>Do you have an index on ALLTRIM(BATCHNO)? I think we should avoid ALLTRIM in index expressions like plague.

Yes, Not duplicating the index statement exactly in the SQL clause causes greatly reduced performance. i.e. using just BATCHNO when the index is ALLTRIM(BATCHNO) will not optimize.

Also getting the SET EXACT and SET ANSI settings correct also impacts greatly.

Rushmore is a great piece of technology, once you understand it.