, Master Christiansen decided to additionally produce children's toys from wood.
The goods from Christiansen's shop began to be in incredible demand, and his business began to grow slowly but surely. Two years later, Mr. Christiansen came up with a great name for his wooden toys. From the expression “exciting game” - to native language Christiansen’s “leg godt” means exactly this - he created a short and sonorous word LEGO.
How LEGO gained popularity
For 15 years, Christiansen's business flourished and developed, and wooden LEGO toys delighted the children of Denmark. But evolution and technological progress do not stand still and there is a need to modernize toy production. So, in 1947, LEGO toys appeared in plastic versions.
And two years later, in 1949, the first prototype of LEGO plastic bricks appeared. At that time these bricks were called Automatic Binding Bricks. Since then toys LEGO began to gain popularity not only in Denmark. By the end of the 50s of the last century LEGO became the most popular entertainment for European children.
From then to the present day toys LEGO constantly modified, design refined, components improved. And what’s remarkable is that since the very first LEGO brick was introduced (in 1949), all LEGO elements have remained compatible to this day. So, if you take LEGO toys released in 1960 and 2011, parts from sets LEGO for kids and parts from LEGO sets for teenagers, then you can build something complete from all this.
LEGO today
The LEGO company has long been located in Bellund (Denmark). The territory occupied by production and office space reaches 210 thousand sq.m! The company employs more than 8,000 people, most of them working in LEGO's homeland, Denmark. In addition, LEGO offices are located in all parts of our planet, incl. in the USA, in Switzerland, in Brazil, in South Korea.
The actual production of LEGO toys is geographically located in several places: in Denmark, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, China, Austria and Hungary.
Buy toys LEGO Today it is possible in 130 countries of the world. Over 300 million children from all over globe play LEGO. And LEGO production reaches 20 billion pieces per year!
A few facts about the Lego company:
- Children's room railway 545 meters long, made from Lego bricks, is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
- The company's staff numbers 8 thousand workers in 37 representative offices. Half of them work in Denmark, the rest in other countries.
- Two eight-pin cubes can be combined in 24 ways. Three cubes - in 1064 ways.
- Lego sets are sold in 130 countries around the world.
- Approximately 30 million people play them.
- Approximately 600 Lego bricks are produced every second.
- The assortment is updated annually by 35-50%.
When palaces and orbital stations grow from small details, and the rooms are filled with pirates, princesses, billionaires and thieves, both the children and adults whose hands it was created are filled with happiness. Fantasy has no limits when possibilities are endless - this could become the company's motto.
The information was prepared by Tatyana Vladimirovna Dmitrienko,
senior teacher of MBDOU TsRR DS No. 425.
Perhaps in modern society There is not a person who has not heard about the Lego constructor. And, if you ask a child about this, you will certainly hear the most incredible stories about construction space stations, pirate ships, racing cars, fire trucks, police stations and much more!
The Lego constructor is not just a game that develops hand motor skills in little ones and imagination in slightly older children. Lego is a whole world, once immersed in it, there is a natural desire to return to it again and again. By the way, among the fans of this wonderful game there are not only children, but also adults, quite serious people! There are even fan clubs that unite fans of the legendary designer from all over the world. In Prague, for example, there is even an entire Lego museum open, with an area of 340 square meters. The museum presents no less than two thousand exhibits! And in Denmark, the city of Billund, there is an entire city that is entirely built from Lego bricks - Legoland Park.
To whom do we owe for the invention of the toy of the century (and this famous designer has long been dubbed exactly that) and how long ago did the history of Lego begin? Let's talk about everything in order, because it is clear that the first Lego constructor was very different from the modern one. Of course: the prototype of the current designer, firstly, was wooden, and secondly, it, in fact, was not yet the same “Lego” that exists today. In addition, Lego continues to be improved to this day, creating new and more interesting games.
It all started in 1932, in the Danish town of Billund, where local carpenter Ole Kirk Christensen opened his woodworking factory. There, the master produced ladders and ironing boards, and, incidentally, toys from the remnants of production. Perhaps the latter circumstance was influenced by the fact that at the time of the founding of the factory, Ole Kirk’s beloved son was growing up. The factory workers were given the task of creating not just primitive wooden blocks, but toys that would develop children's imagination and creative abilities! And even though these were not some supernatural unimaginable games, but, for example, simple cubes from which one could build what one’s imagination allowed, their popularity in the area was gaining momentum every day.
Already in 1934, the creator of the educational game began to think about expanding his production. Wooden educational games began to be produced under the Lego brand. The name comes from the Danish words leg, which means game, and godt, which translates as pleasure. Simply put, the Lego brand produced (and still produces!) toys that are fun to play with! It’s surprising and even significant to some extent, but the creators of the brand didn’t even realize that the word lego translated from Latin means “I collect!”
In 1949, a new era began in the history of Lego toys - they began to be cast from plastic. And in 1951, more than two hundred types of toys were produced under this brand, including the prototype of the modern Lego constructor - cubes that could be connected to each other.
In 1958, the factory was headed by the son of the late Ole Kirk Christensen, Gottfred, and a part was patented - the main component of the first Lego constructor - a cube that has 8 protrusions on its surface and 8 indentations on the bottom.
The legendary brand has a rich history. One could probably write a whole book about the stages of its formation and development. Of course, this would be a “novel with a sequel.” The range of Lego products is expanding to this day, and the Lego designer is gaining, or more correctly, growing, new fans. Ole Kirk Christensen's idea of creating games that develop imagination and creativity is still embodied in new collections of construction sets. And the work of the carpenter from Denmark is continued by people as dedicated to their work as he himself.
Groups LEGO begins in 1932. However, the LEGO brick as we know it today did not exist until 1958. This year's simple, durable and colorful LEGO brick design is perfect for a children's toy. The plastic bricks are part of an interlocking system that has just the right amount of fastenings: the bricks hold together well but can be easily pulled apart by a child. And the consistency of bricks from different sets was a key feature of the toy. Bricks produced today can be matched to those produced back in 1958.
The rise in popularity of LEGO bricks can be attributed to how much a child uses their imagination to create something from LEGO bricks. The bricks are so versatile that the LEGO Group estimates that just six bricks with eight studs can be arranged in 915,103,765 different combinations.
Production
Today, LEGO bricks are produced primarily in a factory at the company's headquarters in Denmark. The bricks are so carefully crafted that the company claims that for every 1 million pieces, only 18 will be declared defective and removed from the set. Impressive numbers considering the LEGO Group produces 15 billion components per year - that's 1.7 million pieces per hour or 28,500 per minute. Some of that number comes from rubber tires, and the plant also produces 306 million tiny rubber tires a year. In fact, based on this number, LEGO is the #1 tire manufacturer in the world.
After the original bricks were conceived, Christiansen's son and LEGO group heir, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, developed the LEGO DUPLO in the late 1960s for young children who had trouble using the original tiny LEGO bricks. DUPLO bricks are larger in height and width than classic bricks and are easier for small hands to handle.
History of Lego creation
The next chapter in the history of the LEGO group was the creation of the LEGO figure in 1974. The little yellow figures added another dimension to the game, allowing children to role-play and create personalities for their LEGO characters. To date, 4 billion LEGO figures have been produced, featuring countless masks, from basketball players to characters Star Wars"and pirates. 
History of Lego creation
LEGO sets may seem too low-tech for today's kids, but the LEGO Group continues to keep its brand at the forefront by keeping up with major play trends. In 2004, the company launched LEGOfactory.com, where anyone can download LEGO Digital Designer and build their own LEGO model. After that, you can either save it to the gallery or buy the necessary items and send it to your home to build it in real life.
LEGO also has a licensing deal with publisher LucasArts to create video games that have become extremely popular. The most recent video game, LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, was the best-selling game. Developed on eight different gaming platforms, the game sold $1.1 million in its first week of release and continues to be a bestseller. LEGO also launched the high-tech LEGO Mindstorms NXT for kids over 10 years of age this holiday season, allowing them to build their own motorized robots. 
History of Lego creation
Whatever the future of LEGO, colorful bricks will always be a hallmark of the company.
