“The $1.3 Billion Factory in Binh Duong Nears Completion: Danish Investor Emphasizes “We Didn’t Come to Vietnam for Cheap Manufacturing””

Mr. Jesper Hassellund Mikkelsen, General Director of LEGO Manufacturing Vietnam, assessed that this is

the fastest-progressing project among the Group’s factories of the same size.

This project covers an area of up to 44.79 hectares (equivalent to 62 football fields) and involves an investment of up to $1.3 billion. It comprises five buildings: an office building, an energy center, a plastic molding and packaging area, an automated warehouse, and other facilities, totaling 150,000 square meters.

Construction began in November 2022, and with the swift execution and support from Binh Duong province in resolving procedural and infrastructure issues, the project completed its trial operation in early November 2024 (phase 1 and phase 1A with a capacity of 30,000 tons of products/year).

As the world’s leading toy company for children, founded in Billund, Denmark, in 1932, LEGO currently has five operating factories in Denmark, Hungary, Mexico, the Czech Republic, and China.

The LEGO Group’s toy factory in Vietnam is the sixth worldwide and the second in Asia. It will help strengthen the company’s long-term development strategy in this market and diversify its supply chain in the region and globally.

This is also the Group’s first project developed with a focus on green, sustainable, and environmentally friendly practices, aiming for carbon neutrality.

Accordingly, the factory is installed with over 12,400 rooftop solar panels, generating 7.34 MWp of electricity, enough to power approximately 1,270 households annually.

At the same time, the factory adopts environmentally friendly packaging solutions, using paper bags instead of plastic bags. The goal of zero landfill waste is also set to align with the world’s sustainable development trend.

With the commencement of operations, the factory is expected to create over 3,000 job opportunities for local workers, contributing to the region’s economic growth.

From now until the end of January 2025, LEGO needs to hire hundreds of workers for critical positions such as warehousing, plastic molding, packaging, maintenance, and quality management.

LEGO Vietnam’s representative shared that the basic salary for unskilled workers is over VND 9 million/month, plus attendance and transportation allowances, and annual bonuses. The company also ensures salary, Tet bonuses, and insurance for its employees.

LEGO’s Message: Move Away from the ‘Find a Cheap Place to Produce’ Mentality

Before breaking ground on the factory, the world’s largest toy manufacturer shared the reasons for choosing Binh Duong province as the location for its factory, citing conditions related to waste treatment, water conservation, and solar energy.

“The Vietnamese government plans to invest in expanding the infrastructure for renewable energy production and facilitate cooperation with foreign companies seeking high-quality investment. This is one of the factors that led us to decide to build in Vietnam,” said Mr. Carsten Rasmussen, CEO of the LEGO Group, in December 2021, as quoted by SCMP.

Additionally, the Group’s development strategy prioritizes local suppliers. In 2022, Mr. Preben Elnef, Vice President and General Director of the LEGO Group Vietnam, shared with the media that suppliers wishing to become LEGO’s vendors must comply with standards and work together towards sustainable development and environmental protection values. Scale is not the first criterion.

The Danish toy manufacturer also called on factories moving to Vietnam to put the environment before profits.

Speaking at a forum on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Preben Elnef, Vice President of Lego, expressed his disagreement with companies prioritizing short-term profits because they have to bear the cost of clean production.

“There have been many businesses focused on ‘finding a cheap place to produce so they can sell products at the highest profit. But we have to change that,” said Mr. Elnef.