LEGO is now targeting 2027 for full production at its planned Virginia factory. Manufacturing Dive reported the revised schedule on 27 February 2024, citing the company’s announcement earlier that month. The Chesterfield County project represents an investment of more than USD 1 billion.
A contractor and a new project leader
The company’s 15 February update names Gray|Hourigan as general contractor. Its work during 2024 includes deep foundations and continued site preparation. Factory-building construction is expected to begin later in the year. LEGO describes the revised full-production target as approximately 12 months later than its previous plan.
Preben Elnef will take charge of the programme in April 2024, with responsibility for construction and opening. He previously led the company’s Vietnam manufacturing project. LEGO maintains its commitment to creating more than 1,760 jobs in Virginia over the next ten years.
Manufacturing and packing have different schedules
Work at the main site follows the project’s spring 2023 groundbreaking. Manufacturing Dive describes a campus with 13 buildings covering 1.7 million square feet, with rooftop and ground-mounted solar installations planned alongside the manufacturing facilities.
- The Virginia manufacturing campus remains under development.
- A separate temporary packing operation already serves US demand.
- The company is also adding packing and warehouse capacity in Mexico.
LEGO’s February announcement records that the Colonial Heights packing site opened in October 2023, ahead of schedule, and employs more than 200 people.
Earlier investment in the Americas
In its November 2023 Monterrey announcement, LEGO set out another USD 205 million investment. That project adds a packing building and warehouse space, with 59,000 square metres of additional operational area planned. Completion is targeted for 2025, and approximately 900 additional jobs are expected through the expansion.
Chief operating officer Carsten Rasmussen linked that investment to locating factories near major markets, responding to changes in demand and shortening supply chains. Those were the company’s stated reasons for the expansion.
The financial context available before the update
LEGO’s results published on 30 August 2023 reported first-half consumer sales growth of 3% and revenue growth of 1%, to DKK 27.4 billion. Operating profit was DKK 6.4 billion, compared with DKK 7.9 billion a year earlier. The company said it was accelerating spending on manufacturing, digital operations and sustainability. These figures cover the first half of 2023, preceding the revised Virginia construction timetable.
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