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Ferdinand de Vazeilles was an avant-garde entrepreneur. While managing the Nanterre Foundry, he had the notion to use his skills to create toys.
And so, at the beginning of the 1930s, the Nanterre Foundry, specialized in the injection of metal under pressure (carburetors and other industrial parts for automobiles and aviation) produced a prototype in the form of an advertising object using the Aluvac brand.
This was done for the spark plug manufacturer Gergovia-Pingeot of Clermont-Ferrand. This is how the story started, with the famous “Gergovia Candle”. In 1932, Ferdinand de Vazeilles deposited the patent allowing him to create toys.
The latter were, for 25 years, mainly removable and transformable toys. Ferdinand knew much about taking risks (for instance, in 1919, when he opened his precision foundry when the industry was still in its infancy).
In 1932, he had the idea of using his know-how to take the contrarian view from the toy manufacturers of the time. At that time, the toys were most often made of sheet metal and in one piece. Ferdinand de Vazeilles, however, had the idea of making demountable cars made out of metal (zamac) and with several parts.
The result was a solid, realistic and enjoyable toy to play with. It was nothing short of revolutionary. From a small team of ten people, the founder of the Nanterre Foundry had to very quickly open a dedicated factory. It was the beginnings of the Solivac Establishments, in Ivry-la-Bataille, in the Eure region.
From 1934 onwards, the brand was a hit. However, at the start, Ferdinand de Vazeilles had to find the dealers himself. History would recall that the “Blue Dwarf” was the first store to sell Solido toys. The paper press then helped spread news of this latest “revolution”, thus helping the development of the brand that became “Solido”.
A name that quickly stuck, echoing the solidity of the toys all the while being easy to remember. This is how Solido quickly found success and became a household name, first in France, then in Europe and then around the world. Spain, Germany, Belgium, the USSR, Italy, Japan and Portugal were among the first to succumb to the charm of Solido toys.
