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PlantBench / Full-line ROI calculator

Full-line ROI calculator

Use this when the decision is a whole line. Then run the single-machine pages before anyone treats the payback as a bid.

This is a stack of assumptions

Labor, yield, power, gas, and capital are all rough at once. The default is a large labor cut, several yield points, a real step up in electricity, and a seven-figure capital placeholder. None of those should survive contact with your plant unchanged.

The useful result is which term moves the total. Then open the peeler, freezer, sorter, or dryer page and price that term on its own.

Do not add the other pages on top

A full-line total plus a peeler total double-counts the same pounds and the same people. Pick one frame for the meeting. If you compare machines, use the same volume, wage, and weeks on each page, and do not sum them when they share a crew.

Yield at line scale

Several points on a whole line is a serious claim. It belongs here only if you can point to where the loss sits today: peel, wash, sort, or overcook. If you cannot, cut the points. The sheet will still run.

Capital is not a plant

The default is a mid-size equipment placeholder, not a greenfield building. Refrigeration, wastewater, and the building can exceed the machines. If they are in scope, they belong in the capital field. If labor dominates the result, you are buying a staffing change and you should name the roles. If energy dominates and it is negative, the line has to earn a higher product value than the default.

Run the numbers

Your plant

These stay put when you switch equipment. Seasonal lines often run 30–40 weeks; year-round plants run closer to 50. Edit to match your calendar.

Choose a state to fill industrial averages for power, gas, and a production wage. Every figure stays editable.

lb

Annual throughput 4,800,000 lb. Operating days 240.

$/hr
%

Loaded wage $25.74 per hour.

$/lb

Price of the recovered pounds, not a premium and a yield gain for the same upgrade.

$/kWh

Typical industrial rate. Replace it with your local rate.

$/therm

Rough assumptions

Full line

A stack of soft assumptions. Use it to see which term dominates, then price the machines one by one.

Whole crew on this step. Four people for 8 hours is 32.

%
%

Percent of input weight lost at this step today.

pts

Points of input weight you expect to sell instead of lose.

kWh

kWh per 1,000 lb of throughput.

kWh

720,000 kWh/year, about $61,200 .

therms

Therms per 1,000 lb. Use 0 if this step has no gas.

therms

57,600 therms/year, about $54,720 .

$

Optional. Leave blank to hide payback. Fold installation into this number if you want it counted.

Annual result

$482,227

Total annual savings, before capital.

Payback
3.7 years
Simple ROI
27%
5-year net
$611,136
Largest term
Labor
Annual savings breakdown
Labor saved17,280 hours$444,787
Yield gain216,000 lb$118,800
Energy deltaExtra operating cost-$81,360
  • Energy is a net new cost on these assumptions, so it reduces annual savings.

Sensitivity

Payback and five-year net at half, full, and one-and-a-half times the labor reduction and yield improvement
MeasureConservativeBaseAggressive
Payback9.0 years3.7 years2.4 years
5-year net-$797,832$611,136$2,020,104

Sensitivity only — edit the main inputs for a full recalculation.

These figures are rough estimates for discussion, not a quote, bid, or engineering study. Defaults are industry-style assumptions and will not match your plant until you edit them. The model ignores maintenance, installation, freight, water, wastewater, depreciation, taxes, incentives, and the time value of money. Yield math treats improvement as extra saleable pounds of input weight, which is the wrong model for some drying and grading decisions. Confirm every assumption before a capex meeting.

Annual savings

$482,227

Details

Questions

Why is this page less trustworthy than the others?

Because five assumptions are soft at the same time. A one-machine page has fewer places to hide an optimistic number.

Does this include the building or a USDA layout?

No. Add building work to capital or keep it out and say so.

Is the default capital a real line price?

No. It is a blank you should overwrite. PlantBench is not a quote, and the default does not come from a price list.

How should an owner read a very fast payback?

As a sign that yield or labor is doing too much work. Open the assumption list on the PDF and ask which of those figures the plant can measure this month.

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