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Even though this was the depth of the Great Depression, Pasin provided steady work to scores of people, mostly Italian-Americans like himself. Radio Steel grew to be a major employer, putting out at least 1,500 wagons a day in the 1930s. His aim was not only to adapt metal stamping to toy wagons, but to produce a quality product along efficient lines. Pasin consciously studied Ford's factory method.
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This new name made note of both the new metal technology and the popular Radio Flyer model. In 1930, Liberty Coaster changed its name to the Radio Steel & Manufacturing Company. Pasin named a 1927 model the 'Radio Flyer,' capturing the excitement of the burgeoning radio industry. By the late 1920s, Pasin had refitted his factory for metal stamping, and Liberty Coaster began putting out stamped steel wagons. Pasin believed the automotive method could be used for his wagons, enabling him to mass-produce a cheap, well-built product. Henry Ford had used metal stamping in his automobile factories, where huge machines stamped identical pieces out of sheets of steel. He incorporated his business as the Liberty Coaster Wagon Company, fondly naming it after the Statue of Liberty that had greeted him when he arrived in his new country.Īlthough Pasin's background was in woodworking, he soon became enamored of a new technology, metal stamping. Pasin worked tirelessly and alone until 1923, when his wagon business had picked up enough that he was able to hire helpers. During the day, he walked the streets of Chicago peddling his samples. In the evenings, Pasin worked alone, crafting children's wooden wagons. By the time he had been in the United States for three years, he had saved enough to buy his own woodworking tools and to rent one room to use as a shop. Eventually Pasin found a job that used his woodworking skills, finishing pianos in a piano factory. Here he hoped to work as a cabinetmaker, but at first he could only find unskilled work, beginning as a water boy for a crew of sewer diggers.
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His family backed his plan, selling their mule to raise money for Antonio's ticket. But he longed to leave his small town outside of Venice and make a new start in the United States. Pasin's family had been fine woodworkers for generations, specializing in furniture and cabinetry. was founded by Italian immigrant Antonio Pasin. Though a small company, Radio Flyer dominates the wagon industry, controlling approximately 70 percent of the U.S. Radio Flyer also manufactures a line of wagon accessories such as seats, umbrellas, cooler packs, and handle extensions. In total the company makes more than 50 wagon models. The company makes wagons in varying sizes as well, including products sized for stuffed animals, and miniatures used as key chains. In addition to classic steel wagons, Radio Flyer also manufactures wooden and plastic wagons. Although other companies, too, make red wagons, Radio Flyer has trademarked the shape of its classic model, and the exact red paint the company uses is a formula known only to itself. The company is named after its most famous model, the Radio Flyer, a much-beloved article depicted in scores of advertisements and films.
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Its principal product is an icon of American childhood, the classic little red wagon. is the world's leading manufacturer of children's toy wagons. Radio Flyer is one of the oldest remaining national toy companies still owned and operated by the founding family.ġ917: Italian immigrant Antonio Pasin begins producing and selling children's wooden wagons in Chicago.ġ923: Pasin founds the Liberty Coaster Wagon Company.ġ930: Company is renamed Radio Steel & Manufacturing.ġ941: Radio Steel converts to wartime manufacturing.ġ957: Firm extends product lines beyond toys, to garden carts.ġ987: Radio Steel changes name again, to Radio Flyer Inc.ġ994: Company begins producing new line of plastic wagons. The makers of the original little red wagon, Radio Flyer is the only company to produce plastic, steel and wood wagons. Located on Chicago's Far West Side, Radio Flyer is the world's leading wagon maker, manufacturing high-quality products for children since 1917. NAIC: 339932 Game, Toy, and Children's Vehicle Manufacturing Incorporated: 1923 as Liberty Coaster Wagon Company