Formation of Tyco The company was established as Mantua Metal Products by John Tyler and Jim Thomas in 1926, producing model boats and electric motors to power them out of
Mantua, New Jersey. They began to produce motors for train models of all sizes. Then, in 1933, the business was moved to
Woodbury Heights, New Jersey. By 1937, Mantua began selling its own ready-to-run
HO scale model train. From 1942 to 1945, the production of model railroad products was suspended as the company participated in the manufacturing of precision measuring and mapping equipment for the U.S. Army and Navy in
World War II. The company received the
Army-Navy "E" Award for excellence in production in 1945. After the war, they converted the plant back to the production of model railroading equipment. Thomas left the company in 1947 to start his own train line. Mantua began using plastic in its trains starting in the 1950s. This new effort brought them into the toy business, where their offerings were sold at discount stores and toy stores in addition to hobby shops. Tyler's smaller trains also meant they could fit more on a shelf than competitors like
Lionel and
Marx. A wide range of slot cars and repair parts, track sections, controllers and accessories were also available. By 1957, the company had a roster of 11 locomotives. That year, Tyco became an official nameplate for its line of ready-to-run trains. In 1963, it also began selling HO scale electric racing, or 'slot car' sets. In 1967, Mantua and Tyler Manufacturing Company were merged to create Tyco Industries. John Tyler's son Norman Tyler was named president of the combined entity. By the 1970s, Tyco shifted sales and marketing to a consumer-oriented, mass marketing focus. During the 1970s the train model market lost much of its former allure and Tyco's sales suffered due to the popularity of electronic toys. In order to withstand the public's dwindling interest in trains, the company began to diversify. While Grey maintained that the firm's future was in toys, Seltzer's goal was to turn it into a diversified conglomerate. Hoping to replace trains with something more suitable for the times, Tyco introduced its
US-1 Trucking line of electric trucks. It proved to be an immediate success, though interest soon waned. In 1983, the company introduced Cliff Hangers. since the basic Lego patent expired in 1978. Lego sued Tyco in an attempt to halt the production of its
Lego clone. Though Tyco won the case in 1987, limits were placed on the marketing and production of Super Blocks.
Public company Playtime Tyco Amron On February 20, 1986, Tyco became a publicly traded company before filling a full 13 pages with RC cars in 1987. By 1988, 22 pages of the company's catalog were taken up by Tyco R/C toys. In 1987, the company moved away from its trucking line and model train offerings, instead focusing on newer toys. It debuted Tyco Super Dough to compete with
Play-Doh. Kenner quickly sued, citing similarities in the two products, but ultimately lost the case. Tyco debuted its
Dino-Riders line of dinosaur-based action figures in 1988. A cartoon series was produced to help market the line. In May 1989, the company purchased the View-Master Ideal Group, Inc., which brought the
View-Master line of
stereoscopes,
Magna Doodle magnetic drawing toys, and
Ideal Nursery line of dolls to Tyco. The company finished out the year with $384 million in revenue. Between 1989 and 1991, Tyco teamed with
Sega Toys to distribute Pocket Power, a line of pocket-sized toys. A line for girls, called Pocket Pretties, was also developed. Tyco's musical toys of the late 1980s and early 1990s included the Tyco Hot Lixx and Tyco Hot Keyz, an electronic guitar and
keytar respectively. After taking the company public, Seltzer was named chairman and maintained control of the board by filling it with family members and loyalists. In the years that followed, the company's stock valuation fell and revenue was impacted by Benson's self-serving investments. He lent money to and made acquisitions from his own companies. In 1988, he used Tyco's money to purchase an underwear company in Puerto Rico in which his family had an interest. Shareholders filed a lawsuit. By 1990, the situation came to a head. President and CEO Richard Grey was then also named chairman. Starting in the early 1990s, the company expanded internationally with its Tyco International operating unit. It opened wholly owned subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Mexico, Canada, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Australia. In October 1990, it bought Stanley Cohen's Playtime Toys and turned the business into its direct import subsidiary. Tyco also purchased the Illco Toy Company in June, bringing Illco's extensive line of toys based on the children's show
Sesame Street to Tyco. It then put a greater emphasis on licensing popular characters from other companies. and Illco became the Tyco Preschool subsidiary. The company consolidated its domestic packing and distribution operations near Portland, Oregon by closing its plant in
Moorestown, New Jersey at the end of the year. Tyco had sales of $769 million in 1992. In the mid-1990s, as a bigger toy company, company headquarters was moved to
Mount Laurel, New Jersey. In the 1990s, the company also branched out with other toys such as airplanes. Its hit toy of 1990 was a set of small quintuplet dolls, called the Quints, developed by
Bernard Loomis. With a growing stable of accessories, it had generated $20 million after 10 months on the market. It made a hit in 1991 with their ''
Disney's Little Mermaid'' dolls that were released in conjunction with the movie. In 1993, Tyco became the first company to license
Looney Tunes characters from Warner Bros. After 1993, Tyco exited the model train business. By 1996, Tyco had suffered three years of losses totalling $135.5 million. Tyco's
Sesame Street line increased dramatically in popularity in 1996, when the plush doll
Tickle Me Elmo became the most sought-after toy of the Christmas season. The toy was released that July, with the company expecting to sell around 400,000 units. By December, Tyco had its four factories in China scrambling to produce 1 million units before Christmas.
Purchase by Mattel In November 1996, Mattel announced it would acquire Tyco. At the time, Tyco was the third-largest toy company in the
United States, with $709 million in sale the previous year. Tyco's Sesame Street, Magna Doodle, and View-Master toys were moved under Mattel's Fisher-Price brand. Matchbox, Tyco Electric Racing, and Tyco Radio Control products were placed under the Wheels division, alongside the
Hot Wheels brand. On February 23, 2019, Terry Flynn announced that Tyco was now a registered trademark of his Harden Creek Slot Cars, LLC. Flynn also has the Life Like trademark for slot cars. == In popular culture ==