operation, could Ix" developed into straight-line eviscerating units of larger 

 capacity under present practices. With only a nominal area retained for 

 holding purposes, the 2,400 size would accommodate a capacity of more 

 than 3.000 birds per hour. The available space would be slightly less than 

 for the 3,600 eviscerating model. The 5,000 size (New York Dressing model) 

 would accommodate a capacity of at least 7,500 broilers per hour in terms 

 of the eviscerating model units (Table 15). 



The effects on unit costs are related to the level of prices of building 

 materials involved. Obviously, if plants built in earlier years when building 

 costs were substantially lower are remodelled, both the book value of total 

 investment and the resulting unit cost would be less than for new plants 

 built at current price levels, provided the present buildings are of good 

 sound construction and in good physical condition. 



The model plants in Table 14 were synthesized using current price levels. 

 Thus, the new total investment in buildings for remodelled New York 

 Dressing plants of 150 to 1,200 broilers per hour capacity slightly exceed 

 that for plants of similar capacity built new for straight-line eviscerating. 

 But at the 2.400 and 5,000 sizes, investment in buildings of the renovated 

 model plants considerably exceeds that in the new model eviscerating plants 

 of the same capacity. This occurs because of the substantial excess of space 

 in the holding areas of the New York Dressing model plants designed for 

 2,400 and 5.000 broilers per hour. Hence, to equate per unit investment in 

 buildings with those of new plants for eviscerating, capacity should be in- 

 creased. 



If. at current price levels, investment in buildings is translated into de- 

 preciation, repairs and maintenance, taxes, interest, and insurance, and 

 reduced to cost per pound of product at capacity, differences in favor of 

 newly-constructed eviscerating model plants compared with converted New 

 York Dressing plants become negligible. 



Equipment Costs 



Aggregate investment in plant equipment-^ for model eviscerating plants 

 exceeds that for model New York Dressing plants. These differences are 

 shown in Table 16, and range from S179 to $25,363 for the 150 and 5,000 

 broilers per hour sizes, respectively. 



If sufficient equipment to accommodate the eviscerating and cutting-up 

 (20 percent of volume) operations is added to the New York Dressing model 

 plants, as originally determined, the investment cost in equipment for such 

 units would exceed that for comparable eviscerating model units. These 

 calculated differences range from $1,499 to $28,552 for the 150 and 5,000 

 size units, respectively. When these differences in favor of the eviscerating 

 model plants are reduced to cost per pound of product at capacity they be- 

 come negligible (.051 to .027 cent per pound within the 150-5,000 range). 

 Furthermore, these differences result mainly from the larger investment in 

 holding batteries in the New York Dressing model plants. Plants customari- 

 ly depreciate batteries over a relatively short period. Hence, the differences 

 are likely to persist only for a short time. 



24 Excluding refrigerator and equipment. Tn the two sets of models these costs were 

 considered separately from those for building and plant equipment, and were ahon! 

 the same for plants of comparable capacity, 



47 



