Large process industries have a long-term approach to their construction and operation. There are all kinds of machinery and systems involved, both electrical and mechanical. In general, the process operations can be upgraded (or downgraded) over a period of time depending on demand - with or without replacing specific equipment. Given the cost and physical size of some of the larger elements (motors in the tens of thousands of HP, for example) as well as the time to build a new one, the intent is to have them last a good long time.
For modern process lines, what is being done today will not be what is being done five to eight years down the road. The return on investment is important to the accountants, so they usually look for two or three iterations before starting a new capital project. So - (five years) x (three process changes) = 15 years useful life. (eight) x (three) = 24 years useful life. Average around 20 years or so.
Converting energy to motion for more than half a century