Danish LEGO® factories outside Billund - LEGO® History

Not all Danish LEGO® factories have resided in Billund. On a few occasions, the LEGO Group has set up factories elsewhere…

System Pak A/S

In the early 1970s, the LEGO Group does not have enough packing capacity for LEGO DUPLO® production in Billund. To cater for this situation a new packing facility is set up in 1973 under the name System Pak A/S. The facility is set up in Brørup, a village 30 km south of Billund.

Packing line at System Pak, 1973

The packing facility at Brørup however has only a brief existence and in 1975 it shuts down. Employees at System Pak are given the option of moving to Billund.

The minutes of the annual general meeting for System Pak A/S dated June 6 record the reason “… that the parent company in Billund has been able to re‑establish packing at headquarters – in mechanical form …”. At the same time the LEGO Group’s construction of a new factory in Enfield, Connecticut, USA, also plays a part: it will pack LEGO DUPLO elements for the American market.

System Plast A/S

From 1958 to 1960 Karl Georg Kirk Kristiansen, the brother of LEGO owner Godtfred Kirk Kristiansen is in charge of the LEGO Group’s plastic department. Following Godtfred Kirk’s decision to halt production of wooden and plastic toys (except the LEGO brick) after a fire in February 1960, Karl Georg Kirk Kristiansen chooses to leave the company and set up his own plastic‑products factory in a town 40 km south-east of Billund.

Karl Georg Kirk Kristiansen, 1957

In November 1981, the LEGO Group acquires the factory, called System Plast, from Karl Georg Kirk Kristiansen, who stays on as general manager until he retires in 1988. The factory manufactures tires for LEGO wheels.

In 1982, the LEGO Group sets up a molding facility in the premises, including a 2,300‑m² molding hall with an annual capacity of 150 million tires – to which the plant owes its nickname: “The Tire Factory”.

molding machine inside the System Plast factory

Molding machines at System Plast A/S, undated

In 1993, production of tires by System Plast A/S is transferred to the LEGO Group’s factory at Kornmarken in Billund. The change coincides with the introduction of a new plastic material. The System Plast workforce is invited to move to Billund – about half the employees say yes.