Lego is building a $1 billion factory in Virginia to capitalize on its fast-growing US fanbase

• Lego Group, the world's largest toymaker, is building a US factory in Virginia.
• The Danish company will spend $1 billion on the plant, which it says will be carbon-neutral.

Lego Group plans to build a US factory in Chesterfield County, Virginia, to better supply one of its biggest markets.

The $1 billion investment will create almost 1,800 jobs, the Danish company said.

Sales for the world's largest toy maker jumped by more than a third for the 12 months to September last year, Insider reported, while operating profits more than doubled.

Lego rewarded employees with three additional days of annual leave and annual bonuses, according to the report.

The plant is Lego's seventh and the second in the Americas after Monterrey in Mexico. The company had a plant in Connecticut but that was closed in 2006.

The 1.7 million sq ft factory will be carbon-neutral and be partly powered by an adjacent solar park.

Niels Christiansen, Lego Group CEO, said the US was one of Lego's biggest markets.

The COO, Carsten Rasmussen, added: "Our factories are located close to our biggest markets which shortens the distance our products have to travel. This allows us to rapidly respond to changing consumer demand and helps manage our carbon footprint."

Construction is due to begin later this year with production expected to begin in the second half of 2025.

Lego is also expanding factories in Europe and has plans to build another plant in Vietnam to support growth in Asia.

The company employs about 2,600 people in the US, where it has been operating since the 1960s, and now has 100 retail outlets.

Lego was founded in Billund, Denmark in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen. Its name is derived from the Danish words Leg Godt, which mean "play well".  The group is still family-owned and headquartered in Billund.