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It will be the first US Lego factory in a while, but here is some history: > The first LEGO factory in Enfield opens in 1975 – a packing facility for LEGO DUPL
by skybrian 4y ago
It will be the first US Lego factory in a while, but here is some history:
> The first LEGO factory in Enfield opens in 1975 – a packing facility for LEGO DUPLO® bricks. The elements to be packed arrive from factories in Billund, Denmark, and Baar, Switzerland – transported to the US in container ships.
> The Enfield factory is constructed as a “conversion ready” building with open steel structures which can quickly be converted from warehouse to packing, packing to production.
> In 1980, LEGO Systems Inc. sets up its own molding shop in Enfield, starting with 10 molding machines. The factory is equipped with state‑of‑the‑art technology. One of the features is an air‑drying system for plastic granulate, which must contain no moisture when it enters the molding machine, as the finished bricks would otherwise fail to meet the LEGO Group’s high-quality standard.
> In November 2000, the LEGO Group announces its decision to close the molding plant in Enfield and in future mold LEGO bricks only in Europe. Shutting down the molding facility is a step in the LEGO Group’s plan to improve its financial results in the years ahead – preliminary accounting figures for 2000 are negative.
Before that, there was a licensing agreement with Samsonite.
[1] https://www.lego.com/en-us/history/articles/e-production-of-lego-bricks-in-north-america/ https://www.lego.com/en-us/history/articles/e-production-of-...
- tedivm 4y agoI came here to say this- I toured the Enfield facility, as LEGO sponsored my robotics team. They had a whole manufacturing setup there. Everyone was kind of pissed that they closed it when they did.
- jacquesm 4y agoThe same thing happens in reverse quite frequently. Tandy/Radio Shack comes to mind as a particularly nasty episode (gear received the day before they closed for warranty claims just disappeared because they didn't tell customers they were going to close). Ford had some factories close in different EU locations and many other examples besides, usually for reasons of tax venue shopping. Large companies don't care about employees one way or another, if you're lucky you're a row in a spreadsheet somewhere and woe to you if your row, the column where you're totalled or the entire sheet ends up in the red.
- canadianfella 4y ago[dead]
- mproud 4y agoLEGO Group had significant financial hardships 20, 25 years ago. It’s been mostly well documented that they made many different changes in strategy and operations, and have become wildly successful.
- EamonnMR 4y agoWas it FIRST Lego League?
- ratg13 4y agoLEGO was suffering financial hardships at the time due to plummeting sales. They had no way of knowing Bionicle was going to save the company. https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/gaming/a31152877/lego-bionicle-faber/ https://www.popularmechanics.com/culture/gaming/a31152877/le...
- twic 4y agoThey also had their main e-commerce development operation in Enfield at one point. I worked there for a while! Nice bunch.
- zeristor 4y agoEnfield, not just for the Enfield rifle, or Royal Enfield Motorcycles, or Matchbox cars; but Lego too? How did I miss that?
- lkramer 4y agoI suspect this is Enfield in Connecticut and not Enfield in Middlesex, UK which is where the Rifle and Motorcycle originated.
- aksss 4y agoSmall bit of trivia, but the M1917 Enfield rifle, used by American forces in WWI and a derivative of the SMLE from the UK, was actually produced in CT, but in New Haven not Enfield. :^)
- rgoulter 4y agoThe M1917 uses a Mauser action, and isn't directly related to the Lee-Enfield (SMLE).
- aksss 4y agoYes, certainly not my area. As far as I know the M1917 is just a P14 chambered in .06. The P13/14 Lee-Enfield was built/designed as an improvement to the SMLE, though as you say, probably incorrect to call it a “derivative” so much as a successor (though an ill-fated one).
- JasserInicide 4y agoAnd now they're moving to Boston. CT loses another multinational company, they just can't catch a break. Then again it is entirely the state's own fault for driving businesses away.
- vl 4y agoBut Boston as a choice is equally surprising.
- pif 4y ago> Then again it is entirely the state's own fault for driving businesses away. What does that refer to? Honest question, never lived in the USA. Thanks for explanations!
- w0m 4y agoPolitics. Everyone blames The State for anytime a business does something they'd prefer otherwise (Such as building in location A instead of location B; regardless of merit)
- brendoelfrendo 4y agoAs I recall, Lego cited talent as their biggest reason for locating[0]. From the same source, the governor of CT says that state policy wasn't part of their relocation plans. I hate to say it, but Lego is probably right here. CT and MA are very similar from a cost-of-living perspective and, all other things things being equal, Boston has a larger and more diverse talent pool, and is a more attractive place to live for retaining that talent. I suppose you could extrapolate that to state policies, that the state isn't doing enough to make CT an exciting place to live but that might be a bit too uncharitable. I say this as someone who grew up there; my mom even worked at the Lego plant for a brief period in her 20s, and liked it there. As a Lego-loving kid, I always took pride in the fact that all that magic happened so close to home. [0]https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/lego-move-north-american-headquarters-boston-2025-96641686 https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/lego-move-north-american...
- stby 4y agoThe factory in Switzerland was closed shortly after that in 2002. Lego really struggled in the late 90s / early 00s.