During 1992, ASG's North American foam capacity grew increasingly constrained and the Group searched for new space, settling on an idled facility in Georgetown that had once been a part of another JCI Group. Which seat component operation should control the plant became an issue within ASG, however. Eventually, John Barth, ASG's head, decided to place this second Georgetown plant in the custody of the Toyota Business Unit. Georgetown had an enviable track record with a high return on assetsone of the criteria by which JCI evaluated its business units. The TBU was gratified by the decision, as Jeff Smith, director of the Toyota Account, explained: Due to our already high part number complexity and the major increase in seat variations coming this fall with the addition of the two-door Camry, we are running out of space. Can we avoid expanding the current seat assembly area? Moreover, TMM has asked us to begin supplying mechanisms later this year to raise Camry's domestic content. Where should we do that? All told, if we use it right, this new space could be a Godsend! Tom Johnson added: We are not there yet, and our success to date owes a lot to TMM's level production. This is made possible in turn by TMM's sister plant in Japan that absorbs US Camry sales fluctuations, but I don't know how long that arrangement will last. Before it's over, I have to tie up some loose ends in our operations. This new space helps us do just that. By January 1993, Georgetown echoed with enthusiastic ideas about using the new space, and every manager's office was festooned with color-plotted 2' 3' floor layouts. Georgetown's existing plant space of 250,000 square feet was divided into 200,000 square feet for metal operations, 35,000 square feet for assembly operations, with the remainder for an office area; the "new" plant would add 210,000 square feet. The two facilities were "one mile apart as the crow flies and two miles apart as the truck crawls." The latest plan for the new space (Exhibit 10) called for allocating 80,000 square feet to brand- new foam operations, like those performed in Livermore. If Georgetown were to replace the Jefferson City plant's lengthy curing line with a special oven, throughput time for foam pads could drop to as low as four hours. Georgetown would also save on trucking costs (about $1,100 per 900-mile round trip as compared with $110 per 100-mile round trip for trim covers). Economical foam operations, however, would have a capacity well beyond TMM's requirements, which meant serving customers other than Toyota. As he pored over this latest layout, Phil Beckwith was reminded of a jigsaw puzzle. Georgetown would be adding foam, but where? Should it consider head rests, given foam capabilities? How should mechanisms be handled, and where? And what about trim assembly? Some had argued the operation be transferred to the new plant, with its new, cleaner quarters. Would trim assembly have to be expanded given seat variation increases? Not only would these puzzle pieces have to fit together, the long-term impact of the new "picture" had to be considered as well: What if seat variation doubled in the next five years, for example? In the conference room adjacent to Beckwith's office, Don Buchenberger was explaining Georgetown's history to a visitor from the East. "A lot of this is fun because you get to see the results, and the results don't level off." Overhearing this comment, Beckwith smiled: he could not agree more. Can any one explain what is the issue explained in this passage