Sen. Blumenthal Tours Enfield LEGO Headquarters

Sen. Richard Blumenthal visited one of Enfield's largest employers Tuesday morning, stopping by to check out operations at .

In an informal meeting with employees in an atrium of the toy company's U.S. headquarters on Taylor Road, Blumenthal said, "I have a very simple message: this is a great company for a lot of reasons, and I'm here to say thank you for the great work you do. Obviously, a great company reflects its products and its people."

Blumenthal praised the company for its community activity, particularly the contribution of $250,000 toward the recently-opened at the .

The senator recalled visiting the Enfield plant early in his tenure as Connecticut attorney general about two decades ago, when his two children considered him "one of the coolest Dads in America."

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"What brought me on that first visit here was the work that LEGO helped me do to develop the warnings on packaging," he said. "The warnings about children choking on small parts were championed by LEGO and my office as attorney general."

Following a question and answer session with the employees, LEGO Systems Inc. president Soren Torp Laursen led Blumenthal on a tour of the facility, where the senator chatted with model designers and gained hands-on experience in assembly.

"It's a fantastic acknowledgement for us that we mean something to Connecticut that he wants to take time out to see us," Laursen said. "This is an endorsement of the fact that it matters we are in Connecticut that our senator wants to come visit us. We are very proud."