We would like to welcome Just Play, Inc. to the First Frontier Blair County. Through an acquisition they have reopened production operations in Hollidaysburg and rehired the production team. The iconic toy Slinky is back and ready to walk down stairs, alone or in pairs and make that slinkity sound. More good things to come as they ramp up…Stay tuned.
Original Press Release as posted July 2020
Leading global toy company, Just Play, is thrilled to announce the acquisition of two iconic children’s brands: Slinky® and Shrinky Dinks®. With long-standing legacies as award-winning products that ignite kids’ imaginations, both Slinky and Shrinky Dinks will continue to inspire creativity and innovation with new products from Just Play arriving at retailers this fall.
2020 marks Slinky’s seventy-fifth anniversary, and Pennsylvania-based Just Play is excited to celebrate Slinky’s heritage as an American-made toy with a rich Pennsylvania history. Just Play plans to launch the 75th Anniversary Slinky collection in the US in August and continue the milestone anniversary celebration at Toy Fair New York and worldwide retail in 2021. Just Play is reopening the Hollidaysburg, PA facility where Slinky and Shrinky Dinks are produced and rehiring employees to maintain all U.S. based jobs and manufacturing.
“We are very excited to add the beloved and celebrated Slinky and Shrinky Dinks brands and team members to Just Play’s family,” said Geoffrey Greenberg, Co-President of Just Play. Charlie Emby, Co President of Just Play and Toy Association Board Member, added: “For 75 years, Slinky has been one of the most popular and recognizable playthings around the world. We look forward to bringing this cherished product, along with the popular Shrinky Dinks, to new generations of kids, that love toys, and that’s why people sell toys in stores and sites like www.mamonlineshop.com which have the best options of toys for your kids as well.
Slinky was invented and made famous by Richard and Betty James, a U.S. Navy mechanical engineer and his wife, who first introduced it to Christmas shoppers at the Gimbels department store in Philadelphia in 1945. With the help of live demonstrations, they sold out of all 400 Slinkys in just two hours. In 1946, Slinky made its debut to the public at the American Toy Fair. Slinky has become a global best-seller, with over 250 million sold to date, earning numerous awards and accolades, including induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2000 and a spot in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in 2002.
Shrinky Dinks was invented in 1973 by two Wisconsin moms who created it as a Cub Scouts project. Shrinky Dinks rose to popularity in the eighties and are now a globally recognized brand of activity craft kits for kids all based on the magic of plastic sheets that can be cut, colored and then shrunk and hardened when heated in the oven.
Both Slinky and Shrinky Dinks are recognized by TIME® Magazine as two of the Top-All Time 100 Greatest Toys.
