production planning problems with setup decisions, which were formulated as
mixed integer programmes (MTP), are solved in this study. The integer comp
onent of the MIP solution is determined by three evolution algorithms used
in this study. Firstly, a traditional genetic algorithm (GA) uses conventio
nal crossover and mutation operators for generating new chromosomes (soluti
ons). Secondly, a modified GA uses not only the conventional operators but
also a sibling operator, which stochastically produces new chromosomes fr-o
m old ones using the sensitivity information of an associated linear progra
mme. Thirdly, a sibling evolution algorithm uses only the sibling operator
to reproduce. Based on the experiments done in this study, the sibling evol
ution algorithm performs the best among all the algorithms used in this stu
dy.