Recently there have been several threads on this newsgroup which
discuss the relative price of "professional style" ranges versus home
ranges. The threads discuss whether the price differential is
primarily due to relative cost of materials or whether there are other
factors. This prompts me to post a question about the cost of Hobart
mixers.

A 20 quart Hobart mixer costs several thousand dollars. This is
substantially more than the cost of 5 to 8 quart home mixers such as
Kitchen Aid or Electrolux Magic Mill. The application I'm interested
in is kneading a large batch of whole wheat bread dough (8-12 loaves).
Is the price differential primarily due to relative cost of materials
or are there other factors?

I've read on this newsgroup that Hobart mixers use a different type of
motor (induction) than home mixers (brush). Hobart mixers have a
transmission. And Hobart mixers are designed to function reliably
under continuous use. Do factors like these account for the enormous
price differential? (I imagine the market for Hobart mixers is much
smaller than the market for home mixers.)