As a manufacturer of engineered products in fire-blocking and technical textiles for industrial applications, Hardison Incorporated was founded more than 30 years ago in Muskego, Wisconson. The materials they work with include cotton, aramid mat, and silicone-coated fabrics. Recently, the cutting machine has caused some production errors and the company is looking into replacing that machine with a new one. They have the option of either purchasing machine Ava (A) brand or machine Base (B) brand.

The purchasing manager gathered some data on the operation costs of each machine at different levels of production.

Output (square yards)	Brand A Estimated Total Costs	Brand B Estimated Total Costs
2,000	$ 106,000	$ 129,000
4,000	134,000	169,000
8,000	189,000	209,000
16,000	234,000	269,000
32,000	289,000	309,000
64,000	469,320	399,320

Required: (Note: Part 1 of this problem includes the three requireds of 2,3 and 4)

2. If Hardison's output is expected to be 25,000 square yards, use the high-low method to determine the cost equation for each brand of machine and use the results to calculate the costs of operating each machine.

3. Using the high-low equations from requirement 2, calculate the costs of operating each machine if Hardison's output is expected to be 40,000 square yards and then for expected output of 60,000 square yards.

4. If Hardison's output is expected to be 40,000 square yards, which machine should it purchase? At 25,000 and at 60,000 square yards?