LPP – Problem formulation part 1

1. The Gulf Coast Foundry is developing a long-range strategic plan for buying scrap metal for
its foundry operations. The foundry can buy scrap metal in unlimited quantities from two
sources, Atlanta (A) and Birmingham (B), and it receives the scrap daily in railroad cars. The
scrap is melted down, and lead and copper are extracted for use in the foundry processes. Each
railroad car of scrap from Source A yields 1 ton of copper and 1 ton of lead and costs $10,000.
Each railroad car of scrap from Source B yields 1 ton of copper and 2 tons of lead and costs
$15,000. If the foundry needs at least 2 and 1/2 tons of copper and at least 4 tons of lead per day
for the foreseeable future, how many railroad cars of scrap should be purchased per day from
Source A and Source B to minimize the long-range scrap metal cost?

2. A company owns two flour mills, A and B, which have different production capacities for
high, medium and low grade flour. This company has entered a contract to supply flour to a firm
every week with at least 12, 8 and 24 quintals of high, medium and low grade respectively. It
costs the company Rs. 1000 and Rs. 800 per day to run mill A and B respectively. On a day, mill
A produce 6, 2 and 4 quintals of high, medium and low grade flour respectively. Mill B produce
2, 2 and 12 quintals of high, medium and low grade flour respectively. How many days per week
should each mill be operated in order to meet the contract order most economically.

3. As part of its strategic planning process, the Precision Manufacturing Company must
determine the mix of its products to be manufactured next year. The company produces two
principal product lines for the commercial construction industry, a line of powerful portable
circular saws and a line of precision table saws. The two product lines share the same production
capacity and are sold through the same sales channels. Although some product variety does exist
within each product line, the average profit is $900 for each circular saw and $600 for each table
saw. The production capacity is constrained in two ways, fabrication and assembly capacity. A
maximum of 4,000 hours of fabrication capacity is available per month, and each circular saw
requires two hours and each table saw requires one hour. A maximum of 5,000 hours of
assembly capacity is available per month, and each circular saw requires one hour and each table
saw requires two hours. The marketing department estimates that there is a maximum market
demand next year of a total of 3,500 saws per month for both product lines combined. How
many circular saws and how many table saws should be produced monthly next year to
maximize profits?

4. A nutritionist advises an individual who is suffering from iron and vitamin B deficiency to
take at least 2400 milligrams (mg) of iron, 2100 mg of vitamin B1, and 1500 mg of vitamin B2
over a period of time. Two vitamin pills are suitable, brand-A and brand-B. Each brand-A pill
costs 6 cents and contains 40 mg of iron, 10 mg of vitamin B1, and 5 mg of vitamin B2. Each
brand-B pill costs 8 cents and contains 10 mg of iron and 15 mg each of vitamins B1 and B2.
What combination of pills should the individual purchase in order to meet the minimum iron and
vitamin requirements at the lowest cost?

5. The Best Stuffing Company manufactures two types of packing tins- round & flat. Major
production facilities involved are cutting and joining. The cutting department can process 200
round tins or 400 flat tins per hour. The joining department can process 400 round tins or 200 flat
tins per hour. If the contribution towards profit for a round tin is the same as that of a flat tin,
what is the optimal production level?