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Tonka is an American brand and former manufacturer of toy trucks. The company was founded in 1946 and operated as an independent manufacturer of popular steel toy construction type trucks and machinery, until its sale to Hasbro in 1991.

History

Tonka began as "Mound Metalcraft", a gardening tools company, in the fall of 1946 in Mound, Minnesota. Lynn Everett Baker (1898–1964), Avery F. Crounse, and Alvin F. Tesch created the company in an old schoolhouse. Their building's former occupant, the Streater Company, had made and patented several toys, including toy trucks. E. C. Streater was not interested in the toy business so they approached Mound Metalcraft. The three men at Mound Metalcraft thought they might make a good sideline to their other products.

After some modifications to the design by Alvin Tesch and the addition of a new logo created by Erling Eklof, the company began selling metal toys, which soon became the primary business. The logo was based on a University of Minnesota drafting student's sketch by Donald B. Olson, who later became the company's Chief Industrial Engineer. The logo used the Dakota Sioux word ''tanka'', which means "great" or "big".

In November 1955, Mound Metalcraft changed its name to "Tonka Toys Incorporated". From 1947 to 1957, their logo was an oval, showing the Tonka Toys name in red above blue ocean waves with seagulls overhead, honoring nearby Lake Minnetonka.

From 1958 to 1961, the logo no longer included seagulls and the colors were changed to white, grey, and red. The colors changed to red and gold in 1963. In 1978, the oval was removed and the company began using only the name Tonka on their toys.

In 1964, Tonka acquired the Mell Manufacturing Company in Chicago, Illinois, allowing it to produce barbecue grills, eventually under the ''Tonka Firebowl'' label.

In 1968, Tonka moved company headquarters from Mound to Minneapolis.

In 1987, Tonka purchased Kenner Parker, including UK toy giant Palitoy, for $555 million, borrowing extensively to fund the acquisition. However, the cost of servicing the debt meant Tonka itself had to find a buyer and it was eventually acquired by Hasbro in 1991, its headquarters moved out of Minnesota, and relocated its manufacturing operations to Hasbro's facilities in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. In 1998, Hasbro began a licensing deal with Funrise Toys to manufacture and distribute Tonka trucks. The deal began with versions of the trucks fitted with electronics for lights and sounds, but grew to encompass the entire brand. This agreement ended on July 4, 2019, with the license being transferred to Basic Fun!, which produces other brands such as Care Bears, My Little Pony, and Lincoln Logs. Maisto International, which makes die-cast vehicles, acquired the rights to use the Tonka name in a line of 1:64 scale, featuring mostly trucks.

In 2024, Basic Fun filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company will use bankruptcy proceedings to repay its creditors while remaining in operation.

Products

Tonka has produced a variety of toys, including dolls (''Star Fairies'', ''Bathing Beauties'', ''Maple Town'', and ''Hollywoods''). They have produced other toys, some aimed at girls (such as ''Keypers''), and others aimed at boys (such as ''Gobots'', ''Supernaturals'', '' Rock Lords'', ''Spiral Zone'', ''Legions of Power'' and '' Steel Monsters''). It was the original manufacturer of the Pound Puppies toy line, and in the late 1980s licensed products inspired by ''Maple Town''.

Tonka produced video games as Tonka Video Games, including ''Tonka Raceway'', and purchased the rights to distribute and market the Master System after Sega of America stopped competing against the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US. However, the Master System's market share declined, since Tonka did not have experience with video games or how to market them. Hasbro sold the digital gaming rights for various properties (including ''My Little Pony'', '' Magic: The Gathering'', Tonka, Playskool, and ''Transformers'') to Infogrames (later known and currently operating as Atari SA) for US$100 million in 2000, buying back the rights for US$65 million in June 2005.

In 2001, Tonka trucks were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame at The Strong in Rochester, New York. The Winifred Museum in Winifred, Montana, has a collection of more than 3,000 Tonka toys.
In 2002, Ford made its very first partnership with Tonka with the Mighty F-350 concept.

In other media

Computer and video games

Thirteen video games based on the toys were released between 1996 and 2006. A majority of these titles were released by Hasbro Interactive and its later re-brandings as Infogrames Interactive and Atari Interactive, although a small number of titles for Nintendo platforms were released by TDK Mediactive under a sub-licensing agreement from Infogrames.

Filmography

TV series

TV movies and specials

Films

In 2012, an animated film based on the trucks toy line was in development. It was to be produced by Sony Pictures Animation, Hasbro Studios, and Happy Madison Productions, and to be distributed by Columbia Pictures. A script was written by Happy Madison alumnus Fred Wolf, and was to be produced by Adam Sandler and Jack Giarraputo, Brian Goldner (CEO and president of Hasbro) and Bennett Schneir (Hasbro's senior vice president and managing director of motion pictures).

References

External links

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{{Scale model brands

1946 establishments in Minnesota
1950s toys
1991 mergers and acquisitions
2011 mergers and acquisitions
2020 mergers and acquisitions
American companies established in 1946
Hasbro brands
Hasbro products
Hasbro subsidiaries
Manufacturing companies based in Minnesota
Toy cars and trucks
Companies based in Rhode Island
Toy companies established in 1946
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Toy companies of the United States