Malloy Milling grinds calcined alumina to a standard granular size. The mill produces two different size products from the same raw material. Regular Grind can be produced at a rate of 10,000 pounds per hour and has a demand of 400 tons per week with a price per ton of $ 900. Super Grind can be produced at a rate of 6,000 pounds per hour and has demand of 200 tons per week with a price of $ 1,900 per ton. A minimum of 700 tons has to be ground every week to make room in the raw material storage bins for previously purchased incoming raw material by rail. The mill operates 24/ 7 for a total of 168 hours/ week.
a. Develop and solve a linear optimization model to determine the number of tons of each product to produce each week to maximize revenue.
b. What impact will changing the required minimum number of tons per week ( currently 700) have on the solution? Explain using the Sensitivity Report.
c. If the price per ton for Regular Grind is increased to $ 1100, how will the solution be affected?
d. If the price per ton for Super Grind is decreased to $ 1400 because of low demand, how will the solution change?