Dive Brief:
- The Lego Group plans to invest over $400 million to expand its manufacturing operations in Monterrey, Mexico, by adding packing and warehousing capabilities, the toy maker said Thursday.
- The project will add more than 667,000 square feet of space, including a new packing hall and a fully-automated high-bay warehouse that can store stacks between 40 feet and over 150 feet high, according to the press release.
- The facility currently has 7,300 workers, and the investment will create an additional 1,300 jobs. Construction is expected to begin in early 2027 and be completed by 2029.
Dive Insight:
The Monterrey factory handles manufacturing and packaging of Lego products, including element molding, processing and decoration, as well as packing boxes. The site serves customers across the Americas.
The company has a “flexible and resilient, regionally based global supply chain network that’s designed to make products close to Lego’s major markets,” Nancy Sánchez, general manager of Lego factory Monterrey and senior vice president of Americas manufacturing at the Lego Group, said in an email.
“This approach has been a core part of our strategy for more than 15 years and helps us respond to changes in demand while supporting long-term growth,” Sánchez said.
Since it began operations in 2008, Lego has gradually expanded the facility’s manufacturing footprint and the number of employees working there, making it the company’s largest plant.
The latest expansion plans reflect Lego’s “long standing commitment to Mexico and the important role the site plays in our global manufacturing network,” COO Carsten Rasmussen said in a statement.
“This latest investment positions us for continued long-term growth and will help us meet demand for Lego play experiences for years to come,” Rasmussen added.
The expenditure will also create additional employee “opportunities for technical training, professional development and long-term careers,” Sánchez said in the press release.
The company also works closely with technical schools, Mexico’s Ministry of Education, and industry partners to develop the workforce courses reflecting skills that are currently required by the manufacturing sector, Sánchez said in the email.
“Current and future employees will have access to training that helps them operate sophisticated software, strengthen problem-solving and continuous improvement capabilities, develop leadership behaviors and build expertise in a modern manufacturing environment,” Sánchez added.
The Lego Group has also been working on sustainability across its operations worldwide, including reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. In 2022, the company began phasing out single-use plastic across its packaging and switching to paper-based bags to house its toy bricks. The company remains on track to complete the transition in 2027, Sánchez said.
Additionally, many of the buildings on the Monterrey site are equipped with rooftop solar panels, Sánchez said. Other investments the Monterrey site is making to reduce its environmental footprint include water reuse systems, waste reduction programs and “ongoing efforts to achieve zero waste to landfill.”
The Monterrey site is Denmark-based Lego Group’s first North America facility, and the company is currently building its second site in Chesterfield, Virginia. The company is spending over $1.5 billion on a factory and regional distribution center in the state, both of which are on track to open in 2027. In the meantime, Lego is operating a temporary packing facility in Chesterfield.
