“As people were buying phonograph cabinets they would say, ‘hey, can I get one of those wagons?’” Robert says. “And pretty soon he was selling more wagons than phonograph cabinets.” That kind of versatility has certainly given the iconic, fire hydrant red Radio Flyer some serious staying power. As of next year, the company will have been around a full century, with roots stretching back to the early 1900s when radio flyer wagon the future founder of the company, Antonio Pasin, arrived in America. People tend to forget that both of Chicago’s World’s Fairs—the Columbian Exposition in 1893 and the Century of Progress in 1933—took place during major economic depressions. So while every participating company did its best to showcase a brave face, joining in the city’s spending splurge wasn’t always viewed as the wisest investment.
Today, Radio Flyer boasts a plethora of products, including thenewly released mini Teslafor kids and a wagon customers can trick out with various sun canopies and seat cushions. Robert’s biggest challenge has been reinventing the company, which he’s done by focusing exclusively on children’s toys, expanding product development and moving manufacturing abroad. The group began exploring ways to push their company into the 21st century. They prided themselves in the quality of the on-site stamped metal products and didn’t have the means to produce other items. At the time, they didn’t even have a product development team, according to Robert.
The moment a child must be placed into a wheelchair can be scary and cause fear that something bad is going on – that is when our Hero Wagons come in. Starlight plays an integral role in the partnership, ultimately connecting Radio Flyer with the patients. The “World’s Largest Wagon” is a sculpture commissioned by Radio Flyer in honor of their 80th anniversary. It is nine times the size of a little red wagon, and weighs 15,000 pounds .
From 1942 to 1945, the company shut down its production of wagons and made five-gallon steel gas cans for the war effort. As men returned home at the end of World War II, housing was short and the 1944 G.I. Bill subsidized mortgages, allowing many to flock to the suburbs. The sale of wagons surged during the subsequent baby boom, and Radio Flyer branched out into gardening wheelbarrows to meet changing demands.
The 1950s saw a yellow wagon inspired by the movie Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier and a blue wagon produced in partnership with Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club. Wagons from the 1970s borrowed the stylings of the muscle cars of the day, including the Fireball 2001 inspired by Evel Knievel. The 1990s saw the introduction of the “Quad Shock Wagon” echoing sport utility vehicles. The “Ultimate Family Wagon”, introduced in 2007, includes a sunshade and an adjustable seat; the design won a Chicago Innovation Award in 2007.
He explains that they only arrived at this, a workable, foldable wagon — now Radio Flyer’s best-selling variation of its red wagon — in 2016, after more than a decade of disasters. It’s not easy nowadays to pick a gift that kids will love as much as their parents razor ride ons do. Low-tech toys that spark creativity and imaginative play are the answer. And nothing fits the bill like Radio Flyer’s iconic red wagon. After the war, the factory went back to making wagons and developed several new models in tune with the times.
He sold more than 100,000 of the mini wagons, and the fair made Radio Flyer a nationally recognized brand. Emand for Liberty Coasters was so high that Pasin abandoned his cabinetmaking ambitions to focus solely on the wagons. By 1923, he had begun working with steel instead of wood and painting the metal wagons bright red. Radio Flyer’s Mini Line is the ideal companion for all indoor and outdoor imaginative play. The perfect size for dolls, plush toys, and gift baskets, the Mini Line’s sturdy steel construction and high quality components are replicated from the classic Radio Flyer line of toys. Radio Flyer Minis are small enough for a child’s little hands and big enough for any imagination.
The Flightspeed™ Lithium Ion Batteries are engineered to provide the best performance available with a lower impact on the environment. It can easily switch between a top speed of 6 mph and a parent limited speed of 3 mph with the flip of a switch located in the trunk. While they are razor ride ons an innovative and space-saving concept, collapsible wagons have the propensity for safety issues. Wagon shoppers should consider collapsible or folding wagons which are clear of “pinch points”, or areas which can be hazardous to little ones, especially their fingers and hands.