Henry Ford

The problem

Early automobiles were built one at a time by skilled craftsmen, which made them expensive and slow to produce.

The innovation

Ford's company applied the moving assembly line to car manufacturing, breaking assembly into simple, repeatable stations that a moving conveyor carried the work between.

Why it mattered

The approach cut the time to build a Model T dramatically and lowered its price, putting car ownership within reach of ordinary wage earners.

Lasting impact

Flow production became the template for mass manufacturing across nearly every industry in the twentieth century.

Did you know?

• The Model T was produced for nearly two decades with continual cost reductions.