Case 611

CASE 611
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CASE 6.11: WHITEWATER WEST INDUSTRIES LIMITED
Executive Summary
Whitewater West Industries Limited is involved in molding fiberglass and currently they are experiencing problems with their expansion plans. The reasons for their impediments arise from serious complaints from the general public about the emissions released from the plant and that their production capacity is currently full hence a need to expand. Mr. Chutter is considering relocating the company and hence Mr. Winford has been requested to conduct a research in order to find a favorable piece of land for their project. In making such a decision the company has to evaluate a variety of available options to find which option can meet its short term and long term venture.
Option one is the Hiram Walker plant which seems appropriate in all aspects but the main hindering factor is the fact that the owners are not willing to part with it. Option two is about setting up a building for $ 1,326,000, after buying a piece of land for $ 1,500,000 but the main setback is that it is not easy to get such space needed by the company. The third option involves buying two buildings along the highway in Abbotsford. The recommendations are that the firm to take either option 2 as long term investment or option or option 3 as a short term investment which may involve leasing the said piece of land as other alternatives and negotiations are sought. In so doing the firm should also have a look into their financial statements reported to ascertain that the decision being taken conform to their overall objectives.
Problem Statement
The Whitewater West industries limited management is to make a decision concerning the location of the plant for its fiberglass molding. The firm has so many factors to consider such as location away from the people. Their intentions are to locate the facility in Kelowna 400 km East of Richmond. The impeding factor is the growing concern or fear of air pollution. The project is to be completed by May 1996 and the management has three other three options to make to meet the capacity already achieved earlier before the issue arose. In taking the decisions the management has to consider all the factors necessary for plant location without contravening the available policies and regulation or the ethics required of them (Fletcher and Haywood, 1995).
Problems/Issues
The Kelowna plant had originally been erected on a prime productive agricultural land in a semi-rural area. With time the city had built up residential houses in such a way that they surrounded the area. In addition, other plants had been set up within vicinity. The main impediment in the whole issue concerns the gases that are released from the factory which have a pungent smell during the process of polymerization. The chemical styrene released which is highly volatile and causes irritation to the eyes and mucous membrane. Despite the residents launching complaints to the city concerning the odor, the city could not find any evidence from the facility.
In addition, the plant had reached its full production capacity attributed to the success of Mr. Winford in pulling the strings in the company`s core business. The current estimates of the plant need fo...