This paper deals with a production line which consists of two production stages that are separated by a finite storage buffer. The inventory level in the storage buffer controls the production rate of the preceding stage. That is, the production rate becomes high (low) when the buffer inventory is low (high). We analyze the system characteristics utilizing the Markov process theory and then find an optimal control policy which maximizes a given system profit function. Also, a sensitivity analysis is made to examine the effects of various system parameters on the system performances.