ERTL COMPANY INC.

ERTL COMPANY INC. In 1945 Fred Ertl Sr. began making toy tractors in the furnace of his home. He was a journeyman molder at a Dubuque firm that was temporarily idled by a strike. With a wife and five sons to support, he started taking defective aluminum aircraft pistons and melting them down. He poured this aluminum into sand molds, and started making toy tractors.

By 1946, the business moved to a 1,040 square foot building in Dubuque.

By 1947 Ertl was incorporated and moved into a larger 11,000 square foot building. Mr. Ertl met with executives of Deere and Company and received approval to produce toy tractors with the John Deere name. The first John Deere toy tractor produced was a Model "A".

In 1959, Ertl built a larger facility in Dyersville and moved all production to that facility. The Ertl Company was acquired by Victor Comptometer Corporation in 1967 which was subsequently purchased by Kidde, Inc. in 1977.

By 1980, Ertl was producing close to one million die-cast tractor items per year. In 1982, Ertl's line consisted of over 60 different John Deere items alone. (1)

In the late 1990s both Racing Champions and Ertl produced replicas of the John Deere racing cars driven by Chad Little; Racing Champions and Ertl merged forces in 1999.

In the following twenty years, Ertl—now RC2—produced over 58 million die-cast tractors and implements. (1) ERTL toys range in scale from 1/87 up to 1/12. Most pieces are designed to be played with. However, 'Precision Classics' and certain other items are better suited for adult collectors. (2)

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Source:

1) "The Ertl Company." http://www.rcertl.com/history.asp

2) Ertl Toys. www.3000toys.com/brands/ertl.html‎

The 1948 Dubuque Classified Business Directory listed 1985 Asbury.

The 1957 Dubuque City Directory listed 2475 Ertl Lane.