Overview:

The launch of the latest iPhone in June once again demonstrates that electronics evolve fast. Apple promotes the sleek device as “twice as fast, half the price,” compared to the original iPhone, which was introduced only about 18 months ago. Such a boast doesn’t even cause raised eyebrows nowadays. After all, we’ve grown to expect more speed and capability at lower cost from a host of products from computers to digital cameras to global positioning systems.

While some people have no qualms about discarding a model that’s a year or two old in favor of “latest and greatest,” chemical companies and other businesses clearly can’t operate that way. So, it’s not surprising that many plants continue to rely on older equipment and systems. Indeed, in these tough economic times for the industry, it’s even harder in many cases to justify capital spending for upgrades or replacements.