ASIMCO International Casting Company, a joint venture between ASIMCO and Caterpillar, had recently finished several major projects designed to upgrade the manufacturing capabilities in its foundry. The plant was now under significant pressure to increase revenue, and had received an invitation to bid on a new customer order. While this order might provide the ideal opportunity to further upgrade its process technology and capabilities, significant challenges were presented by several critical product characteristics. Alternatively, the plant's limited resources could focus on meeting the internal needs of one of its partners. Caterpillar was expected to authorize test runs of two new products soon; however, the annual production volumes were very uncertain.