Lego plans to invest $ 1 billion in a factory in the United States

Following the announcement of a new plant in Vietnam last year, the Virginia plant will be the second largest in North America and the 7th largest in the world. (Credit: Playback / Pixar)

Lego plans to spend more than $ 1 billion to build a factory in the United States. Construction of the 157,000-square-meter factory is expected to begin in the second half of the year and toy production in the second half of 2025.

Following the announcement of a new plant in Vietnam last year, the plant in Virginia will become the Danish company’s second in North America and seventh globally.

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Lego already had an American factory in Connecticut, but the facility closed in 2006 because the company said children wanted to play with electronics. Times have changed: Like other toy makers, Lego is in the midst of an epidemic of family entertainment for home entertainment.

Its sales rose 27% last year, boosted by new store openings in China and the return of customers to reopened stores. The family-owned company surpassed the toy industry in all major markets that year when sales of its plastic bricks exceeded $ 8 billion.

“More and more families are passionate about making Lego, and we look forward to making Lego bricks in the United States, one of our largest markets,” said CEO Niels P. Christiansson said in a statement.

Creating a factory in the United States helps the company meet the demand here, especially when supply chains are disrupted and commodity prices are rising amid recorded fuel prices.

“Our factories are located close to our largest markets, which reduces the distance our products have to travel,” LEGO COO Carsten Rasmussen said in a statement. “Our new factory in the United States and expanded capacity at our current base in Mexico mean that we can better support long-term growth in the United States.”

Christinesen also noted that Virginia was chosen for its carbon-neutral plant because it “allows us to create a solar park that supports our sustainability ambitions and provides easy connections to transportation networks across the country.”

The company has long been targeted by climate advocates for its bricks and plastic packaging. The company has increased its sustainability efforts in recent years. In 2020, it announced plans to wrap its products in recyclable paper instead of disposable plastic. Last year, Lego released a prototype brick made of recycled plastic.

The company currently employs 2,600 people in the United States and has more than 100 stores.