Educational toy made in plastic versions. In the mid-1950s, more explicitly engineering-themed construction toys appeared, including plastic girders, columns, and panels that could be assembled into a model curtain wall skyscraper. Later, this Girder and Panel structural system was extended to a Hydro-Dynamic setup by adding pipes, valves, tanks, nozzles, and pumps to allow construction of model plumbing, HVAC, and chemical engineering systems like a simulated distillation column. Other extensions of the system supported suburban-style housing developments (Build-A-Home), or monorail transportation systems (Skyrail). The building toy Lego was originally developed by Ole Kirk Christiansen in Billund, Denmark, in the 1930s. The name
The Lego Group 2011, sales for the company grew 11%, rising from $2.847 billion in 2010 to $3.495 billion in 2011. Profit for 2011 fiscal year increased from $661 million to $776 million. The increased profit was due to the enormous popularity of the new brand Ninjago, which became the company's biggest product introduction ever. In 2012, it was reported that The Lego Group had become the world's most valuable toy company ahead of Mattel with a value at over $14.6 billion. The Lego Group delivered a turnover of DKK14,142m in the first half of 2015 with an increase of 18% compared with