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Danish toy maker pursuing new markets in Asia

(21 Dec 2016) LEAD IN: It's a pivotal time of year for Danish toy maker Lego. The short period before Christmas accounts for around half its total annual sales. Having faced bankruptcy in 2004, one of the world's biggest toy makers is now setting its sights on new markets in Asia. STORY-LINE: Whether it's summertime or the lead up to Christmas, it's always business as usual here at Lego's moulding factory in Billund, a small town in the Jutland peninsula of Denmark. Thousands of tiny Lego pieces are continually flowing off the production line, satisfying a global demand. During the moulding process, plastic is heated to between 230 and 310 degrees Celsius before being injected into moulds. On average, it takes around ten seconds to cool and eject new pieces. The Lego Group says its toy bricks are now sold in over 140 markets worldwide. Around 72 billion Lego pieces were sold in 2015. Founded by a Danish carpenter in 1932, the famed bricks made their first appearance in 1958. Despite these high-tech, box-carrying robots and sophisticated moulding techniques, production director Henrik Ostergaard Nielsen says things haven't changed dramatically. "The process has really not changed a lot. For the last 50 years, we've been doing the same process over and over again," he says. "You could say that the elements, the amount of elements we are producing of course has increased, so the moulds are a little bit bigger, the machines are a little bit bigger, but the process is really the same as we've been doing for many, many years." The western Denmark-based group has over 18,000 employees around the world and ranks among the world's biggest toymakers. In March this year, the group said its 2015 revenue soared 25 percent to 35.8 billion Danish kroner (approx. $5 billion US dollars). It said around 100 million children played with Lego products or used Lego materials in schools. Nielsen says it's a long journey from here to toy store shelves. "In here, we are doing all the moulding bricks, so that's really where you start feeling the real product come to life," he says. "So, from here are moulding the bricks and then they would go to our hybrid warehouse, then from that they would go into packing, where will then do the pre-packed bags and then the final packed boxes. "That then goes into the distribution centre, that are delivered into the stores. So we are really in the early stages of our supply train." Once the moulded Lego pieces have been picked up and transported by these efficient floor-roaming robots, some make it here to the quality department. Lego designers like Morten Rauff ensure there are things they can be built into. There are around 250 designers working at the Lego Group's headquarters in Billund. Rauff created this winter-themed holiday train for the 'Lego Creator' range. It took around ten weeks to design. "The great thing about working at Lego is that I actually meet in the morning and when I have to design a set like this, I just start with a pile of bricks and start building," he says. "And seeing all the different possibilities within the Lego system and it's so versatile and there's always a solution for every problem." Lego claims there are 915,103,765 ways to combine six traditional two-by-four Lego bricks. 'Lego' is a combination of two Danish words meaning 'Play Well'. Rauff has a background in architecture, but around four and a half years ago, he decided to follow his dream and try to become a Lego designer. "For me it is a dream come true and as I see it, it is most of the time it's actually playing with bricks and having fun," he says. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...