Factory

A factory is a special kind of building or group of buildings where people use machines to make things. These places are very important because most of the things we use every day, like clothes, toys, and even food, are made in factories. Inside a factory, you will find lots of machinery and workers who help turn raw materials into finished products.

Factories began during the Industrial Revolution, a time when new machines made it easier to produce goods faster than ever before. Before factories, people made things in small workshops or homes, but as machines got bigger, they needed more space and power to run. This led to the creation of large buildings filled with machines where many workers could produce large amounts of items.

Today, most factories are big and often have warehouses and lots of heavy equipment. Many are located near roads, railways, or water ports so it’s easy to move materials in and products out. Factories can make many different kinds of things — from cars and electronics to chemicals and paper. Some factories make products all at once, while others create materials continuously, like turning oil into fuel or making paper from wood pulp.

History

Max Weber thought that making things in ancient and medieval times was not like working in a factory. Back then, people made things mainly at home or in small workshops.

Some historians say that Naucratis in ancient Egypt might have been one of the earliest places that worked like a factory. In very old times, people found tools and things to make paint in a cave in Blombos Cave in South Africa.

The first machines were simple tools like traps to catch animals. The wheel was invented around 3000 BC, and later, people used water to power machines. In the time of the Roman Empire, there were places that made a lot of fish sauce called garum.

Big cities in the middle ages, like Baghdad, needed many goods, so they built big places to make and mill grain. The Venice Arsenal in the Republic of Venice was one of the first places that worked like a modern factory. It made ships using parts that were made beforehand, and it employed thousands of people.

Industrial Revolution

See also: Industrial Revolution

One of the first factories was John Lombe's water-powered silk mill in Derby, which started working in 1721. Later, other factories made things like brass goods, pottery, and cotton cloth.

Richard Arkwright is known for creating the idea of the modern factory. In 1769, he built Cromford Mill in Derbyshire, England. This factory used machines that were too big to fit in a person's home, so many workers lived and worked there. The factory worked from dawn until dusk, six days a week.

Between 1770 and 1850, factories with machines replaced small shops. These factories made clothes, shoes, and even machines. They also made tools for railroads and farm equipment. By the 1880s, factories were making bicycles.

The Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company's Bridgewater Foundry was one of the first factories to use cranes and rail tracks to move heavy things.

Large factories started using electricity around 1900. This allowed them to run machines more smoothly and arrange the factory space better. Later, factories began using computer-controlled machines, which could do simple jobs quickly and without stopping.

Assembly line

Main article: Assembly line

Henry Ford changed factories in the early 1900s by creating the assembly line. Workers, each doing a small part of the job, built products like cars on moving ramps. This made production much cheaper and helped create many goods for people to buy.

In the middle to late 1900s, factories in industrialized countries improved in two big ways: they used better ways to check the quality of their products, and they started using industrial robots to do jobs like attaching car doors. These robots worked all day and made less mistakes.

Some people wonder what factories might look like in the future, with new technologies like quick testing and tiny machines. But they also think that factories will only work well if the people who run them are also very skilled.

Historically significant factories

Here are some important factories from history:

• Venetian Arsenal
• Cromford Mill
• Lombe's Mill
• Soho Manufactory
• Portsmouth Block Mills
• Slater Mill Historic Site
• Lowell Mills
• Springfield Armory
• Harpers Ferry Armory
• Nasmyth, Gaskell and Company also called the Bridgewater Foundry
• Baldwin Locomotive Works
• Highland Park Ford Plant
• Ford River Rouge Complex
• Hawthorne Works
• Stalingrad Tractor Plant
• Triangle Shirtwaist Factory
• Amoskeag Manufacturing Company

Siting the factory

Main article: Location theory

Before trains and buses made travel easy, factories needed lots of workers, so they were often built in cities or helped create new ones. Factories sometimes grew in crowded areas where they could share materials or waste with each other. Canals and railways grew as factories spread out, usually near places with cheap energy, materials, or big markets.

Rules helped control some of the problems that came with factories. Workers in Britain helped make these rules. New ways of getting around, like trams and cars, let factories and homes grow in different places, with workers traveling between them.

Even though factories were very important during the time of big machines, later on more work moved to offices in cities or newer-style buildings in quieter areas. Many old factories were left empty in places called rust belts.

Finally, making things moved to other parts of the world. Factories and places where things are put together shifted to special areas in developing countries or just over the borders of countries with lots of factories. This trend may continue as companies look for the best places to work.

Governing the factory

Scientific management grew along with ideas about how to best run factories. It made assumptions about workers with different skill levels and their supervisors. Today, a newer way to think about designing factories can be seen in something called Socio-Technical Systems (STS).

Main article: Scientific management
Main articles: hierarchies, Socio-Technical Systems (STS)

Shadow factories

Main article: British shadow factories

In Britain, a shadow factory was a special type of manufacturing site built in different places during times of war. The goal was to make it harder for enemies to damage important factories by bombing, while also increasing how much could be made.

Before World War II, Britain built many of these shadow factories. For example, making the Spitfire airplane at the Supermarine factory in Woolston, Southampton was risky because it was close to enemy bombers. After some bombings, the factory was destroyed. To keep making airplanes, a new factory was built farther north in Castle Bromwich.

Important parts like the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine, made at Rolls-Royce’s main spot in Derby, also needed more space. New factories were built in Crewe, Glasgow, and a special one by Ford of Britain in Trafford Park, Manchester.