Summit Sponsors BPF Lego Factory Tour

Lego, founded in 1932, initially produced wooden toys, including cars, aeroplanes, and yoyos. The company's journey into plastic toys began with the arrival of their first injection moulding machine (a Windsor SH) in Billund in 1942. The tour highlighted one of the first tools used to mould Lego bricks, providing a fascinating historical perspective.

The BPF Lego Factory Tour, which reached capacity shortly after being announced, showcased Summit Systems' commitment to advancing the plastics manufacturing industry. Mike Jordan, Managing Director of Summit Systems, emphasized the significance of the event, stating:

“Summit Systems loved sponsoring this event as we knew it would give some UK plastics manufacturers an insight to world class manufacturing on a big scale and we were not disappointed. The BPF did a superb job organising this event and the agenda was so well designed, mixing technical excellence with commercial and cultural innovation. Topped off with a relaxed and extremely social and inclusive delegation of interesting and at times very amusing characters. It was amazing to get to know people representing UK manufacturers and appreciate what a solid industry we have. Thank you BPF Team for on behalf of the group for organising a truly memorable event which we will all remember.”

The tour provided members with an eye-opening experience of Lego's advanced moulding shop, capable of producing over 1,000 bricks per second. In addition, participants were treated to nearly four hours of insightful presentations from the Lego team on various topics, including:

• Recycling and Re-use
• Industry 4.0 / Digitalisation in Production
• LEAN & Housekeeping disciplines
• Training & Development
• A special presentation from Thomas Drustrup, CEO of the Danish Plastics Federation, offered insights into the overarching strategy of the Danish Plastics Federation.

Lego's global manufacturing footprint includes factories in Czechia (Kladno), Hungary (Nyíregyháza), Mexico (Monterrey), and China (Jiaxing), with additional factories under construction in the US and Vietnam. The Billund factory alone produces around 20 billion elements annually, contributing to Lego's total output of approximately 60 billion bricks per year.

Philip Law, BPF Director General, commented on the value of such tours:

“BPF is uniquely placed to organise tours like this. BPF’s size of almost 600 members helps us capture the attention of large enterprises who can be assured of a professional interchange. We learnt a lot and the visit really helped inform the work BPF is currently applying to Productivity and Sustainability. Also, as well as seeing Lego at work it was a great opportunity for the members to network amongst themselves and I’m pretty sure that many new contacts were made, and friendships forged. Particularly post-brexit I’ve noticed that companies are much more willing to share experiences, partly a reaction to the isolationism imposed by Covid, partly a renewed recognition that we are all part of a UK Plc and sink or swim together. It’s also partly a shared frustration with governments and a realisation that if we want anything doing, at the end of the day we can only rely on ourselves to do it. We plan to do more tours like this. Please give us your suggestions for potential locations’’.

Feedback from attendees underscored the tour's success. Martin Gough, Sales Director at AC Plastics Ltd, praised the experience as “incredible,” while Siobhan Parks, New Product Development Manager, appreciated the insights into Lego’s lean practices and recycling targets. Carl Walker, Production Director at Spectra Packaging Solutions, highlighted the shared challenges and strategies for sustainability and productivity. Bruce Margetts, Managing Director of Bericap UK, commended the tour's organisation and the opportunity for networking.

Summit Systems is honoured to have sponsored the BPF Lego Factory Tour, providing UK plastics manufacturers with invaluable insights into Lego's world-class operations. We look forward to supporting more initiatives that foster learning and collaboration within the industry.