You are an experienced machinist with a small tool shop. You have been asked to submit a bid to produce fifteen (15) special clamps for a new die that is under construction. You estimate that the material costs (metal and fasteners) for each clamp are $140.00. You also estimate that 10.00 labor hours are needed to produce the first clamp. The value of your labor is $50/hour.
Your potential customer is receptive to your bid from part a, but is hesitant to award you the order because the average cost per clamp that you bid is 5% higher than his target. You respond to the customer that if they would increase their order from 15 clamps to x clamps, you could beat his target price. What is x? (Hint: again, while you can do it by hand, it is tedious so setting it up in Excel saves time. Just attach a print-out of Excel work)