# PlantBench

> PlantBench is a free, neutral equipment ROI worksheet for fruit and vegetable processors. It estimates labor savings, yield recovery, energy cost, simple payback, and an undiscounted five-year net from the plant inputs on the sheet. The figures are estimates for a capex discussion, not a quote, a design, or a guarantee. The site is from VegTech Systems and is independent of any single OEM.

## Calculators

- [Peeler ROI calculator](https://www.processorroi.com/calculators/peeler-roi): Estimate labor, peel loss, steam or electricity, and payback for a vegetable peeler before the capex meeting.
- [Freezer and IQF ROI calculator](https://www.processorroi.com/calculators/freezer-roi): See whether an IQF or blast freezer pays back on labor and grade after the kilowatt-hours are counted.
- [Dehydrator ROI calculator](https://www.processorroi.com/calculators/dehydrator-roi): Labor, gas, and recovered pounds for a vegetable dehydrator. The yield field is not water loss.
- [Blancher ROI calculator](https://www.processorroi.com/calculators/blancher-roi): Estimate steam, yield, and labor for a vegetable blancher. Overblanching is a yield loss, not a free quality upgrade.
- [Washer ROI calculator](https://www.processorroi.com/calculators/washer-roi): Labor and cull-rate math for a vegetable washer. Water and wastewater are called out because the model does not price them.
- [Optical sorter ROI calculator](https://www.processorroi.com/calculators/sorter-roi): Labor versus air, cameras, and yield for an optical sorter on a vegetable line.
- [Full-line ROI calculator](https://www.processorroi.com/calculators/full-line-roi): One worksheet for a complete vegetable processing line, with wide error bars and a clear view of which term dominates.
- [Robotics and automation ROI calculator](https://www.processorroi.com/calculators/robotics-roi): Labor, yield, and a modest energy term for robotics, automation cells, and full lines in a fruit or vegetable plant.

## Methodology

- [Methodology](https://www.processorroi.com/methodology): Formulas, defaults with sources and years, exclusions, and the sensitivity method.

## Formulas

- Annual savings = labor dollars + yield dollars + energy dollars.
- Payback years = capital divided by annual savings. Payback is omitted when capital is missing or annual savings are not positive.
- Simple ROI (percent) = annual savings divided by capital × 100.
- Five-year net = five years of annual savings minus capital. There is no discount rate.

## Data sources

- Electricity, when a state is selected: U.S. Energy Information Administration, electricity/retail-sales annual industrial price (sectorid IND), 2025, cents per kilowatthour. The U.S. total is 8.62 cents per kWh. Every state row in this file has a published industrial price.
- Natural gas, when a state is selected: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Natural Gas Industrial Price, annual, dollars per thousand cubic feet (N3035xx3), 2025. The U.S. series N3035US3 is $5.23 per Mcf. Dollars per therm = dollars per Mcf / 10.37. 18 states use the U.S. gas average because EIA left the cell blank.
- Labor, when a state is selected: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 hourly mean wage, Production Occupations (SOC 51-0000), all industries. The national series OEUN000000000000051000003 is $24.81 per hour. Loaded cost is the base wage × 1.32. Every state row in this file has a published wage.
- With no state selected, the worksheet uses a planning wage of $19.50 per hour, electricity at $0.085 per kWh, and gas at $0.95 per therm. Those three rates are not the BLS May 2025 national mean and not the EIA 2025 national industrial averages.
- Equipment capital, person-hours, labor-reduction percent, current loss, yield points, and kilowatt-hour and therm intensities are worksheet assumptions. They are not a published series and they are not a vendor quote.