Ultimate Factories

"megafactories" redirects here. For the Tesla factories, see Gigafactory.
Ultimate Factories
DVD cover
Narrated byChristopher Cook
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes70
Production
Running time50 minutes
Production companyHoff Productions
Original release
NetworkNational Geographic Channel
Release2006 (2006) –
November 22, 2013 (2013-11-22)[1]

Ultimate Factories, also known as Megafactories in non-US markets, is an American documentary television series that premiered in 2006 on the National Geographic Channel. The program explored the inner workings of factories worldwide. Each episode profiles the machinery and manpower behind each factory's main product, featuring close-ups, breakdowns, interviews, and side stories to show the sequence of events to produce the product in the factory.

History

National Geographic Megafactories was also broadcast under the name Ultimate Factories in the United States.[2] The show was an hour long television program and they featured a variety of factories. National Geographic's camera crews were able to get raw footage for a one hour program in seven days.[3]

Episodes

As of 11 August 2013, the National Geographic Channel has broadcast the following episodes of the series:[4][5][6][7]

Season 1 (2006–2007)

№ Title Factories Product location Establish Owner name
1 Ferrari Follows the production of the 599 GTB Fiorano car. 2006 Nov 9, 2006
2 M-1 Tank Follows the production of the M1 Abrams main battle tank. 2006 Nov 30, 2006
3 Harley-Davidson Follows the production of the Harley-Davidson V-Rod motorcycle. 2006 Jan 28, 2007
4 Budweiser Follows the production of Budweiser beer. 2007 Jan 28, 2007
5 Peterbilt Follows the production of the Model 387 truck at the Peterbilt factory in Denton, Texas. 2006 Jan 28, 2007
6 John Deere Follows the production of the STS combine harvester. 2006 Jan 31, 2007
7 Apache Helicopter Follows the production of the Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter at the Boeing factory. 2006 Feb 15, 2007

Season 2 (2007–2008)

№ Title Description © Year Original airdate
1 BMW Follows the production of the BMW Z4 car. 2007 Nov 29, 2007
2 Corvette Follows the production of the Corvette Z06 car. 2007 Nov 29, 2007
3 Winnebago Follows the production of the Winnebago motor homes, a type of recreational vehicle (RV). 2007 Jan 28, 2008
4 Caterpillar Follows the production of the Caterpillar 797B. 2007 Jan 28, 2008
5 UPS Worldport Megafactories episode name: "High-Speed Delivery". Follows the working of Worldport, worldwide air hub for United Parcel Service. 2007 Jun 12, 2008
6 Fire Trucks Follows the production of a Pierce Manufacturing fire truck. 2007 Jun 19, 2008
7 Armoured Cars 2008 Unknown

Season 3 (2009–2010)

№ Title Description © Year Original airdate
1 Lamborghini Follows the production of the Lamborghini Murcielago SV car. 2009 Oct 1, 2009
2 Rolls-Royce Follows the production of the Rolls-Royce Phantom car, including an insight on the company's "Bespoke" program. 2009 Oct 8, 2009
3 Camaro Follows the production of the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro Synergy Special Edition car. 2009 Oct 15, 2009
4 Porsche Follows the production of the Porsche 911 GT3 car. 2009 Oct 22, 2009
5 IKEA Follows the production of IKEA products at its factories in Poland and Sweden. 2009 Nov 5, 2009
6 NYC Subway Car Follows the production of the R160 subway car. 2009 Nov 12, 2009
7 Audi Follows the production of the Audi R8 car at Neckarsulm, Germany. 2009 Mar 13, 2010
8 Chevy Volt Follows the production of the Chevrolet Volt. 2010 Mar 25, 2010

Season 4 (2011)

№ Title Description © Year Original airdate
1 Dodge Challenger Follows the production of the third generation Dodge Challenger. 2010 Feb 3, 2011
2 Maserati Follows the production of the Maserati GranTurismo. 2010 Feb 10, 2011
3 Dodge Viper Follows the production of the 2010 Dodge Viper. 2010 Feb 17, 2011
4 Mercedes-Benz Follows the production of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. 2010 Feb 24, 2011
5 Bentley Follows the production of the Bentley Mulsanne. 2010 Mar 3, 2011
6 Jack Daniel's Follows the production of Jack Daniel's Old No. 7. 2010 Mar 11, 2011
7 Coca-Cola Follows the production of Coca-Cola. 2010 Mar 17, 2011

Season 5 (2011-2012)

Because the season number, episode number and some of the airdates cannot be confirmed, these episodes are listed by their production / copyright year listed at the end of the credits of the show.

№ Title Description © Year Original airdate
1 Aston Martin Supercar Follows the production of the 77-only Aston Martin One-77 Supercar. 2011 Sep 4, 2011[8]
2 BMW X3 Follows the production of the BMW X3, a type of compact crossover SUV. 2011 Nov 1, 2011[9]
3 Porsche Panamera 2011 Jan 7, 2012
4 Mack Truck Follows the production of the Mack Titan, an American truck-manufacturing company. 2011 Jan 14, 2012
5 LEGO Follows the production of LEGO. 2011 Jan 21, 2012
6 Frito Lay Follows the making and distribution of potato chips, cheese puffs and tortilla chips at the biggest Frito Lay factory in Perry, Georgia 2011 Jan 28, 2012
7 Ford F-150 2011 Feb 4, 2012
8 Bacardi Goes into the Bacardi manufacturing plant and explores how the famous rum is made. 2011 Feb 11, 2012
9 Ducati Follows the production of the Ducati motorbike. 2011 Feb 18, 2012
10 Heineken Follows the production of Heineken beer. 2011 Feb 25, 2012
11 Eurofighter Follows the production of the Eurofighter Typhoon fighterjet. 2011 Mar 3, 2012
12 Bugatti Follows the production of the Bugatti Veyron hypercar. 2011

Mar 31, 2012

13 MV Agusta Follows the production of the MV Agusta F3 675 motorcycle 2011 Apr 28, 2012
14 Lotus Evora (Series 6 Ep1) 2011 Unknown
15 Williams F1 (Series 6 Ep2) 2011 Unknown
16 Guinness beer (Series 6 Ep4) 2011 Unknown
17 Swiss Army Knife (Series 6 Ep5) 2011 Unknown
18 The MINI (Series 7 Ep1) The Mini Coupe 2011 Unknown
19 Michelin (Series7 Ep4) 2011 Unknown
20 Illy Coffee (Series 7 Ep7) 2011 Unknown
21 Jaguar XJ 2011 Unknown
22 Speed Rail Alstom AGV 2011 Unknown
23 Swedish Super Car Koenigsegg Agera 2011 Unknown
24 Super Chopper Follows the production of the AgustaWestlandAW139 outside Milan, Italy 2011 Unknown
25 Mercedes Overhaul (Series 8 Ep1) Truck 2011 Unknown
26 Ford Ford Mustang Shelby GT-500 2011 Unknown
27 Ferrari Ferrari FF 2011 Unknown
28 Lamborghini Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 2011 Unknown
29 Piaggio Piaggio Vespa 2011 Unknown

Season 6 (2013)

Because the season number, episode number and airdate cannot be confirmed, these episodes are listed by their production / copyright year listed at the end of the credits of the show

№ Title Description © Year Original airdate
1 EA Sports: FIFA 12 (Series 6 Ep3 ) 2012 Unknown
2 Boeing 747 (Series7 Ep2) 2012 Unknown
3 Learjet (Series7 Ep3) Follows the production of the $14 million Learjet 60XR 2012 Unknown
4 Pyrotechnics (Series 7 Ep5) 2012 Unknown
5 Tata Nano (Series7 Ep6 ) 2012 Unknown
6 Corvette ZR1 (Series 7 Ep8 ) 2012 Unknown
7 Extreme Roller Coaster (Series 7 Ep9 ) 2012 Unknown
8 Pagani Pagani Huayra 2012 Unknown
9 Porsche Porsche 911 2012 Unknown
10 Tesla Model S 2012 Unknown
11 Lexus Lexus LFA 2012 Unknown
12 Nissan Nissan GT-R 2012 Nov 15, 2012
13 Gumpert Apollo 2012 Dec 20, 2012
? Armored Troop Carrier Iveco ? Unknown
? Wargaming World of Tanks ? Nov 22, 2013

Reception

Kirby Garlitos from Top Speed said, because the show has featured exotic vehicles, it has always been a hot ticket.[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ultimate Factories".
  2. ^ Tutu, Andrei (2 September 2011). "Aston Martin One-77 Featured in National Geographic Megafactories/ Ultimate Factories". Autoevolution. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  3. ^ Munro, Jenny (20 November 2007). "National Geographic has Greer plant in its Sights". The Greenville News. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Megafactories". www.natgeotv.com. National Geographic (TV network). 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  5. ^ "Full List of Ultimate Factories Episodes". Ranker.
  6. ^ "Ultimate Factories Full Episode Guides on National Geographic". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  7. ^ "Ultimate Factories". National Geographic Channel. Archived from the original on 10 March 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  8. ^ Radio Times, Sunday 4 September 2011, p.61 (BBC Worldwide / BBC Magazines)
  9. ^ "National Geographic Channel to Feature BMW's South Carolina Plant in Documentary, Ultimate Factories: BMW X3 | BMW US Factory". 26 October 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
  10. ^ Garlitos, Kirby (2 January 2013). "Video: The Nissan GT-R Featured In National Geographic's Megafactories". Topspeed. Retrieved 25 May 2022.