The Ohio Art Company is perhaps best known as the producer of one of the top-selling toys of all time, the venerable Etch-A-Sketch. More than 100 million of the familiar red rectangular drewing toys have been sold since 1960 when it was invente. the late 1990s, however, became a troubled time for the toy's maker. Confronted with sluggish toy sales, the Ohio Art company lost money for two years. In December 2000, it made the strategic decision to outsource production of the Etch-A-Sketch toys to Kin Ki Industrial, a leading Chinese toy maker laying off 100 U.S. workers in the process.