The company announced plans Wednesday for a 1.7 million square foot plant in Virginia that will employ about 1,800 people upon completion in 2025. It will be the company’s seventh global plant. Denmark and the second in North America – the other is located in Monterrey, Mexico.
Its sales jumped 27% last year thanks to newly opened stores in China and customers flocking back to its reopened stores. The family-owned company said it surpassed the toy industry in all major markets during the year, as its plastic brick sales hit more than $8 billion.
“More and more families love Lego buildings, and we look forward to producing Lego bricks in the US, one of our biggest markets,” said CEO Niels B. Christiansen.
Building a factory in the US also helps the company meet demand there, especially when supply chains are congested and freight costs soar amid record fuel prices.
Lego COO Carsten Rasmussen said: “Our factories are located close to our biggest markets, which shortens the distance our products have to travel. “Our new plant in the US and capacity expansion at our existing location in Mexico mean we will be able to best support long-term growth in the Americas.”
Christianen also notes that Virginia was chosen as a carbon-neutral plant because it allows them to “build a solar park that supports our sustainability ambitions and provides easy links to other sites.” transportation network across the country.”
The company currently employs 2,600 people in the United States and has more than 100 stores.
– Reuters contributed to this report.
