Client Pillowtex had recently filed for bankruptcy and desperately needed to cut costs and regain profitability in the next 18 months or face the prospects of going out of business. It had five plants in the United States; all making the same three products (pillows, mattress pads, and comforters), all using identical equipment. Each plant had similar total floor space, but had different layouts, different material handling methods, different cycle times, and different costs. In order to cut costs and regain profitability, company management felt that they needed to close some plants and develop a best practices strategy for the manufacturing operations in the remaining plants. That would mean developing an optimized layout and material handling system and then predict the “new” capa

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