Industrial Facility Planning and Manufacturing System Design

The Situation

An established European furniture manufacturer was expanding into the US market by establishing its first production facility in North America. Rather than replicating its existing European operations, the company saw an opportunity to develop an entirely new manufacturing concept from the ground up.

The investment required a fundamental reassessment of product portfolio, manufacturing technologies, automation levels and production workflows, with the objective of maximizing efficiency, minimizing operating costs and building a competitive production operation.

The challenge was to design a factory around the specific opportunities and constraints of the US market, including labor availability and costs, local material sourcing, equipment and technology options, and supply chain conditions. Every major decision, from machinery selection and factory layout to technical infrastructure and workforce requirements, needed to support a commercially viable and scalable manufacturing model.

The Design Principles

The new facility was to be designed around a manufacturing model tailored to the US market, rather than a direct transfer of existing European production methods. Several principles guided the development of the factory concept.

Product-driven manufacturing: Production technologies, equipment capabilities and factory capacity needed to reflect the planned product portfolio, its complexity and expected production volumes.

Automation and labor efficiency: Machinery selection and workstation design were to prioritize automation where commercially justified, reducing dependence on manual labor while maintaining operational flexibility.

Integrated production flow: Factory layout, material handling and internal logistics needed to support efficient movement between processes, minimize unnecessary handling and avoid creating bottlenecks.

Local market requirements: Equipment selection, raw material sourcing, workforce availability and technical infrastructure had to reflect the opportunities, costs and constraints of operating in the United States.

The Work

The project involved developing a complete manufacturing concept for the new US facility, starting with an analysis of the planned product portfolio, production volumes and technological requirements.

Modern manufacturing technologies and equipment solutions were evaluated and compared, with particular attention to automation potential, production flexibility, labor requirements and long-term operating costs. The assessment informed machinery selection and the configuration of production lines.

A detailed factory layout was developed, integrating production departments, workstations, material flows, internal logistics and storage requirements. Equipment positioning and process sequences were designed to minimize handling, reduce unnecessary movement and support efficient production flow.

The scope also covered technical infrastructure requirements, including utilities, equipment connections and supporting installations, alongside workforce organization and operating procedures.

The resulting manufacturing concept brought together machinery specifications, factory layout, production workflows and infrastructure requirements into a coordinated plan to support investment decisions and subsequent facility implementation.