To make a factory work in Big Ambitions 1.0, choose a finished product, check its recipe in the in-game F1 help, create a Factory business in a warehouse building, install the required machines and workstations, schedule factory workers, supply every raw input, and route the finished stock to one of your own stores. A machine alone is not a production system.

Decide the product before renting the building

Start with the final item you actually sell. In F1 → Factory Recipes, note every machine, intermediate product, raw ingredient, and workstation in the chain. Then work backward from the store:

  1. Which store will sell the output?
  2. How much does that store consume between deliveries?
  3. Which finished and intermediate products need storage?
  4. Which raw ingredients must be imported?
  5. How many staffed input and output stations does the line require?

This prevents the most expensive early mistake: renting a building and buying machines before discovering that the full recipe will not fit.

Build the complete production chain

1. Create the correct business

Use VoogleMaps to find a warehouse-type building, rent or buy it, and start a business with Factory as its type. Traffic Index does not drive factory sales because customers do not shop there; usable floor space, vehicle bays, and a workable layout matter more.

2. Install machines, workstations, and storage

The community-tested route is to buy factory equipment from the Factory Supply Depot or arrange delivery after making contact with its manager. Place every recipe machine, then connect the blue input side and orange output side to the correct stations. Keep walkable access between storage, workstations, and machines.

3. Schedule factory workers

Recruit Factory Workers, assign them to the factory, and place them into the input or output workstation slots in BizMan → Schedule. Production cannot start when a required station is empty, off schedule, or unreachable.

4. Supply raw materials

A recurring import normally needs an HQ, a scheduled Purchasing Agent, a contract with the correct raw-goods importer, and the factory selected as the destination. Check that the order meets the supplier's current rules and that the destination has free storage.

5. Deliver finished goods

Use a scheduled Logistics Manager, driver, assigned vehicle, and delivery destination. Set the destination target for the product sold by that store. The route can only move stock that already exists in the factory and only into storage with room for it.

Confirm the first cycle before scaling

Let one full cycle run. A successful setup shows raw stock decreasing, intermediate or finished stock increasing, and the destination store receiving enough product to approach its delivery target. Only then duplicate machines or raise target stock.

If one stage backs up while the next stays empty, inspect that handoff before adding capacity. More machines cannot fix a missing input, blocked workstation, full output shelf, or absent delivery route.

Why a factory stops producing

Check these in order:

  • No scheduled worker: every required input and output station needs coverage while the line runs.
  • Worker cannot reach the station or storage: clear a walkable path and confirm the relevant stock is accessible.
  • One ingredient is missing: multi-input recipes stop when even one material runs out.
  • Output storage is full: create room for the produced item before increasing production.
  • Import did not complete: verify cash, supplier requirements, destination selection, and free shelf capacity.
  • Nothing reaches the store: verify the Logistics Manager assignment, driver, vehicle, destination, target, factory stock, and store storage.

These are community-verified operational checks, not guarantees for every future build.

Do not use pre-EA 0.10 layouts blindly

EA 0.10 was a complete factory overhaul. The published update says layouts were cleared of obstructive belt paths, workers spent less time walking, inputs stopped being hoarded by one station, production became faster, every product became producible, and Factory Worker skill began affecting output. Advice based on the older factory model may therefore be structurally wrong in 1.0.

Use the current in-game recipe and help entries as the final authority for quantities and rates. The community guide is most useful for understanding the dependency chain and diagnosing a line that does not run.