![]() The "Zephyr", produced in the 1930s, paid homage to the Chrysler Airflow. Ī number of designs and styles have been produced by Radio Flyer, often inspired by the automobiles or popular culture of the day. Since 2002, the company has produced plastic as well as metal-bodied wagons. 1500 wagons a day rolled off assembly lines even during the Great Depression. In 1927, Pasin replaced the wooden body with stamped steel, taking advantage of assembly line manufacturing techniques and earning him the nickname "Little Ford". The Liberty Coaster Company began producing the wooden bodied "No. Radio Flyer wagon, tricycle and hobby horse circa 1960. In 2015, Fortune named Radio Flyer number one in the top 25 best small businesses for which to work. Today, the company produces a wide range of children's products, including scooters, tricycles, ride-ons, horses, battery ops, and wagons. Robert Pasin, Antonio's grandson, has been CEO since 1997. In 1987, Radio Steel changed its name to Radio Flyer after its popular flagship little red wagon. During World War II, steel was essential war material from 1942–1945, the company shifted production to portable five gallon Blitz cans for the US Army. Below the Coaster Boy exhibit Pasin sold miniatures for 25 cents. Antonio Pasin took on major debt to fund the construction of a 45-foot (14 m) tall wood and plaster Coaster Boy statue depicting a boy riding a Liberty Coaster wagon. 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. Combining those two marvels, Pasin christened his new metal wagons "Radio Flyer". Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo, non-stop flight across the Atlantic in 1927. Italian inventor and engineer Guglielmo Marconi developed, demonstrated, and marketed the first successful long-distance wireless telegraph and in 1901 broadcast the first transatlantic radio signal. The new Radio Flyer wagons were named as a tribute to two famous men of the day: Marconi and Lindbergh. The renamed company produced steel-bodied wagons and used assembly line manufacturing techniques. In 1930, the company was renamed Radio Steel & Manufacturing. At around that time, the red wagons sold for slightly less than $3, or about $40 in 2016 dollars. ![]() Incorporating the mass manufacturing techniques of the auto industry, Pasin began making metal wagons out of stamped steel in 1927. The demands for these original wooden wagons, dubbed the "Liberty Coaster," quickly outpaced production. His business grew until the Liberty Coaster Company, named in honour of the Statue of Liberty, was formed in 1923. After he received numerous requests from customers of phonograph cabinets to buy the wagons as well, he refocused his business on the wagons. He was working as a craftsman at the time, mostly selling phonograph cabinets, and built small wooden wagons to carry around his tools. Young girl with Radio Flyer wagon circa 1955Īntonio Pasin started building wooden toy wagons in Chicago in 1917, selling them to area shops.
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