Your little truck enthusiast is sure to have hours of fun playing in the dirt with the Tonka Steel Trencher. Its backhoe allows them to dig trenches and then scoop. Construction_1_large.jpg?v=1511912474' alt='Tonka Construction 1' title='Tonka Construction 1' />
Mighty Tonka Tonka Toys Mighty Dump Packaging. Sony Playstation Vita Games Download there. Custom Search. Sandbox Favorites Since 1. Beginning early in the 2. Tonkas premier series, the Mighty Tonka. Blame the increased interest on the internet, e. Bay in particular. Interest level and availability of various models is now gauged on a world wide scale, not limited to area toy shows. Models that were considered rare, today. Along with the increased awareness of available models, was a decrease in prices paid by collectors and enthusiasts. Find great deals on eBay for tonka jeep camper and tonka camper. Shop with confidence. Tonka Construction 1' title='Tonka Construction 1' />The law of supply and demand works. Welcome to what is becoming the go to Mighty Tonka resource on the web. First there was the Tonka Regular series of trucks beginning in 1. Mini Tonka series in 1. Tonka Construction 1' title='Tonka Construction 1' />The small and medium sized categories were pretty well covered. What Tonka needed was a series of trucks that screamed IM BIGIM TOUGHIM A TONKA. Charles Groschen, at the time Tonkas Vice President of Manufacturing, is given credit as the creative mind behind the development of the Mighty Tonka Dump that in turn was the stepping stone for an entire Mighty series. Mighty Tonka trucks are very collectible, especially the first generation Mightys, 1. Keep in mind that Tonka has, over the years, manufactured millions of Mighty Tonka models. However, there are some models that were only around for a couple of years or produced in limited quantities. Because of the lower manufactured quantities, certain models can command higher prices in the collector market. The first Mighty Tonka was introduced at Toy Fair in New York in early 1. It was assigned model 9. Mighty Dump. In fact, the new Mighty Dump was initially assigned to Tonkas Regular series. The first Mighty rolled off the assembly line in March 1. In 1. 96. 5, the Mighty Dump, now model 2. Mighty series being joined by model 2. Mighty Clam and 2. Mighty Mobile Crane. As the series aged, new models were developed and added and older models were deleted. Dark Souls Save Editor 2.5 Xbox 360. In 1. 97. 3, the look of the original design changed when the SCUFF GUARD front bumper, grille and headlight bezels were all formed in a single chunk of plastic replacing the individual components. Not only did the Mighty series continue to grow in the mid 1. Tonka was a sure hit. The manufacturing and warehousing facilities in Mound expanded to meet the demand. But all was not as rosy as it may have appeared to most Tonka employees. In the early 1. 98. Tonka needed to do something to remain competitive. That something was to reduce labor costs and to that end manufacturing and warehousing was moved from the midwest to the southwest. El Paso, Texas would be the new home for the Mighty series, Regular series and Compact series. Juarez, Mexico would take care of smaller series like the Mini Tonka. In 1. 98. 2, prior to shuttering the Mound manufacturing plant however, they began running the next generation Mighty Dump. It was slightly smaller and had a more updated, modern look. In an article written in September 2. Toy Trucker Contractor magazine, Tonka historian Lloyd Laumann noted that in 1. The Mound plant manufactured 7. Mighty dump. He continues, The Tonka Mound plant conducted a pilot production run of 4. Mighty dumps prior to transferring production activities to the El Paso plant. Tonkas move from Mound, MN to El Paso, TX was a blow to the well trained workforce at Tonka Mound. Was the company going to be able to maintain their high quality, workmanship and in general, insure that the knowledge of toy truck manufacturing would not be lost Tonka El Paso could not miss a beat. The answer was to move key employees from Tonka Mound to Tonka El Paso. El Paso while Tonka Mound was still in truck production. They were in random order with their area of responsibility Leif Sundlie steel stamping Frank Whittaker inventory control Virgil Pehle deceased steel subassembly Gary Quast finished goods distribution Ben Harder deceased truck driver Roy Larson deceased truck driver Verne Larson plant manager Ron Eikanis plant maintenance Miles Thayer production control Sally Swanson raw materials buyer Melinda Johnson final assembly George Hill deceased plant maintenance Art Rognass injection and blow molding Keith Baillif injection and blow molding. Once production lines in Mound stopped running, 6 additional Mound employees transferred to El Paso. They were Betsy Wetzel bill of material maintenance Dick Stefanic final assembly Jim Fisher raw material planning Tom Murphy buyer steel Nancy Quast material information system and Janette Rognass material information system. With key personnel in place, the hiring and training of the Tonka El Paso workforce began. After initial start up jitters subsided, Mighty production soon maxed out. The demand for all of the new downsized Mightys was such that manufacturing could not keep up with demand. Departments like injection molding, blow molding, paint and final assembly were working 7 days a week, 2. The Mighty series did not get revised graphics for 6 years, in part because Tonka was selling everything they put in the distribution center. Why change a good thing Tonka celebrated the 2. Mighty Dump in 1. Silver edition. In early May 1. Hasbro bought Tonka for 5. A bargain considering Tonka paid 6. Kenner Parker Toys. Hasbro scored a big 2 fer the price of one. Seems Tonka was having a hard time paying all the bills, including the Kenner Parker debt. Even into the 1. 99. Mighty production was at times over 1 million Mighty Dumps alone a year but it wasnt enough to stave off the inevitable. On November 1. 7, 1. Hasbro announced that the Tonka El Paso facility was going to shut down and all production would move to Tijuana, Mexico and other places. In the first quarter of 1. Mighty series, was moved out of the U. S. A. Other places included China where Hasbro wanted to take advantage of very cheap labor. Simple Serial Port Program. In late 1. 99. 8, the first Made in China Mightys began rolling of the assembly line. The Mighty Tonka trucks featured on this website were manufactured in the U. S. A. from 1. 96. Mighty Tonka trucks were also assembled in Canada for distribution to the Canadian and European markets in the 1. And as noted previously, in the late 1. China took over all Mighty Tonka productions. NOTE The Mighty trucks assembled in Canada in a given year were mostly identical to their U. S. A. counterparts except for a different decal and, in at least one instance, a color change. This website will feature the Made in the U. S. A variety. Mighty Tonka trucks manufactured from 1. Mighty Dump, Mighty Mobile Crane, Mighty Clam, Mighty Shovel, Mighty Loader, Mighty Scraper, Mighty Earth Mover, Mighty Car Carrier, Mighty Bulldozer, Mighty Dozer, Mighty Wrecker, Mighty Construction Set, Mighty Roller, Mighty Hydraulic Dump, Mighty Bottom Dump, Mighty Grader, Mighty Loadmaster, Mighty Backhoe, Mighty Winnebago, Mighty Camper, Mighty Rescue Vehicle, Mighty Para Medic Unit, Mighty Para Medic Rescue Team, Mighty School Bus, Mighty Forklift, Mighty Custom Van, Mighty Adventure Buggy, Mighty Off Road Adventure Buggy, Mighty Fashion Buggy, Mighty Utility Truck, Mighty Bell Telephone Truck, Mighty Bell Telephone Service Truck, Mighty Bell System Service Truck, Mighty Roughneck Pickup, Mighty Blue Velvet Pickup, Mighty Construction Pickup, Mighty Fire Truck. Mighty Tonka truck model numbers from 1.