In the Beginning
In 1919, after working several years at F.J. Strauss Company, a young man with visions of mass marketing and mass production ventured out on his own and began a toy company. Joined by his brother David a couple of years later, Louis Marx & Company was located at 200 Fifth Avenue, in New York City where it remained for 52 years throughout the Marx ownership. The company begun without capital assets, sales base, patents, trademarks, products, processes, machinery, suppliers, or customers for that matter. However, they made up for this with conviction, commitment, good instinct, and Louis's talent and indomitable energy, combined with David's operational skills.

Two basic policies were instilled from the beginning at Louis Marx & Co.: "Give the customer more toy for less money," and "Quality is not negotiable." Louis and David worked long, hard days and nights to turn these policies into realities, setting an example for their staff and the entire industry. The company soon earned a reputation for excellent quality at low prices, making the Marx brand name synonymous with high value.

Early Expansion
The 1930's were a period of rapid growth for Marx despite the Great Depression. The first major plant was at Erie, Pennsylvania. Marx Trains ran 'full steam' at the Girard, PA plant, and vehicles 'rolled' out of the Glendale, West Virginia factory. Solid growth continued until World War II, when the factories converted for the war effort. In 1945, following VE day, General Dwight D. Eisenhower invited Louis Marx to join him as Industrial Advisor in Germany.

Going International
Marx emerged from World War II as the world's largest manufacturer of toys, dominating the production of mechanical toys, model trains, guns, cars, ride-ons, playsets, doll houses, vehicles, service stations, and of course the world famous Yo-Yo, introduced by Marx in 1928. Having served with General Eisenhower to restructure Europe, Marx became internationally oriented. In 1946, at the time Marx was initiating operations in Japan, Fortune Magazine featured him in the January edition. In 1952, Marx pioneered Hong Kong. During the "Golden Era" of the fifties, Marx made over 20% of the toys sold in the USA and had factories in ten countries, while licensing and exporting to others. Truly global, the December, 1955 cover of Time proclaimed Louis Marx "The Toy King"!

Transition
By the Seventies, Marx innovations had become household names and industry standards. At age 76, having divested himself of his international interests, this "Henry Ford of the Toy Industry" (as the plaque of this initial inductee of The Toy Hall of Fame states), knew that it was time to get out. "Toys is a young man's business…", he stated. In 1972, after careful negotiation, Louis Marx sold his U.S. empire to Quaker Oats for $52 million. Just 3 years later, Quaker sold to the British firm of Dunbee-Combex. Lacking the leadership and a star product (the Big Wheel was now 10 years old), they passed the control of development to English engineers, resulting in huge losses from returns of two expensive new toys in 1978. This was the last full year of production. The positive attitude that Marx was built upon quickly faded and they were no longer certain that they could ship the goods. Dunbee-Combex-Marx of England, unable to meet its obligations, lost control and filed for bankruptcy in 1980.

Marx Renaissance
In 1982, American Plastic Equipment of Florida purchased the company's assets from the Chemical Bank of New York. Later, in 1988, they acquired the intellectual rights. By that time, Marx toys and playsets were trading in the collector markets at hundreds and even thousands of dollars. This strong demand was what triggered and gave rise to the Marx Renaissance. These and other sets were soon reissued at very reasonable prices, and in no time, Magic Marxie was back! In 1995 Marx Toys, * a new entity, Marx Toy Corporation, was formed in Sebring Ohio. Although Louis Marx & Co. no longer exists, their legacy of producing quality toy products continues. Marx Toy Corporation is a seperate company from, and is not a successor to, Louis Marx & Co., however the original home of Marx, at 200 Fifth Avenue, still continues to house the new company's N.Y. Showroom.

The Next Generation
The quality and the Magic of Marx have been preserved in its molds. Today, Marx makes Limited Edition Collector toys as well as Mass Market products in tune with contemporary trends. Marx standards are maintained under the proven success formula: High Recognition, Excellent Quality, Real Play Value, and Powerhouse Packaging, all at price points that "shock" America.

We are also able to combine the inventory of thousands of First Quality U.S. Molds built by Marx, as well as other prominent toy companies of the past such as Remco, Ideal, Topper, Transogram, Aurora, Multiple, Miner, Child Guidance, Andy Gard, Irwin, Kenner, Gabriel, Wonder, and Mego. Our factory is complete and state-of-the-art with molding equipment up to 1,000 ton presses, housed in a 400,000 sq. foot building. Thanks to the tooling, we are able to manufacture sophisticated products as only a major manufacturer could, while still maintaining flexibility. By having our own plant, we are able to do the work in-house at low cost, and as did Louis Marx, we employ U.S. Quality Labor. The Ohio location is a natural for distribution, within a 500-mile radius of the population concentration of the U.S. Market.

If you enjoyed what's been read so far and would like more info concerning the history of Marx, we recommend you read Marx Western Playsets.