There is increased pressure on original equipment manufacturers (OEM's) and the suppliers of equipment and services to the OEM's to quickly adapt to the changing needs of the consumers. Vehicle manufacturers have long invested substantial sums of money in building permanent manufacturing facilities which can quickly become obsolete or have to be shut down due to decreases or shifts in consumer demands away from the particular vehicle a particular plant was manufacturing. The capital investment in such permanent facilities and dedicated equipment therein is then lost or greatly under utilized until a new use can be found or the facility retooled for an alternate purpose.
There is also significant pressure and commercial motivation to produce manufacturing facilities that are environmentally green or friendly having minimal impact on the surrounding environment throughout the life of the facility. Conventional assembly plants have typically required substantial infrastructure build up altering the surrounding landscape and using substantial resident natural resources to power and sustain the energy needs of the facility.
It would be advantageous to have a modular manufacturing facility that is portable, easily transported across land or sea, requires minimal plant infrastructure at the site and which is highly efficient and environmentally friendly to the surrounding area.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds