COPENHAGEN, June 15 Reuters Toymaker Lego on Wednesday said it will invest more than 1 billion in a factory in the United States to shorten supply chains and keep up with growing demand for its coloured plastic bricks in one of its biggest markets.

The factory in Chesterfield County, Virginia, will be the Danish company39;s second in North America and seventh worldwide, after it announced a new factory in Vietnam last year.

The investment is in line with a decadeold strategy of placing production close to its key markets, which the company says has been beneficial as the global retail industry faces pandemicrelated supply chain issues. The plant will also be carbon neutral.

Our strategy to be close to our core markets has only been confirmed recently, Chief Operations Officer Carsten Rasmussen told Reuters.

The toy market is characterized by large seasonal fluctuations, while more than half of the company39;s products in stores are new items, he said.

It39;s difficult to predict what children and adults want to buy for a birthday or for Christmas. So the reaction time is very worthwhile to make sure we have the right products on the shelves, said Rasmussen.

The factory will be powered by renewable energy produced at an onsite solar park, the company said.

Lego has pledged to replace oilbased plastic bricks with ones made from sustainable materials by the end of the decade.

The 160,000squaremeter factory is scheduled to be operational in the second half of 2025…