Productivity trends in expanding plants and new plants

A technical and economic study has been made of process plants undergoing capacity expansion during their operating lives. The study draws on the experience of a range of Australian process plants, and investigates extent and rate of capacity increase, expansion techniques used, and costs and performance incurred. For selected technologies, comparison has been made between performance of the expanding plant and that of new plants employing best available technology and scale. Trends in competitiveness for key areas of performance have been identified and the underlying causes examined. Some implications for the future of the Australian process industries are considered.