AlwaysRain Irrigation, Inc., would like to determine capacity requirements for the next four years. Currently two production lines are in place for making bronze and plastic sprinklers. Three types of sprinklers are available in both bronze and plastic: 90-degree nozzle sprinklers, 180-degree nozzle sprinklers, and 360-degree nozzle sprinklers.
Suppose that AlwaysRain Irrigation's marketing department will undertake an intense ad campaign for the bronze sprinklers, which are more expensive but also more durable than the plastic ones. Forecast demand for the next four years is
Yearly Demand
1 (in 000s) 2 (in 000s) 3 (in 000s) 4 (in 000s)
Plastic 90 32 44 55 56
Plastic 180 15 16 17 18
Plastic 360 50 55 64 67
Bronze 90 11 15 18 23
Bronze 180 6 5 6 9
Bronze 360 15 16 17 20
Both production lines can produce all the different types of nozzles. The bronze machines needed for the bronze sprinklers require two operators and can produce up to 12,000 sprinklers. The plastic injection molding machine needed for the plastic sprinklers requires four operators and can produce up to 200,000 sprinklers. Three bronze machines and only one injection molding machine are available.