Tyco

Tyco or Tyco Toys is a toy company that began in 1926.

Details

The Tyco company is best-known for producing toy trains and remote controlled vehicles. It also produced a series of dart and ball blasters under the Air Blasters brand.

History

Tyco initially began business in 1926 as Mantua Metal Products; it would later begin producing train sets in the late 1950s, partially under the name Tyco. In the 60s and 70s, they would shift focus entirely to their toy trains, as well as begin producing electronic toy cars and slot racers in the 80s. In the 70s, the company would be renamed to Tyco Industries, and was sold to Consolidated Foods (later the Sara Lee Corporation).

Tyco would go on to acquire a number of brands in the 90s, including View-Master and Matchbox. They also acquired the rights to Sesame Street toys, which would lead them to produce the famous Tickle Me Elmo electronic doll in 1996.

Mattel purchased Tyco in 1997, merging it under its name as Tyco R/C. It stopped production in 1999.^{[citation needed]}

Trivia

• Tyco is an acronym for "Tyler Company", named for its founder, John Tyler.