The LEGO Group has today opened the doors on its new manufacturing campus, which will allow the company to ‘speed up how new ideas move from concept to reality’.
Kornmarken Campus in Billund, Denmark is home to 1,800 employees, who are responsible for developing, testing and implementing new manufacturing technology. The aim of the new manufacturing centre is to accelerate the pipeline from concept to production, which sounds a bit like it might help the LEGO Group bring new sets to shelves on a shorter timeline.
At the moment, LEGO sets spend somewhere between one to two years in production, although there are notable exceptions to that rule – LEGO Ideas sets that can be turned around quicker thanks to an existing fan design to work from, for example, or models intended to capitalise as quickly as possible on fan hype (see the first KPop Demon Hunters set).
In addition to facilities for developing and testing elements, researching sustainable materials, experimenting with 3D printing and a training academy for ‘plastic makers and tool makers’, Kornmarken Campus houses a new mould manufacturing facility, which is dedicated to producing ‘moulds for novelties and new mould concepts’.
If the LEGO Group can section off testing and production for new elements, it’ll be interesting to see how that affects both the speed with which they come to shelves, and the number of unique pieces – including printed elements – released every year.
72537 Derpy Tiger and Sussie Bird features no new elements (only fresh prints), so we’ll have to wait until 2027 for the full KPop Demon Hunters theme, which will likely require one or two new moulds at least. Had Kornmarken been up and running a year ago, that wait may have been a little shorter… although we’re obviously just speculating here.
“Kornmarken Campus strengthens the LEGO Group’s foundation for future growth,” said the LEGO Group’s CEO Niels B. Christiansen. “By bringing all aspects of manufacturing innovation together in one location, we can speed up how new ideas move from concept to reality in our global operations network.”
“The LEGO Group has among the most talented engineers and craftspeople in the world,” added Chief Operations Officer Carsten Rasmussen. “This facility will provide them with the necessary tools and technologies to expand what’s possible for product development and production, both now and in the future.”
Both LEGO Group executives attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new campus, alongside Billund Mayor Stephanie Storbank and several local and national business representatives. Kornmarken – which translates to ‘grain field’ – spans 47,000 square metres, and is powered in part by an existing four-megawatt solar park.
The LEGO Group is in the process of building a new solar park that will generate between 80 and 100 megawatts of electricity per year, matching the company’s entire energy consumption in Billund.
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