Danish toymaker Lego (Billund; www.lego.com) said it will invest USD 500 mn (EUR 497 mn) in its Mexican site in Monterrey to meet growing demand on the American continents. In addition to a new 26,350 m² high-bay warehouse, production areas for the decoration and assembly of the tiny blocks were recently inaugurated: up to 2.1 bn parts can be processed here, on a space of around 7,400 m². Construction work on the expansion of the injection moulding production facility, which is also planned (see Plasteurope.com of 15.03.2022), will not begin until the end of this year.

More than 1,000 additional jobs are to be created, bringing the total number of employees in Monterrey to around 6,000 by 2024. The company said when these investments reach completion, the site will have six buildings, 100 packaging lines, and 769 injection moulding machines. “We are the largest Lego manufacturing facility in the world,” said Nancy Sanchez, senior vice-president of manufacturing in the Americas.

Related: Lego unveils prototype block made from rPET / One-litre PET bottle enough for 10 bricks

The expansion of the Monterrey site, which has been in operation since 2008, is in addition to an investment of approximately USD 1 bn in a new manufacturing facility in the US state of Virginia announced in June (see Plasteurope.com of 20.06.2022). Additionally, plans include the construction of a new manufacturing facility in Vietnam, which is expected to start operations by the end of 2025. The group currently has five production sites with Monterrey, its headquarters facility in Billund, and operations in Kladno (Czech Republic), Nyíregyháza (Hungary), and Jiaxing (Zhejiang, China).

Last year, the toy giant announced a 27% jump in turnover to DKK 55.3 bn (EUR 7.4 bn). Operating profit improved by 32% to DKK 17 bn despite “ambitious strategic investments” and increased freight and raw material costs, according to CEO Niels Christiansen.