In 1994, BMW completed construction on its only manufacturing facility in the United States. Originally, the Greer, SC, plant was designed to produce 3-series sedans. Then, in late 1995, the Z3 roadster went into production, and the Greer plant was rolling out both sedans and the new roadster. At that time, the assembly workstations were using industrial shelving, which was adequate for the small number of parts needed. However, once demand for the Z3 increased, only the Z3 was produced at the facility. Subsequently, the industrial shelving couldn't handle the increased flow of parts. Management clearly wanted a better flow track, and it needed to be tough, flexible and able to perform under heavy use.
According to Chip McMillan, manager of manufacturing and operations control at BMW, the test areas chosen were branded as difficult areas in the plant. "There were two subassembly areas that were really a mess. A lot of the parts were difficult for the associates to move around," says McMillan.