Return-Path: Date: Tue, 29 Aug 1995 18:16:53 -0500 From: "Jeffrey T. Crites" from LEGO's own publications: LEGO `FACTS AND FIGURES' ======================= Here's some great information from `LEGO Facts & Figures', Jan 94 by LEGO Group (Puveyor to Her Majesty The Queen of Denmark). The following information was taken without permission from the above mentioned source; 18th edition. The first edition of Facts and figures was published in March 1981. * 4.9152 cm3(cubed) is the volume of an 8-stud LEGO brick. It measures 9.6x32x16 mm. * 5 thousandths of a mm is the tolerance of accuracy at the LEGO mould factories. * 102,981,500 is how many different ways there are to combine six 8-stud bricks of the same color. If you haven't that much time, you can take three 8-stud bricks - same color - and fit them together in 1,060 ways. Two 8-stud bricks -still the same color - can be put together in 24 ways. * 94 per cent of all households in Belgium with children up to the age of 14 years own LEGO products. In Denmark, the percentage is 91, in Austria 89. * 110,000,000,000 (110 billion) LEGO elements - or thereabouts - have been moulded during the period 1949-1990. * 200,000,000 and probably closer to 300m children and adults all over the world play or have played with LEGO bricks. A statistician has reckoned that, every year, children spend almost 5,000,000,000 hours playing with LEGO bricks. * 98 per cent of total LEGO production is sold outside Denmark. * 1,400 Danish kroner (or the national equivalent) is the approx. cost of the toys an average child in Western Europe receives each year. * 436 sets made up the 1993 international LEGO range - of which 98 were DUPLO sets, 196 LEGO SYSTEM sets, 28 LEGO TECHNIC sets and 114 LEGO DACTA sets for the pre-school and school market. * 1,574 is the current total of different moulded elements. There are 497 DUPLO elements, 833 LEGO SYSTEM elements. 168 LEGO TECHNIC elements and 76 LEGO DACTA elements - and that's not counting the many color variations. * 2,363,090 fire-breathing dragons were moulded and assembled in 1993. * 27,894,000 skis in 10 different sizes were moulded in 1993. * 8,715,00 elements were spot-checked for moulding faults by quality inspectors in Billund. * 800,000 km was the total distance flown by the LEGO Group's four company aircraft (LEGO Airways) in 1993 - equivalent to a trip to the moon and back. * 55 degrees, 44 min. 6 sec. north - 9.7 min. 56 sec. east. Guess where that is?... * 1,284,831 people visited LEGOLAND Park during the 1993 outdoor season, between 1st May and 20th September. This made 1993 the third record year in a row, beating the record set in 1992 by 97,516. More than 55% of the visitors were from abroad. * 27,648 visitors is the largest single-day attendance at LEGOLAND Park. The record was set on 28th July, 1992. * 22,500,000 people have visisted LEGOLAND Park since it opened in 1968. * 150 employees, including 30 designers and model builders, two gardeners and 15 assistant gardeners have their hands full thoughout the year with existing and planned LEGOLAND Park projects. During the high season, the Park has 750 employees. * 120,000 m(squared) is the area covered by LEGOLAND Park. * 6,000 cars is the capacity of the parking site at LEGOLAND Park. * 42,000,000 bricks (give or take a few) have gone into building the various models at LEGOLAND Park. Here are a few examples of the number of LEGO bricks which have been used for some of the more famous models and settings: Hans Christian Andersen statue............... 210,000 Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany............... 236,000 Capitol, Washington.......................... 253,000 St. Stephan's Cathedral, Vienna.............. 275,000 Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, Berlin....... 780,000 Amalienborg Royal Palace, Copenhagen, Denmark 900,000 Big Chief Sitting Bull....................... 1,400,000 Statue of Liberty, New York, USA............. 1,400,000 Mount Rushmore Monument, USA................. 1,500,000 LEGO Canoe................................... 1,500,000 Amsterdam, the Netherlands................... 2,100,000 Great Bison Hunt relief...................... 2,400,000 The Port of Copenhagen....................... 3,500,000 Pirateland................................... 3,500,000 * 589,038 people went on safari in the zebra-striped cars in the summer of 1993. * 707,605 children whirled round on the LEGO carousel in 1993. * 3,000 individual items and objects are displayed in Titania's Palace, home of the Fairy Queen. * 2 mm is the diameter of Queen Titania's smallest ring. * 1,158,467.52 kroner have been dropped into the glass box at Titania's Palace by visitor since 1980 - in many different currencies, The money is donated to charities such as international refugee aid. * 413 years is the age of the oldest doll in the Dolls Museum at LEGOLAND Park, which has around 400 antique dolls and 50 dolls' houses. * 66 of the old, highly-esteemed Lehman toys from Nuremberg are in the Helme Collection of more than 1,000 toys dating from 1850 up to about 1950. * 121 years old is the age of the oldest scrap album on display. * 1,031 was the number of inhabitants in the parish of Grene, to which the village of Billund then belonged, in 1930. Billund did not become an independent municipality until 1970, when it got its own coat of arms, described by heralds as: `Divided by a fir sprig as a fesse, in the upper field an ascending green woodlark.' * 5,669 people live in the town of Billund. The municipality as a whole has close to 8,300 inhabitants - a figure which is expected to increase by approx. 15% of its population. * 41 per cent -almost - of all LEGO employees in Denmark live within a 10-km radius of Billund. * The Billund Center was built with financial assistance from Ole Kirk's Foundation, which was established in 1964 to provide support to the arts and other cultural activities. The center was inaugurated on Palm Sunday 1973. Its facilities include a church, a theater, a library, and a kindergarten. * Billund Airport: The need for contact with the many LEGO sales companies has resulted in steadily increasing travel activity. The first LEGO Group aircraft was bought in 1962. Godtfred Kirk Christiansen later offered to transfer the private LEGO airfield to the municipalities of Vejle, Fredericia, and Kolding free of charge, provided that a public airport was built on the site. The airport was opened in 1964. Today, Billund is Denmark's second largest airport. There are many international charter flights and daily direct connections with Copenhagen, and cities in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Great Britain. I. MARKETING: First sale Established =========--------------------------------------------------------- Sales companies and representative offices(*) --------------------------------------------- Australia LEGO Australia Pty. Limited 1962 1962 Austria LEGO Handelsgesell- schaft mbH 1957 1963 Belgium LEGO Belgium n.v./s.a. 1957 1958 Brazil LEGO do Amazonas Brinquedos Ltda. 1986 1986 Canada LEGO Canada Inc. 1961 1988 The Czech Republic LEGO Trading A/S* 1972 1992 Denmark Salgsselskabet LEGO Danmark A/S 1949 1973 LEGO Trading A/S 1980 Finland Oy Suomen LEGO Ab 1959 1960 France LEGO S.A. 1959 1959 Germany LEGO GmbH 1956 1956 Great Britain LEGO U.K. Limited 1959 1959 Hungary LEGO Hungaria Kft. 1973 1992 Italy LEGO S.p.A. 1958 1961 Japan LEGO Japan Ltd. 1962 1978 Netherlands LEGO Nederland B.V. 1957 1960 Norway LEGO Norge AS 1953 1962 Poland LEGO Trading A/S* 1973 1991 Portugal LEGO, LDA. 1957 1975 Singapore LEGO Singapore, Private Limited 1960 1979 Slovakia LEGO Trading A/S* 1972 1992 South Africa LEGO South Africa (Pty.) Ltd. 1962 1993 South Korea LEGO Korea Co., Ltd. 1985 1984 Spain LEGO, S.A. 1965 1974 Sweden Svenska LEGO AB 1955 1959 Switzerland LEGO Vertrieb AG 1957 1957 USA LEGO Systems, Inc. 1961 1973 --------------------------------------------------------------- Note: Sales and marketing activities in other central and east European countries, the Balkans and the former Soviet republics are undertaken by LEGO Trading A/S. Distributor in Iceland. LEGO Overseas A/S undertakes the coordination of sales and marketing in approx. 80 markets via distributors in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Pacific Basin, and South and Central America. II. Manufacturing Companies Established =======================----------------------------------------- Factories --------- Brazil LEGO do Amazonas 1986 Brinquedos Ltda. Denmark LEGO System A/S 1932 Switzerland LEGO Produktion AG 1974 South Korea LEGO Korea Co., Ltd. 1985 USA LEGO Systems, Inc. 1975 Mould Factories --------------- Switzerland LEGO Werkzeugbau, Steinhausen 1974 LEGO Werkzeugbau AG, Au 1985 Germany LEGO Werkzeugbau GmbH 1958 Micromotor factory ------------------ Hungary LMM Kft. 1992 Product Development =================== Denmark LEGO Futura ApS 1959 Japan LEGO Futura ApS, Tokyo Development Centre 1991 USA LEGO Futura ApS, Boston Branch 1989 III. Functional Structure of the LEGO Group ====================================== [The LEGO Group consists of 41 companies in six continents. There] [are 8,560 employees, of whom approx 4,120 work in Denmark. ] {1st tier} LEGO A/S Corporate Management: Marketing Planning -Marketing strategies, product and assortment planning. Marketing Coordination -Sales planning, market research and coordination of strategic planning. Marketing Service -Merchandising, packaging development and graphical design. Contact Japan Quality Control, Product Safety and environment Manufacturing Planning -Manufacturing strategies and capacity planning. Purchasing Human Resources Management Legal Affairs Finance and Accounting ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Denmark 220 employees ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LEGO Futura ApS Product development ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Denmark, Japan, and USA 240 employees ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LEGO Engineering Technical research and development, element design, production engineering, design and proceurement of manufacturing equipment. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Denmark and Switzerland 415 employees ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LEGO Form Manufacture of moulds at three mould factories. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Switzerland and Germany 275 employees ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LMM Kft. Manufacture of micromotors. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hungary 135 employees ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Related Business Areas: LEGO Dacta Manufacture, sales and marketing of products for pre-school and school use. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Denmark and Germany 75 employees --------------------------------------------------------------------- LEGO World Family entertainment facilities outside Denmark - and licensed products. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Denmark and Great Britian 60 employees --------------------------------------------------------------------- LEGOLAND A/S LEGOLAND Park and Hotel LEGOLAND --------------------------------------------------------------------- Denmark 170 employees --------------------------------------------------------------------- {2nd tier} LEGO System A/S Area Company -Manufacturing, sales, and marketing. -Service Functions. -Also handle: Sales and marketing in Europe via LEGO companies in: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. -Sales and marketing activities in other central and east European countries, the Balkans, and the former Soviet republics are under- taken by LEGO Trading A/S. Distributor in Iceland (Total = 1,020 employees) Billund --------------------------------------------------------------------- Denmark 2,890 employees --------------------------------------------------------------------- LEGO Systems, Inc. Area Company -Manufacturing, sales, and marketing. -Sales and marketing in Canada via LEGO company (Total = 110 employees) Enfield, Connecticut --------------------------------------------------------------------- USA 1,435 employees --------------------------------------------------------------------- LEGO Overseas A/S Area Company -Sales and marketing. -Sales and marketing via LEGO companies in: Australia, Singapore, and South Africa -And Manufacuring, sales, and marketing in: Brazil and South Korea -And coordination of sales and marketing by some 80 distributors in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, the Middle East, and the Pacific Basin. (Total = 570 employees) Billund ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Denmark 75 employees ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LEGO Produktion AG Manufacturing Baar, Zug Willisau, Lucerne ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Switzerland 800 employees ---------------------------------------------------------------------- LEGO company Sales and marketing in Japan. (Total = 70 employees) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- IV. Year by Year Breakdown ====================== 1932 Ole Kirk Christiansen sets up business. The firm manufactures stepladders, ironing boards - and wooden toys. His son Godtfred Kirk Christiansen (12 years old) works in the workshop from the start. 1934 The worked LEGO is formed from the Danish words `LEg GOdt' (`play well'). The company and its products now take on the name LEGO. Later, it is realised that in Latin the words mean `I study', `I put together'. The firm has a staff of 6-7 people. A few years Ole Kirk's motto hangs on the wall of the workshop: `Only the best is good enough'. 1936 The price list contains 49 designs. The most expensive is a goods wagon, for which the price is DKK 36 a dozen. 1942 The LEGO factory burns to the ground - but production of wooden toys is quickly resumed. The factory has an area of 180m(squared) on two floors + a 40m(squared) cellar. 1943 The company in Bullund now has approx. 40 employees. 1944 The company is converted into a family-owned limited company with the name `Legetojsfabrikken LEGO Billund A/S'. (`The LEGO Billund Toy Factory Ltd.') 1947 The LEGO company is Denmark's first to buy a plastics injection- moulding machine (price approx. DKK 30,000) for toy production. 1949 The company produces about 200 different plastic and wooden toys, including Automatic Binding Bricks, a forerunner of the LEGO bricks we know today. They are sold only in Denmark. The factory has a total area of 2,300m(squared) and approx. 50 employees. 1950 Godtfred Kirk Christiansen is appointed junior director. 1952 The company now employs approx. 140 people. 1953 The bricks are now called `LEGO Mursten' (`LEGO Bricks') rather `Automatic Binding Bricks'. 1954 The word LEGO is officially registered in Denmark on 1st May. 1955 The company has further developed LEGO Bricks and launches the revolutionary `LEGO System of Play': 28 sets and eight vehicles. It also sells loose elements. Export to Sweden of plastics products and the LEGO System of Play. 1956 The first foreign sales company is established at Hohenwestedt in Germany. 1957 The company celebrates its Silver Jubilee. Godtfred Kirk Christiansen is appointed Managing Director. 1958 The final LEGO stud-and-tube coupling system is invented and patented. The new coupling principle ensures that models are more stable and that possible combinations run into astronomical figures. It is the year sloping (roof-tile) bricks come on the market. Mould manufacture begins in Germany. Ole Kirk Christiansen dies and Godtfred Kirk Christiansen becomes head of the company. 1960 The wooden-toy warehouse is destroyed by fire. It is decided to cease production of wooden toys and concentrate exclusively on plastics. Danish LEGO companies now employ 450 people and factory/office premises to 6,000 m(squared). 1961 The LEGO Group invents the wheel! And puts it on the market the following year. A pre-school range is launched in Denmark - Therapy I, II, and III. The total range comprises 50 sets, 15 vehicles and various loose elements. 1962 LEGO Airways takes delivery of its first aeroplane in the USA and the private LEGO airstrip is inaugurated at Billund. 1963 Cellulose acetate, hitherto the most important raw material in LEGO production, is replaced by ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene). The new material results in bricks which are more stable and have better color quality. 1964 Model Sets complete with building instructions are launched as a natural supplement to existing Basic Sets and extra sets. An innovation is the launching of LEGO products which have been consumer tested. Establishment of the LEGO Werkzeugbau GmbH mould factory at Hohenwestedf, Germany. 1965 There are now more than 600 people employed at Billund - and the primises cover more than 10,000 m(squared). 1966 The first LEGO train arrives. With rails and much more besides. And a 4.5-volt motor is launched at the same time. The product range comprises 57 sets and 25 vehicles. A total of 706 million LEGO elements are produced during the year. 1967 The first DUPLO brick is invented and a patent is applied for. There are a total of 218 LEGO elements and between 18 and 19 million LEGO sets are sold during the year. 1968 LEGOLAND Park opens its gates on 7th June - attracting 625,000 visitors in its first season. The LEGO company is awarded first prize in a `best toy' competition in Luxemburg. 1969 Big bricks for tiny fingers are launched internationally: the DUPLO series, eight times bigger than basic LEGO bricks, twice as long, twice as wide, twice as high. The 12-volt motor joins the train series. 1970 Little LEGOLAND vehicles in the pocket-money category are launched - e.g. break-down trucks, police cares and fire engines. Brightly colored cogwheels are launched in various sizes. Later, they are a major source of inspiration for the LEGO TECHNIC program introduced in 1977. New factory and new production organization in Billund, Hojmarken, is presented. During the next two years the production area is expanded by 18,000m(squared), with new facilities which include raw-material warehousing, moulding shop, assembly and packing department. There are 975 employees at LEGO headquarters in Billund, excluding LEGOLAND Park, and close to 30,000m(squared) under cover. 1971 Doll's house units on the market - together with furniture components. 1973 The first LEGO ship is launched. The current LEGO logo is introduced. 1974 LEGO figures - representing a new concept, the LEGO family - enter the market. The set becomes the biggest-selling product so far in our range, equally popular with boys and girls. Inauguration of mould factory and moulding shop LEGO AG in Baar, Zug, Switzerland. For the first time there is production outside Denmark. In 1992 the company's name is changed to LEGO Produktion AG. The LEGO Group buys the Esso Motor Hotel across the road from LEGOLAND Park and renames it Hotel vis-a-vis. On 1st May, 1991, its name is again changed - this time to Hotel LEGOLAND. LEGO System A/S has 1,325 employees - 982 hourly-paid staff and 343 salaried staff. 1975 `Expert series' for building models such as veteran cars is launched. Packing begins in the United states at LEGO Systems, Inc., Enfield, Connecticut, and the production area is about 5,000m(squared). 1976 New production site is developed at Klovermarken, Billund, for DUPLO finishing. Area: 6,000m(squared). 1977 The Technix range is marketed - advanced, complex model sets for the older child to build. `As technical as the real thing'. New DUPLO sets are launched in the same year. They have door and window elements and new `symbol' figures without arms or legs. Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen - third generation - joins the LEGO Group's management. 1978 LEGOLAND mini figures with movable arms and legs come on the market - together with base plates with road markings, so that entire towns can be built. 1979 Introduction of FABULAND series, including figures with animal heads and large building elements. Ten years later, the series is withdrawn from the range. LEGOLAND Space is launched. It quickly becomes a universal success. The SCALA jewellary series - a brand-new product - is launched for girls in the 507 age group. However, the series is withdrawn in 1981 because of a lack of consumer interest. Another part of the Klovermarken production site at Billund in inaugurated. The total area of the Klovermarken factory is now 13,600m(squared). Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is appointed president of INTERLAGO A/S (renamed LEGO A/S in January 1987). 1980 New additions to the DUPLO program: pull-along/rocking toys for toddlers. And the DUPLO rabbit logo is introduced. Eductional Products Department - LEGO Dacta since 1989 - is established. Expansion of production area in Switzerland to a total of 24,000m(squared). Also expansion in Enfield, USA, to approx. 24,000m(squared). The world's tallest LEGO tower - 13.1 m - is built in Great Britain and is later included in the Guinness Book of Records. The record has since been broken many times - most recently in Sweden, where a 21.63 m - LEGO tower was built in 1993. 1981 Launch of Basic Sets for Children in age groups from three, five and seven years. Klovermarken factory expanded (by 3,000m(squared)), including a new moulding shop. Inauguration of 1,500m(squared) moulding shop at LEGO Systems, Inc., USA. Inauguration of the Neuhof factory - part of LEGO Produktion AG, Baar - in Switzerland (12,000m(squared)) for decorating, assembly, packing, and storage. 1982 DUPLO Mosaic and `Technic I' are introduced as the first examples of special product development for the pre-school and schools market. On Friday 13th August, the LEGO Group celebrates its Golden Anniversary at Billund. Events include the publication of the book `50 Years of Play'. Another manufacturing facility, System Plast A/S, is opened in Denmark (at Kolding in Jutland). All LEGO tyres are manufactured here, in a 2,300m(squared) moulding shop. 1983 Introduction of DUPLO Baby series, which includes six rattles. And there are new, large figures in the bigger DUPLO sets, with adjustable arms and legs. Office accommodation at Billund is expanded by 1,000m (squared). The Neuhof factory is Switzerland is expanded by 8,000m (squared) - and the tooling factory in Hohenwestedt, Germany, is increased to 1,500m(squared). 1984 A new LEGOLAND Castle series is introduced, with knights, horses and many other new elements. Another extension (1,295m*2) to the office premises at Billund. 1985 The LEGO Prize - an international, annual award of DKK 750,000 (increased in 1989 to DKK 1,000,000) for exceptional efforts on behalf of children - is founded in April. Inauguration of LEGO Korea Co. Ltd., a joint-venture company in Seoul, with just under 100 employees and a 3,700m*2 moulding factory. Manufacturing Engineering at Billund - LEGO Engineering since 1991 - grows by 5,000m*2 in a new modular building. LEGO Technic Control (a product for schools) has its world premiere at the Didacta Fair in Stuttgart. There are approx. 5,000 employees, of whom 3,000 work in Denmark. 1986 Light & Sound sets are launched, bringing a new electronic touch to the LEGOLAND themes of Town and Space. The big news of the year in the Educational Products range is TECHNIC Computer Control: LEGO robots can now be controlled via a computer. Launched initially in Great Britain and Denmark, but only for schools - and for different types of computers. Nine new books and 19 short films for children are developed and coordinated by LEGO Publishing, a department of LEGO Futura ApS (LEGO Licensing since 1990). The products are marketed in the autumn in a number of European countries. On 16th April (H.M. Queen Margrethe's birthday) the LEGO Group is granted the title `Purveyor to Her Majesty the Queen'. The first LEGO bricks to be moulded at the Group's new factory in Manaus, Brazil come off the production line on 4th April. The packing department at the same factory starts operations on 5th May. The factory's total area is 4,400m*2. 1987 Buckets containing DUPLO or LEGO Basic components can now be bought in the USA and some European countries. 1988 The big news in the DUPLO range is a travelling circus, with a ringmaster, an elephant - and a human cannonball who can be transformed into a clown. `Robin Hood' comes to the market in the LEGOLAND Castle series - and `Black Star' control center reports for action in LEGOLAND Space. Kornmarken - a new moulding factory - is officially opened on 24th June. It has taken 18 months to build. In its first phase, the factory occupies 20,000m*2 and comprises four modules. The first official LEGO World Cup building championships are held at Billund in August - with 38 children participating from 14 different countries. LEGO Canada Inc. is set up after termination of an agreement under which Samsonite, the luggage company, has made and sold LEGO products in Canada since 1961. 1989 The Pirate line is launched: 11 sets with plenty of opportunity for imaginative play with ships, forts, tough pirates, etc. At the beginning of the year, the old Educational Products Department changes its name to LEGO Dacta. The word `dacta' deprives from the Greek word `didactic', meaning `the study of the purpose, means and substance of learning and the learning process'. On 21st February, an American professor - Dr. Seymour Papert, of MIT's development laboratory of computer learning - is named `LEGO Professor of Learning Research'. Since 1984, Seymour Papert has worked with LEGO Group development staff to link the Logo programming language to LEGO bricks. Official European postage stamps featuring the theme `Toys and games for children' include LEGO bricks on stamps and first-day covers from both the Isle of Man and Denmark. Work on a 10,674m*2 extension to the Kornmarken moulding shop begins in August. 1990 The LEGO Model Team series is launched. The models - which include a truck, a jeep and a transport helicopter - a designed to have a special appeal for children who want toys which are close to reality. The latest DUPLO product is a zoo, with giraffes, crocodiles, bears and other animals. The LEGO Basic series gets new packaging. There are both rectangular plastic buckets with lids and cases with compart- ments and base plates as lids. In the TECHNIC product program, the year's new product is the TECHNIC Control Center. It is an electronic control unit with double memory and can be used to program and control all motorized TECHNIC models. The LEGO Group is now one of the world's 10 largest toy manufacturers, the only one in Europe (the others are American and Japanese). On 31st October, Xavier Gilbert becomes `LEGO Professor of Business Dynamics' at one of the world's leading management schools, IMD (International Institute for Management Developemtn), Lausanne, Switzerland. The LEGO Group has cooperated with IMD for many years and many of its international senior managers and specialists attend courses there. In the autumn, 22 giant LEGO bricks are strewn in the field next to the Kornmarken moulding shops. The glass-fiber bricks are 100 times the size of normal LEGO bricks. Their purpose is to brighten up the landscape and to entertain the many passers-by at Billund's busiest crossroads. The LEGO Idea House - 4,200m*2 - is opened unofficially on 14th June. The aim of the LEGO Idea House is to tell existing and future employees about the past and the present - the LEGO Group's product ideas, philosophy, attitudes and cultural values. LEGO Werkzeugbau Steinhausen (the former Baar mould factory) is inaugurated on 27th November in spacious new premises: 5,000m*2. The `Auto 2000' exhibition opens at LEGOLAND Park - 17 cars of the future, built from LEGO bricks by European design students. The magic barrier - one million visitors in a single year - is broken for the first time by LEGOLAND Park on 4th September. 1991 There are now big elements with human and animal heads in some of the DUPLO sets. There are five new Harbour sets, containing ships with many different functions. Three seaworthy vessels are also launched: a fire ship, a police boat, and a yacht. The 4.5V and 12V train series are replaced by a 9V system with a control panel which makes the trains go backwards as well as forwards. The Kornmarken moulding factory, which has been expanded several times since its inauguration in 1988, now has 12 modules adn covers an area of approx. 45,000m*2. The Hotel vis-a-vis changes its name to Hotel LEGOLAND and undergoes a major rebuilding program. 1992 Young craftsmen from between the ages of three and six years can now try out their skills with the Toolo line, which has been added to the DUPLO product program. Models drawn from everyday life, such as cars and cranes, can be built with the help of a screwdriver. The most noteworthy new product in LEGO Town is the Paradisa theme, designed to appeal to girls aged six or seven. The theme centers on a subtropical island and pastel colors. The new LEGO SYSTEM logo is introduced after a design project lasting several years. In August, the LEGO company celebrates its Diamond Jubilee. A new 3,000m*3 building for Technical Research and Developemtn (TFU) is inaugurated at Fumentikon in the Swiss canton of Zug in September. In December it is announced that the first LEGO Park outside Denmark - with an area of around 100,000 - is to be opened in April 1996 in Windsor, just under 20 miles from central London. A Guiness record in rail-way-line construction is set - 545 meters of LEGO rails with three locomotives. The record was set during an activity weekend in Billund. The world's largest LEGO Castle is built on Swedish television. Over 400,000 LEGO Bricks are transformed into a castle measuring 4.45m x 5.22m - and measured for the Guinness Book of Records. The Second LEGO World Cup Final is held in Billund in August, with 32 children taking part from 11 countries. `The Gate of the Present' - a new LEGO travelling exhibition - has its premiere at the Deutsches Architektur-Museum in Frankfurt, German. The 25 `gates', made from 1.25 million LEGO elements and glued together by the Model Production Department in Billund, have been designed by young architects from 22 countries. 1993 The new DUPLO Train range is the big product news of the year. There are both push-along trians and a trains powered by three 1.5V batteries. The LEGO SYSTEM's Basic series now includes a `Brickvac'. A `vacuum cleaner' that looks like a parrot, it's used to collect up elements after a play session. In the LEGO Castle series, the Dragon Knight's Castle gets a dragon's cave, complete with a fire-breathing dragon and a wizard. For LEGO TECHNIC enthusiasts there is now a Universal set which includes elements for a vehicle chassis controlled with the help of a new Control Center and a micromotor. On 1st April, the LEGO Group receives the Danish financial newspaper Borsen's Image Prize - for the third time since 1985. LEGO Kids' Mix & Match Wear is launched in September, under a licensing agreement between LEGO Licensing and the clothing company Kabooki A/S, of Ikast, Jutland. The great new children's clothes can be bought in around 100 shops split between Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands. A new 60,000m*2 DUPLO factory is opened in Willisau, in the Swiss canton of Lucerne, on 18th March. The ground is broken in Billund at the beginning of June for the Rugmarken factory and a new Training Center with floor areas of 100,000m*2 and 8,000m*2 respectively. July sees the inauguration, at Enfield in the USA, of a 20,000m*2 distribution center and associated administrative accommodation of 1,500m*2. The 6,000m*2 fully automated high-bay warehouse at Kornmarken, Billund, is inaugurated in 8th October. At the end of July, work begins on a new 20,000m*2 Administration Building in Enfield, USA. The plan is for the building to be ready in September 1994. For the 19th time since 1980, a new LEGO tower record is set. This time, the honor is Sweden's, with a tower of 21.63 m. It's the fourth record within a year, following others in Great Britain, Hungary, and Belgium. In November, the town of Carlsbad near San Diego in southern California was selected as the preferred location for the first LEGO Park in the USA. The Park, which will have an area approx. 100,000m*2, is expected to open in 1999. In Billund, a 40-year jubilee is celebrated by one employee, silver jubilees are celbrated by 23 and another 74 mark 10 years with the company. There are now approx. 231,000m*2 of office and factory space in Billund alone. The total LEGO manufacturing area in Denmark, Switzerland, the USA, Brazil and South Korea is now close to 290,000m*2. On 1st January 1994, a total of 8,560 people are employed in the LEGO Group's 41 companies. Of this total 4,120 are employed in Denmark and 4,440 in the companies abroad. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** Again, the following information was taken without permission from the January 1994 `Facts & Figures', 18th Edition, LEGO Group, Puveyor to Her Majesty The Queen of Denmark. This booklet was produced by Information & Public Relation, LEGO Group, as part of a series on the LEGO Group and LEGO products. Other titles in the series: `Developing a product',`A product - an idea',`Toy safety', and `The LEGO product and the environment'. The names LEGO, LEGOLAND, FABULAND, DUPLO, and SCALA are registered trademarks of the LEGO Group. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- For any of the informational booklets mentioned directly above you may contact LEGO System A/S, DK-7190 Billund, DENMARK; Telephone: (+45) 75 33 11 88; Telex: 60 787 lego dk; Fax: (+45) 75 35 33 60. __<>__ Jeffrey T. Crites __<>__ (______) crites@cc.purdue.edu (______) | |_______________________________________________________________| | | // | | // | | | "Too low they build, who build beneath the stars." | | | // | Edward Young / Night Thoughts | // | | | "Particularly they who do not build with LEGO." | | | // | Jeff Crites / Synopsis of Oneself | // | | |_______________________________________________________________| | |____| |____| (__ __) (__ __) <> <>