Toy Manufacturers in Europe

Gebrüder Bing

Gebrüder Bing was founded in 1863 in Nuremberg, Germany, by Ignaz and Adolph Bing to sell toys and kitchenware. It later specialised in tin and mechanical toys including trains, boats and cars. Bing tried to challenge Steiff's monopoly on teddy bears, which lead to acrimony. Bing introduced clockwork mechanisms into the bears. In 1895, the company changed its name to Nuernberger Metall und Lackierwarenfabrik vorm, Bing AG, which translates to Nuremberg Metal and Enamelware Works. The name changed again in 1919, this time to Bing Werke, or, in English, Bing Works. In 1932, departments of the company were sold off to Karl Bub who took over the train production while the Fleischmann firm took over the toy boat industry.

Brio Toys

The company was started by Ivar Bengstsson in 1884 in Osby, Sweden and was named after his two sons. BRIO is known for its stacking toy clown, the Labyrinth game, wooden railways and other quality toys. Today, it also makes Bob the Builder and Curious George toys. Dag and Bengt Ivarsson, grandchildren of Ivar, are now the main owners of BRIO.

Lego

In 1932 Ole Kirk Christiansen, carpenter and joiner, founded a carpentry business at Billund, Denmark, making ladders, ironing boards and wooden toys. The toys were particularly successful and the company adopted the name LEGO in 1934. Lego means 'play well' from the Danish words 'Leg Godt'. In 1947 it bought a plastic injection-moulding machine and made Automatic Binding Blocks in 1949 which were a forerunner of Lego. The company launched the Lego system in 1955. The stud and tube coupling system was patented in 1958. Duplo followed in 1969, then Lego Technic and Lego Scala Planet in 1998. Lego won toy of the year three times in the 1970s and was acclaimed the Toy of the Century by the British Toy and Hobby Association in 2000.

Margarete Steiff

In 1877, Margarete Steiff founded a felt mail order company to make underskirts and children's clothes. In 1880, animal toys were introduced to the range of products. Richard Steiff, a nephew, joined the company in 1897 and experimented with jointed bear design between 1902 and 1905. The company became famous for its teddy bears and its trademark of the button-in-ear. Steiff continue to produce high quality soft toys and now also make a huge range of replica bears based on its early classics.

Schuco

Schuco was originally founded as Schreyer & Company in Nuremberg, Germany, in 1912 by Heinrich Muller and, former Bing employee, Heinrich Schreyer. It made clockwork and mechanical toys and bears. Between 1914 and 1918, the factory closed due to both partners being drafted during the war. The firm began again in 1918 and in 1921 the 'Schuco' company name was trademarked. During the Second World War the company operated by making telephone equipment. From 1946 to 1949, Schuco made toys again on a small scale. In 1947, Adolf and Eric Kahn imported rights to Schuco products for the US and Canada. The company was sold to Dunbee-Combex-Marx in 1976.