Radio Flyer

Antonio Pasin immigrated to the United States from Italy in 1914 when he was 16 years old. He started building wooden toy wagons in Chicago in 1917, selling them to area shops. He was working as a craftsman at the time, mostly selling phonograph cabinets, and built small wooden wagons to carry around his tools. After he received numerous requests from customers of phonograph cabinets to buy the wagons as well, he refocused his business on the wagons. His business grew until the Liberty Coaster Company, named in honour of New York City's Statue of Liberty, was formed in 1923. The demands for these original wooden wagons, dubbed the "Liberty Coaster," quickly outpaced production. Incorporating the mass manufacturing techniques of the auto industry, Pasin began making metal wagons out of stamped steel in 1927. At around that time, the red wagons sold for slightly less than $3, or about $40 in 2016 dollars.

In 1930, the company was renamed Radio Steel & Manufacturing. The renamed company produced steel-bodied wagons and used assembly line manufacturing techniques. The new Radio Flyer wagons were named as a tribute to two famous men of the day: Marconi and Lindbergh. 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. Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo, non-stop flight across the Atlantic in 1927. Combining those two marvels, Pasin christened his new metal wagons "Radio Flyer".

In 1933, Pasin set up a large manufacturing facility on Grand Avenue in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood. That year, Chicago was the host of the World's Fair, Century of Progress, and Radio Steel was asked to be a part of the celebration. 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. Below the Coaster Boy exhibit Pasin sold miniatures for 25 cents. 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.

In 1987, Radio Steel changed its name to Radio Flyer after its popular flagship little red wagon. Pasin died in 1990, and his grandson, Robert Pasin, has been CEO since 1997. Today, the company produces a wide range of children's products, including scooters, tricycles, ride-ons, horses, battery ops, and wagons.

In 2015, Fortune named Radio Flyer number one in the top 25 best small businesses for which to work.

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