factory manager for bearings | mobile phones | Nicholas Grimshaw | Gerd Linnenbrink

It would seem to be a prescription for chaos, but the igus factory not only copes with change - it embraces change. Since moving into the new þagship factory in 1994, the privately held company has increased its annual revenue tenfold to about $100 million. And the worldwide staff has nearly tripled since 1996, to about 850 employees. Of course, being agile is easier when you work in a building that actually moves. In the past Þve years, igus has made about 50 major changes to the factory's conÞguration. Some changes have accommodated strategic shifts, such as the need for more product testing, while others have facilitated fast growth. One department is in its fourth location in two years, because its products have proven to be so popular that the division needed additional staff and space.

To help employees keep up with the pace, the staff is equipped with mobile phones and has access to scooters: motorized models on the production þoor, nonmotorized ones in the ofÞce area. The playful scooters make for speedy transport and quick reaction times, but they are also another indication that igus thinks differently about the nature of work. In fact, when the company hired British architectural Þrm Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners to design the new plant, the chief requirement wasn't productivity, but openness. The architects responded with powerful visual metaphors: openness to the outside world through numerous windows and skylights; openness to physical changes through an unencumbered production þoor; and openness among workers through a transparent work environment. Glass walls separate the ofÞce area from the factory þoor, eliminating any real or perceived barriers between departments. What's more, the plant has only one cafeteria, one set of restrooms, and one entrance. And the parking lot has no designated spaces for managers. "It's very different from where I worked before," says Gerd Linnenbrink, the factory manager for bearings. "I feel much more connected to the rest of the company." Adds Blase: "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."