The first shipment of Legos is anticipated to be shipped in 2024 from the $1 billion Lego facility in Vietnam, which officially started on 3 Nov 2022.
The project, which has a total size of 44 hectares (equal to 62 football fields) and an investment capital of $1 billion USD, is situated in the VSIP 3 industrial park (Binh Duong). This is the greatest investment by a Danish firm in Vietnam to date and the second Lego factory in Asia. It is anticipated to generate 4,000 jobs.
Because it is intended to be a carbon-neutral facility, Lego’s “most sustainable factory” differs from the company’s past manufacturing facilities. Rooftop solar panels will be installed at the facility, and a solar farm will be constructed nearby. The plant’s whole annual energy consumption will be satisfied by this combination.
The facility will also make use of building materials and energy-saving machinery that satisfies the requirements of LEED Gold, a widely respected green building certification.
Three factors led Mr. Niels B. Christiansen, CEO of the Lego Group, to chose Vietnam as the location for a new facility. First of all, it has the required qualified staff. Second, in line with the group’s search, the Vietnamese government made a very strong commitment at COP26 to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. Last but not least, Vietnam has the advantage of having strong regional and international trade ties, which serves as a very effective “door” into the Asia-Pacific market.
“It is difficult to predict with any degree of accuracy how much the factory will add to group sales at this time. However, its primary goal is to serve the Asia-Pacific region, where the number of youngsters is still growing. As a result, the contribution may be substantial” Niels B. Christiansen remarked.
Additionally, this facility will contribute to the Vietnam’s local market by producing goods for it. “We want to create as near to the consumer as we can, reducing the amount of time we spend moving items around. Hopefully, the brand name will benefit from having a sizable manufacturing in Vietnam. Additionally, this location offers room for our business to expand, said Mr. Niels B. Christiansen.
For Binh Duong, this is the province’s biggest FDI attraction since the pandemic. The Lego claimed to have done extensive research on the Vietnam location of the factory. Finally, they decided on Binh Duong because, perhaps most significantly, a solar power plant would be built immediately next to the project to satisfy the demand for renewable energy. This strategy of drawing in investment and local support is also very much valued. Lego claimed that when the factory opens, it will have ready-made domestic supply partners.
Mr. Ole Kirk Kristiansen established the Lego Group in the Danish town of Billund in 1932 as a carpenter family producing wooden toys and yo-yos. Leg and Godt, two Danish words that mean “Have fun,” are the origin of the name Lego. They continue to be a family-run business with their main offices in Billund. More than 130 nations already sell and continue to sell its products.