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66 Doing Business in Connecticut | 2015 Manufacturing INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT › By Paul Marks S oren Torp Laursen, president of LEGO Systems Inc., says his company does a lot more than selling snap-together plastic bricks and figurines. LEGO's recent unparalleled growth, he said, relies on sparking the imaginations of kids (and plenty of adults, too) on a pathway to "playful learning." e Danish company with North American headquarters in Enfield is riding high aer eclipsing Mattel Inc. in the first half of 2014 as the world's largest toy maker. at meant millions of colorful LEGO bricks and figurines flowing to young imaginations. e ranking — reversed during the year-end holiday season when Mattel reclaimed the No. 1 position — generated a flurry of head- lines and international acclaim. To Laursen, grabbing the top spot is of little moment. What's important is the transformation that led LEGO from near bankruptcy to a decade of steady growth, culminating in a 15 percent jump in sales for 2014, to $4.06 billion worldwide. Net profit for the year came in just below $1 billion. "We're a privately held company where the quality of what we do is much more important to us than our size," he said. "So [industry rank] is an outcome of what we do, not the focus of what we do." Last year's results capped 10 consecutive years of double-digit sales growth, and Laursen is confident that pace will continue. Already, he said, "we've had a fantastic start to 2015." Undeniably, a power assist came from the phenomenal success of e LEGO Movie, a 3D computer-animated action- adventure tale with a LEGO mini-figure as hero. Released in early 2014 and voiced by well-known comics including Will Arnett and Will Ferrell, the film grossed almost $470 million worldwide. It drew further notice from the popularity of its Oscar- and Grammy-nominated theme song. "We consider it an outstanding success," Laursen said, and a sequel is planned. But he was quick to add that LEGO's success in the market depends on much more than just the appeal of a hit movie. One huge factor has been the careful packaging and promotion of LEGO play figures to appeal to girls as well as boys. e launch of LEGO Friends tripled the number of girls building with LEGO. Sales of the U.S. Girls Building Set rose 28 percent in 2014 compared to the previous year. Although it's a global company of almost 15,000 employees and working to penetrate new markets — particularly in China, where a new LEGO factory will open this year — LEGO relies on North America as its largest market. Signifi- cant growth is taking place at its Enfield headquarters campus, where about 800 employees handle corporate sales, marketing, customer service and financial services. Laursen said about 100 new employees were added over each of the past four years, and an old manufacturing building was reno- vated to provide office space. It's a remarkable rebound for a Connecticut workforce that had ebbed to roughly 300 at its low point in 2005. at was when manufacturing and distribution at Enfield — begun in the 1970s — were halted and hundreds of employees lost their jobs. While Laursen isn't hinting at any resumption of toy molding operations in Connecticut, he said the Enfield operation is central to LEGO's market strategy. "We still manufacture the experience in Connecticut," Laursen said. "We just don't manufacture the parts here anymore." One form of recognition for LEGO's resurgence came in January, when the Con- necticut Business and Industry Association and MetroHartford Alliance chose Laursen as keynote speaker at their annual economic forum in Hartford. ere, he told about 500 business and community leaders that LEGO's troubles in the early 2000s stemmed from a loss of focus on its core business. at focus is back, Laursen said, sound- ing a bit like a happy kid himself: "e last 10 years have been pretty awesome!" ❑ Brick by Brick Global toy maker LEGO packages 'Playful Learning' in Connecticut Soren Torp Lauresen speaking at MetroHartford Alliance's annual economic forum. PHOTO/LEGO Attendees at the forum received mini LEGO sets to play with. PHOTO/LEGO