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Lego breaks ground on first US manufacturing facility

manufacturingdive.com

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Re: Lego breaks ground on first US manufacturing facility

#281

Post by TedDoesntTalk »

vidarh wrote: post #262
TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve posted before that Lego in the USA in the 1970s consisted of multi-colored bricks of different sizes. That’s it. And usually someone replies “You’re wrong” and points to some Lego mini-figure or elaborate kit that existed in the US in the 70s but in reality, I never ever saw one and neither me nor any of my friends ever had anything besides basic bricks. It’s like there is some alternate 1970s Lego reality that…

I agree it was mostly basic that early, but already by the 80's, LEGO ads were full of elaborate sets. Not nearly as elaborate as now, but certainly much more. The proportion of special pieces in each set were certainly much smaller, and made getting those special pieces a lot more exciting. This [1] from LEGO Movie specifically plays on the 1980's space sets, for example, and I personally had quite a few of these [2…

Great! But the comment was about the 1970s.

Re: Lego breaks ground on first US manufacturing facility

#282

Post by osigurdson »

pyrale wrote: post #258
osigurdson wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you seriously implying that I think Lego is universally responsible for all science and technology?

Nah, I'm just implying that you're overreacting, and connecting two unrelated things because of that.

What would be required in your view to establish a connection between Lego and STEM fields? Similarly, what is required to prove that there is no connection?

Re: Lego breaks ground on first US manufacturing facility

#283

Post by pif »

JasserInicide wrote: post #190
skybrian wrote: post #35

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…

And 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.

> 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!

Re: Lego breaks ground on first US manufacturing facility

#284

Post by aceazzameen »

haunter wrote: post #141
routerl wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> One major draw of Lego is their licensing of expensive creative IP. This is the real genius beyond the manufacturing (which other comments are correctly praising). Lego was/is the only brand that gets to make, e.g. both Mikey Mouse and Bugs Bunny, both Marvel and DC, etc. By making Lego versions of those properties, they've convinced those enormous IP holders that this does not compete with other products; Disney c…

> Lego was/is the only brand that gets to make, e.g. both Mikey Mouse and Bugs Bunny, both Marvel and DC, Balenciaga and Ralph Lauren etc. Fortnite does this too. They have DC and Marvel, Naruto and DBZ etc.

Funko Pop too. It seems like anyone can do it if they have deep enough pockets and enough clout to woo the license holders.

Re: Lego breaks ground on first US manufacturing facility

#285

Post by vidarh »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #281
vidarh wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree it was mostly basic that early, but already by the 80's, LEGO ads were full of elaborate sets. Not nearly as elaborate as now, but certainly much more. The proportion of special pieces in each set were certainly much smaller, and made getting those special pieces a lot more exciting. This [1] from LEGO Movie specifically plays on the 1980's space sets, for example, and I personally had quite a few of these [2…

Great! But the comment was about the 1970s.

Yes, but the comment above yours was not, and hence the discussion is not confined to just that. My point being that this changed a very long time ago. It's not 1970s vs now but 1970s and before vs the last 40 years.

Re: Lego breaks ground on first US manufacturing facility

#286

Post by vidarh »

stef25 wrote: post #274
rags2riches wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Notoriously Expensive Lego Prices Scale Linearly, Remain Constant Over Time > If there’s one big gripe common among brickheads, it’s that the prices of LEGO sets are quite lofty (plus maybe not enough spaceships). But two disparate people interested in the plastique fantastique eschewed conjecture in favor of hard data, and found that LEGO prices scale linearly with piece count, and that on average, prices of sets…

FWIW with some of the bigger sets they seemed to make it needlessly complex and tedious. You have to assemble little pointless pieces together that they could have easily delivered as one piece. If they really do charge per piece then it makes sense to me now.

They don't charge per piece. The price per piece is calculated backwards from the sets and number of pieces. Of course it correlates, but the price per piece varies significantly based on the size etc. of the pieces.

But LEGO has always favoured pieces that even when they look very specific usually have a significant level of reusability in other contexts. Hence "pointless" pieces that aren't actually pointless because their appearance is sufficiently generic.

Re: Lego breaks ground on first US manufacturing facility

#287

Post by aceazzameen »

delecti wrote: post #10
minton wrote: post #5

I’m so confused by Lego’s market share. They sell cheap plastic at insane premiums. Why is there not more competition?

There are, lots of em, but they aren't as good. LEGO charges a premium, but their manufacturing precision really is phenomenal. Also, LEGO's premium isn't that extreme. Their sets have worked out to about 0.10 USD per piece for decades, they've just gotten bigger and more elaborate. The other brands also don't have the same brand deals, I can't get an X-Wing set from Mega Bloks, for example. Though notably you can on…

This is true. My kids and I have sets from all various brands, including some Lego compatible (knockoffs) directly from China. Only the the true LEGO brand blocks have precision in every block. Their sets are the most satisfying when clicking together.

Re: Lego breaks ground on first US manufacturing facility

#288

Post by w0m »

pif wrote: post #283
JasserInicide wrote: post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And 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.

> 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!

Politics. 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)

Re: Lego breaks ground on first US manufacturing facility

#289

Post by Arrath »

tenebrisalietum wrote: post #15
taraharris wrote: post #2

Who among us hasn't stepped on enough Legos to last a lifetime? Oh well, let's have some more <3

I have stepped on 1 LEGO brick in my life, and it truly is enough for my lifetime.

Thanks to LEGO I learned that the callus on your ankle is layered like an onion.

I had far too many LEGOs as a kid, and left them around my room like a minefield. Did I step on one? Oh, no. I was jumping on my bed and jumped off when told to stop by my parents and unfortunately one ankle landed on the corner of a LEGO building I had made. A structure build like a little plastic brick shithouse, apparently. The corner gouged a nice right angle cleft out of my ankle a couple inches long. Hurt like the dickens!

Re: Lego breaks ground on first US manufacturing facility

#290

Post by [deleted] »

knallfrosch wrote: post #273
majikaja wrote: post #224

I wish Lego would just stick to Lego classic. I don't like having to check all the pieces in a themed set are present when putting them back in the box after my child's finished with it. It's difficult to reuse the pieces for other ideas because I can't just commingle them with other sets because finding the pieces again to build that themed set would be more difficult. Just following instructions has limited value a…

Lego is not the right brick manufacturer for your needs anymore. Lego occupies the high-end market nowadays, where you pay $1,000-$2,000 for a franchise set (Harry Potter, Star Wars) that you can display in a glass showcase. You'll get robotics and some smart app functionality, along with a devoted following. If you just want plastic toy bricks to let your kids' imagination run wild, there are alternatives.

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