For the first time in many years, select LEGO products will carry a welcome message on their packaging: Made in USA.
The LEGO Group is continuing to streamline its supply chain by investing more than $1 billion to build a new factory in Chesterfield County, Virginia. Ground-breaking on the 1.7 million square foot carbon-neutral facility will take place this fall with full production expected to begin in 2025. More than 1,760 American jobs are expected to be created at the facility within the next 10 years.
“This is an exciting step for the LEGO Group. More and more families are falling in love with LEGO building and we are looking forward to making LEGO bricks in the U.S., one of our largest markets, says LEGO Group CEO Niels B. Christiansen. “The location in Virginia allows us to build a solar park which supports our sustainability ambitions and provides easy links to nationwide transportation networks. We are also looking forward to creating fantastic employment opportunities for the people of Virginia.”
The new LEGO factory will be supported by a temporary packaging facility that will open in an existing facility nearby in early 2024. Up to 500 jobs will be created with that facility. The Virginia factory is the company’s seventh overall, and the second in North America. Currently, the LEGO factory in Monterrey, Mexico primarily services the U.S. market. The LEGO Group also plans to expand and upgrade that facility.
“Our factories are located close to our biggest markets which shortens the distance our products have to travel,” says Carsten Rasmussen, chief operations officer. “This allows us to rapidly respond to changing consumer demand and helps manage our carbon footprint. Our new factory in the U.S. and expanded capacity at our existing site in Mexico mean we will be able to best support long-term growth in the Americas. We are fortunate to find a location where we can begin construction quickly and create temporary capacity in under two years.”
The LEGO Group has been operating in the U.S. since the 1960s and currently employs approximately 2,600 people in roles across the country, including its U.S. headquarters in Enfield, Connecticut, and more than 100 LEGO Stores.
LEGO previously operated a small factory near its U.S. headquarters in Connecticut that closed during a 2006 restructuring.
