The Lego company, led by Ole Kirk Christiansen, introduced plastic toys alongside their existing wooden toy line in 1949 after purchasing one of the first injection moulding machines in 1947. One son, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen (GKC), was named the managing director of the family business in 1957 shortly before his father died and just two years later he bought out his three brothers. In the 1960s, GKC decided to open a Legoland Park adjacent to the Lego factory in Billund to promote his toy business; the factory itself was already drawing approximately 20,000 visitors per year by the mid-1960s, who came to view models produced for trade shows and shops.  GKC hired Arnold Boutrop as the park's first general director and designer; after visiting Madurodam, the two men began finalizing plans for what would become Miniland, the main attraction of Legoland. Dagny Holm, a cousin of GKC trained as a sculptor who was hired as a model designer in 1961 is credited with much of the original design and building of Miniland. The park became an instant success, with 625,000 visitors in its first abbreviated season after opening on 7 June 1968.