The staging ground for Ford's innovation revolution is the top-secret Piquette Project. Unknown by all but the very top-level Ford executives, the program is aimed at nothing short of reinventing Detroit. It's named after the third-floor Piquette plant skunk works where Henry Ford and a group of engineers first developed the idea of the assembly line and experimented with lighter materials to create a car that could be mass-produced. The specific goals and the deadlines of the Piquette project are secret. But company officials say it harks back to Henry Ford's innovative experiments with soy-based polymers and the idea of agriculture and industry being closely linked. "The mission was, 'Could Ford design the Model T of the next century?'" says William McDonough, an expert on green architecture who is running the sustainability part of the project, involving recyclable and biodegradable materials.

The CEO thinks the attitude within the project will be contagious for the whole company. "Piquette helps institutionalize innovation," Ford says. For the most part it exists virtually, through e-mailed sketches, proposals and blue-sky ideas. A team of designers, engineers and manufacturing gurus is brainstorming everything from how to make a business plan to how production should be organized to how to employ biodegradable materials. The ultimate goal: a recycled, reusable car.

About Soy

Pro-Cote Soy Polymers are designed and engineered around the protein component of soybeans, a renewable resource that is produced worldwide. Soybeans have been cultivated for over 3000 years, and are an extremely valuable international commodity. Over 100 million metric tons of soybeans are produced annually, with the USA, Brazil, Argentina and China the major producers. More than half the world’s supply comes from the USA. Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio and Missouri are the largest-producing states.

Natural Resources

§ Soybeans are an abundant, renewable resource
§ Estimated 2003-2004 world production: 200 millions tons, with one third from the United States.
§ Planted area in the United States: about 74 millions acres (3 % US surface)