Tonka


Tonka is an American producer of toy trucks. The company was known for making steel toy models of construction type trucks and machinery. Maisto International, which makes diecast vehicles, acquired the rights to use the Tonka name in a line of 1:64 scale diecast vehicles, featuring mostly trucks.

History

Mound Metalcraft was created in 1946 in Mound, Minnesota, by Lynn Everett Baker, Avery F. Crounse, and Alvin F. Tesch. Their original intent was to manufacture garden implements. Their building's former occupant, the Streater Company, had made and patented several toys. 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 side line 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. The logo at this time was an oval, showing the Tonka Toys name in red above waves, presumably honoring nearby Lake Minnetonka. In 1964, Tonka acquired the Mell Manufacturing Company in Chicago, Illinois, allowing it to produce barbecue grills, eventually under the Tonka Firebowl label.
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. 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.
Tonka has produced a variety of toys, including dolls and other toys aimed at girls like Keypers and aimed at boys like Gobots, Rock Lords, Spiral Zone, 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 Sega 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 to Infogrames for US$100 million in 2000, buying back the rights for US$66 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 other media

Video games

Thirteen video games based on the toys were released between 1996 and 2006.
Game TitleRelease DateDeveloperPublisher
Tonka ConstructionAugust 20, 1996Vortex Media ArtsHasbro Interactive
Tonka Search & RescueOctober 15, 1997Media StationHasbro Interactive
Tonka GarageApril 7, 1998Media StationHasbro Interactive
Tonka Construction 2October 2, 1999ImaginEngine
Magellan Interactive		Hasbro Interactive
Tonka RacewayDecember 6, 1999Media StationHasbro Interactive
Tonka Space StationNovember 6, 2000Data Design Interactive
Hasbro Interactive
Tonka Monster TrucksSeptember 25, 2001Data Design InteractiveInfogrames
Tonka Search & Rescue 2November 15, 2002Artech StudiosInfogrames
Tonka Construction Site2002TDK Mediactive-
Tonka TownLate 2003ImaginEngineAtari
Tonka: Rescue PatrolNovember 18, 2003Lucky Chicken GamesTDK Mediactive
Atari
Tonka FirefighterFebruary 27, 2004UnknownAtari
Tonka: On the JobNovember 15, 2006Webfoot TechnologiesTHQ

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 alumni Fred Wolf, and was to be produced by Adam Sandler and Jack Giarraputo, Brian Goldner and Bennett Schneir.