The management of Mitchell Labs decided to go private in 2002 by buying all 3.50 million of its outstanding shares at $22.50 per share. By 2006, management had restructured the company by selling off the petroleum research division for $12.50 million, the fiber technology division for $7.75 million, and the synthetic products division for $24 million. Because these divisions had been only marginally profitable, Mitchell Labs is a stronger company after the restructuring. Mitchell is now able to concentrate exclusively on contract research and will generate earnings per share of $1.30 this year. Investment bankers have contacted the firm and indicated that if it reentered the public market, the 3.50 million shares it purchased to go private could now be reissued to the public at a P/E ratio of 17 times earnings per share.

Each container is cut from the mould once the plastic has cooled and hardened. unit-level 2 patents are obtained for each new type of container mould. facility-level 3. plastic resins are used as the main direct material for the containers. product-level 4. a plant manager oversees the entire manufacturing operation. facility-level 5. the sales force incurs travel expenses to attend various trade shows throughout the country to market the containers. product-level 6. each container product line has a product line manager. product-level 7 the extrusion machine is calibrated for each batch of containers made. facility-level 8. each type of container has its own unique moulds. unit-level 9. routine maintenance is performed on the extrusion machines. facility-level 10. rent is paid for the building that houses the manufacturing processes. classify each activity as either unit-level, batch-level, product-level, or facility-level.