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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Funrise Toy Corp.

After almost 50 years in the toy industry, one would think Arnie Rubin would be ready to hang up his toy-making hat and call it a day. He’s just getting warmed up. In his role as CEO and founder of toy manufacturer Funrise Toy Corp., Rubin has been the man behind popular toy lines such as Gazillion Bubbles, Tonka trucks and Baby Alive products. He’s had a lot of ups and downs, but through it all, the industry has never lost its appeal. “If you can’t enjoy yourself in the toy industry, there are not too many industries you can,” Rubin said. A pivotal point in his career occurred in 1987, when Rubin sold his share of Imperial Toy LLC, which he co-founded in 1969 with Fred Kort. After almost 20 years at the toy manufacturing company, best known for its bubble-making toys, Rubin said he was ready to call his own shots. In forming his new company, Rubin kept ties with his roots stemming from famed bubble-maker Imperial Toy, creating Gazillion Bubbles, a line of bubble-making devices. However, he also found his home in a different toy market: trucks. For the past 15 years, Funrise has had the license to manufacture and market Tonka for mega licensing company Hasbro. For 65 years, Hasbro’s Tonka line has focused on placing “real-life” vehicles such as fire trucks, police cars and dump trucks into a child’s hands in toy form. Being able to build its relationship with Hasbro has been instrumental to the company’s success, Rubin said. “It’s the world’s best brand for trucks,” he said. “Everybody knows Tonka trucks.” Over the years, the Funrise design team has added a few elements of technology into the simple vehicle models such as lights and sirens activated by the push of the button. But even in the midst of a technological era, Rubin said less is still more when it comes to toy cars. “Play patterns, in many cases, haven’t changed,” Rubin said. “You give a little boy a vehicle with wheels, (and) he’s going be down on the ground pushing it around.” After 20 years of creating toys for Funrise and building the company’s portfolio of products and licenses, Rubin decided to relinquish his ownership of the company. In 2007, Matrix Holdings Ltd., a toy manufacturer in Hong Kong, purchased Funrise for an undisclosed amount. “It’s nice to have the support of a publicly-traded company without having to stay up at night worrying about paying the bills,” Rubin said. Rubin’s dedication to the industry was recently recognized when he was named the 2012 Toy Industry Hall of Fame inductee by the Toy Industry Association. Association President Carter Keithley said it was an honor including him in the Hall of Fame, and noted that Rubin would be joining “an esteemed roster of industry visionaries who have revolutionized the toy industry and have had a significant impact on the lives of children the world over.”

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