Product Code Database
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.
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 , 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 language word tanka, which means "great" or "big". (2025). 9780760318683, MBI Publishing Company. ISBN 9780760318683
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 Products, 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!, Basic Fun! Acquires Hasbro's Tonka License on Toybook, 4 Jun 2019 which produces other brands such as Care Bears, My Little Pony, and Lincoln Logs. Maisto, which makes die casting vehicles, acquired the rights to use the Tonka name in a line of , 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.
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, , 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.
| August 20, 1996 | Hasbro Interactive | |
| Media Station | ||
| April 7, 1998 | ||
| ImaginEngine Magellan Interactive | ||
| December 6, 1999 | Microsoft Windows Game Boy Color | Media Station |
| November 6, 2000 | Microsoft Windows PlayStation | Data Design Interactive |
| September 25, 2001 | Infogrames Interactive | |
| Artech Studios | ||
| TDK Mediactive | ||
| Atari Interactive | ||
| TDK Mediactive | ||
| Atari Interactive | ||
| THQ |
| co-production with Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| ABC |
| Hanna-Barbera Productions |
| ABC |
| Hanna-Barbera Productions and Clubhouse Pictures |
| Tristar Pictures, Carolco Pictures, Atlantic/Kushner-Locke, The Maltese Companies, Cuckoo's Nest Studio, and Wang Film Productions |
| Hasbro Studios, SD Entertainment, and Paramount Home Entertainment |
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).
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