We can do injection molding in the US, and probably for nearly the same price (as paid by the customer). The reason things like this are produced overseas is to maximize profit collected by the companies, and secondarily to skirt environmental laws (for even higher profits).
The tariffs are stupid, but the reason for so much of the current shit situation is naked greed and short-sighted profit chasing.
Yes in general, but it’s not really economical for Lego to stand up a manufacturing facility in every country they sell in. If their current factory produces enough parts to meet their needs it doesn’t make any sense to open new factories just to skirt tariffs. It wouldn’t be a problem in the first place if the tariffs weren’t ridiculously high. You can’t blame Lego for not wanting to saddle their customers with tariffs on something that’s free to people living in sane countries.
The reason things like this are produced overseas is to maximize profit
No the reason is that Lego is an “overseas” company. From a country with much better regulation than USA on all counts, from environmental protection to workers rights.
But apart from that Lego has a huge factory in Virginia, so there absolutely is local production in USA.
Mega Bloks used to be a privately owned company based in Canada. You may remember the old Call of Duty Collector sets had a set of coordinates printed below the logo on their packaging? If you entered those into Google Maps it would show you Mega’s factory or home offices in Canada.
I don’t remember exactly when, eight years ago maybe, Mattel bought out Mega Bloks/Construx. The Canada factories were closed and manufacturing relocated to China.
That bring said, I doubt that the issue is an inability to do precision molding so much as not doing so at the desired price point. As I recall, Mega Bloks aimed to be cheaper than Legos.
things like this are produced overseas is to maximize profit collected by the companies, and secondarily to skirt environmental laws (for even higher profits).
Denmark is a hotbed of seedy corporate types getting rid off the backs of their plebe workers, then? There they go, circumventing their corrupts government’s environmental regs and wrecking waterways.
Denmark, one of the happiest countries on earth? A Nordic country in the EU, which itself is known for having lots of regs like employment and environmental obligations?
Your assertion just sounds completely absurd, even before we compare it to “at-will” work in a Red state. The only reason to keep it in Denmark is because of people, not profits.
Can we do it at the same price as China? The few times I’ve tried to do injection molding at scales of around 3000 units, it’s been much, much cheaper to do in China.
I want everything in the world to be made here because I’m important.
USA is not the world dude. It’s one single country among many and honestly often better ones. It used to be great(ish) and that’s the dream Americans live off.
We can do injection molding in the US, and probably for nearly the same price (as paid by the customer). The reason things like this are produced overseas is to maximize profit collected by the companies, and secondarily to skirt environmental laws (for even higher profits).
The tariffs are stupid, but the reason for so much of the current shit situation is naked greed and short-sighted profit chasing.
Yes in general, but it’s not really economical for Lego to stand up a manufacturing facility in every country they sell in. If their current factory produces enough parts to meet their needs it doesn’t make any sense to open new factories just to skirt tariffs. It wouldn’t be a problem in the first place if the tariffs weren’t ridiculously high. You can’t blame Lego for not wanting to saddle their customers with tariffs on something that’s free to people living in sane countries.
No the reason is that Lego is an “overseas” company. From a country with much better regulation than USA on all counts, from environmental protection to workers rights.
But apart from that Lego has a huge factory in Virginia, so there absolutely is local production in USA.
https://www.tvsyd.dk/billund/lego-bygger-endnu-en-milliardfabrik
Lego has 7 factories in:
Danmark (Billund)
Hungary
Mexico
Shanghai
China
USA
Vietnam
So you could say almost 30% of their factories are in North America, and the majority of the factories with 4 out of 7 are in the “Western” world.
Edit:
Oh and production was moved overseas, but not away from USA, but on the contrary TO USA.
We “can”. But we end up with Mega Bloks, a product that adults and children alike can agree is objectively inferior to Lego.
Hmm. Were they manufactured in the US?
kagis
It sounds like Canada and then China.
https://old.reddit.com/r/megaconstrux/comments/1diz26n/why_exactly_did_mega_bloks_fell_of_so_hard/
That bring said, I doubt that the issue is an inability to do precision molding so much as not doing so at the desired price point. As I recall, Mega Bloks aimed to be cheaper than Legos.
Singular?
Denmark is a hotbed of seedy corporate types getting rid off the backs of their plebe workers, then? There they go, circumventing their corrupts government’s environmental regs and wrecking waterways.
Denmark, one of the happiest countries on earth? A Nordic country in the EU, which itself is known for having lots of regs like employment and environmental obligations?
Your assertion just sounds completely absurd, even before we compare it to “at-will” work in a Red state. The only reason to keep it in Denmark is because of people, not profits.
Can we do it at the same price as China? The few times I’ve tried to do injection molding at scales of around 3000 units, it’s been much, much cheaper to do in China.
That is true for a lot of companies, but not for Lego.
I want everything in the world to be made here because I’m important.
USA is not the world dude. It’s one single country among many and honestly often better ones. It used to be great(ish) and that’s the dream Americans live off.