Four years ago, an engine plant of DaimlerChrysler AG initiated an industrial project, which had as a goal to design and implement a production system for large-series aggregate manufacturing that is more flexible and more robust than existing transfer lines. For the control of the newly designed flexible material flow system, the project considered to use an agent-based approach. In intensive cooperation, the DaimlerChrysler plant, external control suppliers, and the DaimlerChrysler research unit developed an agent-based approach for the control of the flexible material flow, showed its potential for improvement in simulation, demonstrated the technical feasibility with the help of a physical demonstrator, and implemented a prototype that was tested as a by-pass to an existing transfer line for cylinder heads and finally analyzed by the plant with respect to its profitability. This paper reports - from the point of view of the research unit - on the development steps necessary to implement the new production system. It is argued that the successful transfer of agent-oriented research results into a production environment requires several steps. In particular, the transfer is only successful if all units affected are integrated into the development process, if the technical feasibility is shown with the help of a physical demonstrator, and if the project provides a profitability analysis comparing existing and new technology. The goal of this paper is to motivate more research concerning agents in production and, based on the experience made, to highlight the critical factors for a successful transfer of agent-oriented research results.