Okay, let’s calculate this. Paul has 17 years of experience in the manufacturing industry, which is a good amount of time to build expertise. His experience as a Business Consultant and MES Consultant at Zenith Technologies and AspenTech shows his ability to work with various software and systems. His education in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Liverpool also adds to his technical skills. Considering his experience and education, I would place his hourly rate in the $100–$150 range. Given the industry demand for MES consultants and his strong technical background, I estimate his hourly rate to be around $125.