Adults who garden also love this wagon, which can hold up to 150 pounds of cargo. There is also a skating park, a carousel, an ice cream stand, and a myriad of playground equipment for kids. The wagon is really cool; its bed is padded and its handle is a slide. A near-century goes by, replete with ultra-cute photos of children being radio flyer wagon pulled by friends, siblings or parents in Radio Flyers. One hundred million were built, and the company put a billion wheels on the road. But in 1997, Antonio’s grandson Robert became CEO, and he soon realized the unprofitable, privately held company needed a thorough modernizing—or it would be out of business in a few years.
So at the age of 16, his family sold their mule and he used the funds to travel to America. Little did he know that adults would find a use for those wagons on Fire Island as a way of transporting luggage, razor ride ons groceries and more in a place where there were no cars, and where you walked everywhere. Used all over Fire Island they were kept at the harbor where you could easily access them upon arrival.
Robert has helped the company dramatically turn around its sinking market share, battling back against stiff competition from bigger toy corporations both foreign and domestic. As mentioned, Radio Flyer closed the manufacturing portion of its Chicago operations in the ‘90s, and they also discontinued the original classic steel wagon, moving over entirely to plastic. Start designing today and thenGet Out and Play with your very own custom stroller wagonthis spring and summer.
“Her favorite thing to do when she is admitted is to go on wagon rides. That’s the one thing we can do every time to pass the time and to keep her happy and to help keep her as comfortable during treatments,” Laura said. Federal law prohibits any person from selling products subject to a Commission ordered recall or a voluntary recall undertaken in consultation with the CPSC.
By this time, the company was a distinct anomaly in the U.S. toy industry, because it had remained privately owned and was still run by the family of its founder. Mario Pasin had succeeded his father Antonio, and Mario’s sons Robert and Paul also were involved in the firm. Larger companies had made competitive inroads in the wagon business. One competitor was Rubbermaid, mostly known for its kitchenware, but which produced a line of plastic wagons through its Little Tikes division.
Radio Flyer is one of the oldest remaining national toy companies still owned and operated by the founding family. The Radio Flyer team interviewed hospital staff and conducted in-field observations before putting pen to paper on a design. From there, the team sketched, prototyped and tested custom versions of the iconic wagon that could best meet the needs of patients and hospital staff. After several months of design and production, the Hero Wagon was born. This wagon includes Radio Flyer’s patented one-hand folding design making it easy to store– ideal for hospitals’ tight hallways and restricted storage space. “That was just a brilliant brand-building idea, because the World’s Fair was such a huge deal,” Robert says.