Margins and profit are a principle driver to conduct business as we know it. This implies that besides finding the best possible technology it should also be the most cost effective, whether in low cost price for products, lower energy costs or any other aspect leading to a better cost position of a company.

The graph shows us that it makes sense to focus on early phases of a process/project development. The focus is on influence of design decisions with regards to project costs and capital investments. But in fact similar relations will be seen when process design influences are viewed against technological developments or energy effectiveness. When wrong choices are made in the early phase the outcome of this choice will often only be seen after much research has been done and valuable time (to market the product) as well as resources and budget have been spent.

Early phase process development is all about making a first time right choice with regards to most promising process routes. To be able to proceed to the next phase in a project the right decision has to be made in terms of process options not only on a technological level but also economics. It is essential that this economic evaluation is a proven, if possible standardized methodology that covers not only investment but also variable costs. Due to lack of expertise, resources or experience these evaluations are often done by the process designers themselves using literature or comparisons to look-a-like processes.

Another parameter that plays an important role in the decision making process is the global location of the project. In a rapidly globalizing business world and faster pace of development, it is all the more important to consider the most influential parameters for your product cost price. Since the diversity between locations incorporate many parameters it is a complex exercise to obtain an objective analysis.   

Maturus Optimi has the experience, expertise and resources to do these evaluations for you. Also we can guide you in setting up a methodology and assisting your organization to get started with a standardized objective and reliable way to make YOUR first time right choices in early phases! The methodology we use is proven and the advantages are similar to the ones described in process development:

• economic models are built blocks that can be re-used (library) or changed at will
• the model can be further developed as the process or project gets more defined, ultimately even towards construction
• the economic model can be connected to the process model leading to automatic sizing of process equipment
• the connection to the process simulation model also gives a direct insight in utility and energy costs
• all costs of a project can be included
• economic option evaluation is fast, objective and accurate, even in the earliest of project phases: it is a proven tool for relative cost comparisons between process options
• re-scaling of your initial process can be done in a glance
• the economic model offers enough data to perform a thorough risk analysis, again to focus the attention of development towards the weakest and most influential parts of your project
• a product cost price can be determined in an early phase
• the methodology Maturus Optimi offers has proven very effective for competitor process comparisons.