Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
ERTL, Fred Jr.
ERTL, Fred Jr. (Dubuque, IA--Scottsdale, AZ, August 23, 2017 ). Ertl followed his father Frederick ERTL into the manufacture of toys. According to Cathy Hubbard, Fred, Jr's daughter, he helped his father sell replicas out of his father's car. (1) All five brothers were initially involved in the company which was located in the family's basement. The company moved from Dubuque to Dyersville in 1959 and developed a multi-million dollar enterprise with manufacturing facilities in Mexico; China; and Dyersville, Iowa.
In 1962 the company changed its production. Previously a maker of products for farm equipment manufacturers that used toys for promotions, the Ertl Company entered the open toy market. When purchased by the Victor Comptometer Corporation of Chicago in 1967, the operation earned an annual revenue of $4.5 million. In 1970 Ertl was named president of the Toy Manufacturers of America and delegate to the White House Conference on Children and Youth. He also served as president of the Hobby Industry Association of America.
The company became a subsidiary of Walter Kidde and Company of Clifford, New Jersey, in 1977. In 1987 Hanson Trust PLC, a British conglomerate purchased Kidde and Company. Ertl, still involved in the company as president and CEO, retired in 1992. (2)
In 2000 Ertl was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame in New York. (3)
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Source:
1. Jacobson, Ben. "Dyersville Farm Toy Pioneer Dies at 87," Telegraph Herald, August 27, 2017, p. 13A
2. Ibid.
3. "Chronology," Telegraph Herald, January 1, 2001, p. 26