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Controversial gold LEGO figure is $1,000 windfall
Individually numbered and mixed in randomly with LEGO’s other collectible
minifigs, Mr. Gold is gold-chromed from top hat to toes -- except for his classy
white gloves.
And he’s apparently worth his weight in gold to LEGO collectors. Thanks to a
flurry of interest, genuine Mr. Gold figures have sold for up to $1,000 on eBay.
Mr. Gold is part of LEGO’s tenth series of collectible minfigures, all of which
ship in sealed packets so that buyers don’t know which of the range’s 17 figures
they’re getting. Minifig fans have been known to buy them by the case in the
hunt for particularly sought-after figures, helping turn the line into one of
LEGO’s most successful products.
“We know that the LEGO minifigure has become almost as iconic as the classic 2x4
LEGO brick,” Michael McNally, the Brand Relations Director of LEGO Systems Inc,
told Yahoo! Games, “as it’s the hero via whom every child -- from the youngest
builder to the oldest collector -- can identify with and explore the LEGO worlds
they create.”
You might think Mr. Gold’s popularity means your chances of getting your hands
on one of these elusive golden collector’s items are slim, but you’d be wrong.
They’re pretty much as good as anyone else’s. Plenty are out there: LEGO runs a
website where fortunate finders of Mr. Gold can register their feat, and at the
time of writing, only 409 of the 5,000 Gold minifigs have been found.
All the same, the decision hasn’t been popular with some LEGO devotees, who fear
adult collectors will snap up all the Mr. Golds and shut out the toy’s younger
fans.
“Why are LEGO doing this?” asks blog GimmeLego. “They must surely be aware that
the chances of any of these figures ending up in the hands of children...are
next to nil.”
“And I’m struggling to believe that the LEGO company actually set out with the
intention of lining the pockets of eBay scalpers. Which does beg the question of
exactly what they’re trying to achieve by doing this...is it just good,
old-fashioned greed and a desire to milk the Collectible Minifigure cash-cow for
all it’s worth?”
Maybe. But if you have the desire to milk the minifig cash-cow yourself, here’s
a tip: Mr. Gold is the only figure in the range to have a top hat, and the
figures are wrapped in flexible plastic bags. Get out there and feel your way to
a fortune.
http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/controversial-gold-lego-figure-1-000-windfall-174022383.html
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Arburg installs hundreds of presses for LEGO in Mexico
Date: March 14, 2013
By Stephen Downer
MEXICO CITY — Arburg GmbH & Co. KG has completed the installation of several
hundred injection molding machines at the Mexico plant of toy-brick maker LEGO
A/S.
“We installed the last 100 machines in February,” Guillermo Fasterling,
manager of Arburg SA de CV in Naucalpan, Mexico, said in a March 13 interview.
The predominant clamping forces of the presses are 80 and 90 tons. Fasterling
declined, however, to be precise about the number of presses sold to LEGO,
citing competitive reasons.
The plant, in Ciénega de Flores near Monterrey, is run by LEGO Operaciones de
México SA de CV. LEGO of Billund, Denmark, opened the site in 2009, and it is
believed to be one of LEGO biggest plants.
According to Fasterling, LEGO is Arburg’s biggest customer in the country, where
it also has 20 major clients in the automotive industry.
Fasterling said family-owned Arburg of Lossburg, Germany, will open a technical
center in Mexico, complete with showroom, spare parts depositary and training
area, in June.
Without the LEGO business, which was negotiated outside Mexico, Arburg has about
5 percent of the Mexican injection molding machinery market, he said.
The Mexican subsidiary was established in 2008 and Fasterling is optimistic
about the future “largely,” he said, “because of the projected growth of the
automotive industry’s expansion in Mexico, but also because of the packaging
industry’s potential.”
Fasterling believes that being family-owned has given Arburg an advantage over
many of its rivals. “We have a clear strategy and trust between management and
employees. In the economic crisis several years ago, a lot of our competitors
had to let staff go. Arburg lost not one employee, meaning that we kept all that
experience. It was a family decision.”
Arburg employs 12 in Mexico and plans to expand to 15 in the next couple of
months, according to Fasterling.
From:
PlasticNews.com
Website link: Arburg.com
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LEGO Elects Blackstone Partner Jan Nielsen for Board
LEGO A/S, Europe’s biggest toymaker, said it has elected Jan Nielsen, a partner
at Blackstone Group LP (BX), for its board.
LEGO picked Nielsen, 38, due to his experience with doing business in Asia,
where the toymaker seeks to boost sales, the Billund, Denmark-based company said
today in a statement on its website. Nielsen will replace Torben Ballegaard
Soerensen, who didn’t run for re-election, LEGO said.
Businessweek.com
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The Little Gym® Builds New Partnership With LEGO Systems
Exclusive LEGO® DUPLO® Activities Coming to The Little Gym
SCOTTSDALE, AZ--(Marketwired - Apr 30, 2013) - Building healthy bodies and minds
is already a part of The Little Gym® experience. Soon, The Little Gym members
can also enjoy the creative, constructive, developmental fun of building with
LEGO® DUPLO® preschool building toys, thanks to a multi-year partnership between
The Little Gym International, the world’s premier experiential learning and
physical development center for kids, and LEGO Systems, Inc., the North American
division of the world’s leading construction toy brand.
Through the agreement, The Little Gym is an exclusive category partner and will
begin integrating products from the LEGO DUPLO line of building toys into
special programs for children ages 19 months through 4 years old. The
activities, created by The Little Gym International team of educational
specialists and play consultants from The LEGO Group, will help children
creatively build their problem solving, imagination and socialization skills.
Special DUPLO experiences will be available to The Little Gym parents and
children, including:
•WonderKids Club™: each session of The Little Gym’s structured enrichment
program will incorporate a 20-minute DUPLO building activity that corresponds
with the Learning Unit and Lesson Plan theme for the week.
•“Let’s Build, Let’s Play”: parents of The Little Gym’s Beast and Super Beast
members (19 months to 3 years old) may participate together in new monthly,
complimentary DUPLO building experiences where parents and children can bond and
creatively play together.
•”Awesome Birthday Bash”: special DUPLO experiences have been integrated into
all parties for children celebrating their 2nd, 3rd, and 4th birthdays
“Our curriculum is continually evolving to best reflect our key tenets of
Three-Dimensional Learning,” said Bob Bingham, President and CEO, The Little Gym
International. “This exciting DUPLO integration will help us to further infuse
creativity and imagination into programs while allowing children to further
develop their problem-solving and fine-motor skills.”
LEGO DUPLO preschool building toys are specially designed for the small hands
and big imaginations of children ages 1 1/2 to 5. DUPLO bricks are twice the
size of classic LEGO bricks, making them easier to manipulate and a perfect tool
for developing a youngster’s motor skills. The product collection fosters
everything from creative, open-ended building to model creation, role play and
storytelling.
“LEGO DUPLO bricks are designed to offer children so many ways to play and
learn through creative building and exploration,” said Keith Last, brand
manager, LEGO Systems. “We especially love when a child’s building moments
become fully immersive experiences, which is why we’re thrilled to partner with
The Little Gym to create new activities and inspire families to consider how the
hands-on, minds-on fun of DUPLO building can be a perfect complement to physical
activity as their children develop.”
DUPLO programs and activities are now available at select The Little Gym
locations and will be coming to a gym near you soon. To find the nearest
location of The Little Gym, please visit www.TheLittleGym.com.
About The Little Gym
The Little Gym is the world’s premier experiential learning and physical
development center for kids ages four months through 12 years. To parents, The
Little Gym is an internationally recognized child development program, proven to
teach social and physical skills appropriate to each stage of childhood by
creating opportunities to experience achievement and build
self‐confidence. The Little Gym has locations in 28 countries and is
represented by 210 locations in the U.S. and 300 total worldwide. For more
information, visit The Little Gym at www.TheLittleGym.com.
About LEGO Systems Inc
LEGO Systems, Inc. is the North American division of The LEGO Group, a
privately-held, family-owned company based in Billund, Denmark, one of the
world’s leading manufacturers of creatively educational play materials for
children. The company is committed to the development of children’s creative and
imaginative abilities, and its employees are guided by the motto adopted in the
1930s by founder Ole Kirk Christiansen: “Only the best is good enough.” Visit
www.LEGO.com
LEGO, DUPLO, their logos, the brick and knob configuration and the Minifigure
are trademarks of the LEGO Group. ©2013 The LEGO Group.
MarketWise.com
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LEGO Lays Cornerstone of €200 mln Expansion in Hungary
Date: April 22, 2013,
MTI - Econews
Danish toymaker LEGO on Friday laid the cornerstone of a €200 million expansion
of its production capacity in Nyíregyháza. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán
participated at the ceremony. Annual capacity in Nyiregyhaza will rise from 20
million boxes of LEGO to 30-40 million when production starts at the new plant,
said Jesper Hassellund Mikkelsen, who heads LEGO’s Hungarian unit. The number of
blocks produced will double to 15 billion-20 billion, he added.
Production at the new plant is expected to start in Q1 2014. LEGO Group COO Bali
Padda said the company was building production capacity in Hungary for the long
term. The new facility will be a plant of the future, one that meets all
environmental requirements, he added.
LEGO investment director Martin Svejda said the decision to build the factory
was not a question of labour costs, but of market proximity. He stressed the
importance of the plant being close to the European markets it supplies, but
noted the it also delivers LEGO Duplo building blocks globally. The new plant
will be three times the size of LEGO existing one in the city’s industrial park.
It will have 768 injection moulding machines and a warehouse for 80,000 pallets
of product.
The expansion will create 250 jobs, bringing headcount at the company’s base in
the city to about 1,500 by next year. Danish companies have invested more than
€1 billion in Hungary, creating close to 13,000-14,000 jobs, said Danish
ambassador to Hungary Tom Norring.
bbj.hu
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