As the flour industry of car assembly line was instrumental in keeping populations fed, it was at the forefront of mechanical and product innovation during the Industrial Revolution. Many experts believe that modern bulk material handling methods stem from Oliver Evans who automated a flour mill.

Oliver Evans and his automatic flour mill – First automated process of bulk materials.
In the 1700s, the milling of flour was a labor- and time-intensive process with many steps, including grinding and sifting.
Evans, while working in his family’s mill in Newport, Delaware, noted that the whole process, in addition to being lengthy, often resulted in a sub-par product.
After the mill’s 1785 opening, Evans searched for alternatives.
Unlike most manufacturers at the time, the innovative thinker saw the manufacturing process as a continuous whole.
He is considered one of the first to treat the production process as much more than just the sum of its isolated parts.
In his family mill, Evans employed an ancient Roman belt bucket system along with canvas conveyors to transport the flour and automate the process.
His methods were adopted by a number of breweries and mills, both in the Colonial U.S. and the United Kingdom.
The Portsmouth Block Mills, Hampshire, England – The earliest industrial example of a continuous, linear assembly process.
Built from 1801 until 1803, the mill primarily manufactured parts for the Royal Navy.
A total of 22 distinct machine tool types were manufactured at Portsmouth, which remained open through the 1960s.
Bridgewater Foundry, England – Modern factories are still laid out in the same manner.
The Foundry specialized in the production of locomotives and machinery tools, and its building was arranged in a line, with separate sections for materials handling and production.
Workers used cranes to lift heavy materials and objects, and a railway connected directly to the factory provided ease of transport.
Leiston Works Factory – The very first flow assembly line.
Even before personal cars were an inkling of an idea, the transportation industry was a leader within the manufacturing industry.
The first flow assembly line was utilized at the Leiston Works Factory, which built portable steam engines beginning in the 1840s: In 1852, steam engine production began in “The Long Shop,” named for its shape.
Machine construction began on one end of the lengthy room, and parts were attached as it “progressed” through the room.
Some pieces were constructed on the factory’s balcony level and then lowered onto the engine.
By the time the steam engine had passed through the entire room, it was complete.

While the Industrial Revolution brought massive changes to the manufacturing industry and produced early versions of the assembly line, there was still more to come. Interchangeable (or pre-manufactured) parts would further change the production industry for the better.

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