The Minot Kit Aircraft Company of Minot, North Dakota, uses a plasma cutter to fabricate metal aircraft parts for its plane kits. The company currently is using a cutter that it purchased four years ago that has a book value of $60,000 and is being depreciated $15,000 per year over the next 4 years. If the old cutter were to be sold today, the company estimates that it would bring in an amount equal to the book value of the equipment. The company is considering the purchase of a new automated plasma cutter that would cost $300,000 to install and that would be depreciated over the next 4 years toward a $44,000 salvage value using straight-line depreciation. The primary advantage of the new cutter is the fact that it is fully automated and can be run by one operator rather than the three employees that are currently required. The labor savings would be $80,000 per year. The firm faces an income tax rate of 28 percent. At the end of the 4-year project both cutters could be sold at their end-of-project book value.

a.What are the differential operating cash flow savings per year during years 1 through 4 for the new plasma cutter?

b.What is the initial cash outlay required to replace the existing plasma cutter with the newer model?

c.What does the timeline for the replacement project cash flows for years 0 through 4 look like?

d.If the company requires a discount rate of 9 percent for new investments, should the plasma cutter be replaced?