In 1901 Frank Hornby of Liverpool, England produced the first metal construction toy and sold it under the brand name Meccano. The first set was made up of different lengths of metal strips that could be connected together with nuts and bolts. The same basic concept holds true today for Erector and Meccano construction toys.

Meanwhile, A.C. Gilbert made the construction toy famous in the United States with his version of the construction set called Erector. First introduced in 1913, Erector sets expanded upon the idea introduced in Europe, adding pulleys, gears and new metal pieces.

The two companies competed in the U.S. market until 1930 when Gilbert purchased the rights to produce Meccano in the U.S., with manufacturing taking place in Connecticut near the Erector factory. This relationship continued until around 1938. Soon after, all steel toy manufacturing was halted due to World War II.

After the war, Gilbert went back to producing only Erector branded toys and Meccano was once again manufactured in Europe and sold in the U.S. on a limited basis. After A.C. Gilbert died in 1961, the Erector name was sold off to many different toy companies, until Meccano acquired the name around 1990.

Today Meccano continues to produce Erector branded toys for the U.S. market and the Meccano brand to the rest of the world. Meccano and Erector toys are produced in Calais, France and Hong Kong. BRIO Corporation is now the sole distributor for Erector toys in the United States.