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The History of Brio toys

brio toys

Brio, the company, began its life selling baskets in Southern Sweden in the latter part of the 19th century. The founder, Ivar Bengtsson, handed over control of the company to his three sons in 1908 and they oversaw a massive expansion programme for the company which saw it gain a worldwide reputation for high quality wooden toys. The range of toys offered by Brio quickly rose from just 170 in 1907 to over 14,000 by 1914 and these were available to order from mail order catalogues or from the company's band of travelling salesmen.

Since then the company has grown enormously and is almost a byword for quality in the toy industry. It's estimated that their share in the global wooden toy industry is over 40% and looking at some of their products, it's easy to see why.

They are perhaps most famous in the UK for wooden trains and train sets. Brio train sets have been available in Europe since 1958 and they are still as popular now as they were then. Train sets such as the Fun on the Farm Starter Set or the Freight Crane Set have been staples of generations of children's toy collections as they are fun, educational and extremely well made, thus making them one of the most durable toys in the toy box. A Brio train set really is a sound investment for parents as they're so well made, it's entirely possible that subsequent generations will be playing with them in years to come.

Brio also produces a superb range of wooden trains to accompany their train sets. Brio trains are world renowned and if you take a look at the Brio trains section of our website, you'll see why. There really are some lovely engines which would take pride of place in any wooden railway enthusiast's collection. Take the Mighty Red Action Locomotive as an example. It truly is a magnificent looking toy and just oozes quality. Compare it to the more modern train designs and there really is no comparison, this Brio train really is the business and at just £18.95, it's a snip considering Brio's reputation for producing robust, long lasting toys.

Brio's range of toys also includes some iconic classics such as the hedgehog pull along toy, their strikingly colourful building blocks and their ever popular toy cookers. There really is something for everyone.

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