Igus Inc., which is located in Germany, makes more than 28,000 different products that are used in everything from assembly lines to the movable stage for Broadway's Beauty and the Beast. Because of the unpredictability of its customers' needs, Igus has to be able to react quickly and is in a state of almost constant innovation. What's different about Igus is the plant's design that enables it to operate exceptionally flexibly. Employees buzz around the plant's enormous space—about the size of three football fields—on shiny scooters. Very little equipment is bolted down, so machines and modular furniture can be rearranged in a moment's notice. Easily accessible, exposed overhead electrical wiring and few obstructive support columns allow Igus to expand, shrink, or relocate departments with minimal disruption. Glass walls separate the factory floor from the office area, which eliminates any real or perceived barriers between departments. The plant has only one cafeteria, one set of restrooms, and one entrance. Additionally, the parking lot has no designated spaces for managers. According to Frank Blase, Igus' president, "We're trying to be a different kind of company, and our building helps us tremendously in doing that. It creates a holistic system for how to behave."

Sources: Chuck Salter, "This Is One Fast Factory," Fast Company, August 2001, pp. 32–33; and Michelle Porter, "Fast and Fluid Factory," Plants, Sites and Parks, October–November 2001, p. 8.