The helpful heat exchanger experts at Enerquip have been designing and fabricating shell and tube heat exchangers for our customers’ production plants since 1985.
The Enerquip team is passionate about not only building heat exchangers, but building the best heat exchanger solutions for our customers. Enerquip’s culture is built around integrity. Our team is never done learning, never done growing, and never satisfied with “good enough”.
Order tube bundles, gaskets and O-rings early for your scheduled maintenance day.
Are you getting ready for your scheduled maintenance shutdown? The approach of the year’s end is typically a cue for business leaders to assess their companies and make plans to improve in the year ahead. Often, this includes a scheduled maintenance shutdown that coincides with the slower period of business around the holidays. Your scheduled maintenance day only comes around every so often, so it’s important that you approach it strategically.
Here are a few tips to keep in mind as you plan your holiday maintenance day:
Review equipment documents
To best ensure your scheduled maintenance shutdown is as productive as possible, you’ll need a few pieces of key information. First, you may want to check the maintenance history of your equipment – when was the last time it was serviced? How old is it? When was the last time it was repaired? How has it been performing in recent months?
If your equipment is starting to age or slow down, it may be time to begin planning its replacement. On the other hand, if it’s still relatively young but not performing as efficiently, it may be a sign that it’s in need of a deep cleaning or a part replacement.
When preparing for an equipment inspection, it’s a good idea to have information like the serial number or model information on hand so you can be precise when ordering parts or requesting specific services.
Order spare parts early
If you think the replacement of certain parts is needed for your maintenance day, be sure to come prepared. You’re not the only one scheduling planned maintenance at the end of the year, so it’s important to beat the rush and order parts as soon as you’ve identified which ones you need. Order tube bundles, gaskets and O-rings early for your scheduled maintenance day.
To order parts for your shell and tube heat exchanger soon, reach out to Enerquip. Our lead time is faster than the industry average, which means you should have your necessary components in hand within a few weeks. Consider all aspects of your shell and tube heat exchanger before placing an order: O-rings, gaskets and tube bundles are all popular items to order this time of year.
Consider your heating system
With winter comes cold weather, but that doesn’t mean your facility needs to be chilly (unless refrigeration is necessary). To make sure you’re not overspending on energy costs this year, review your heating system and identify areas where you can improve. Knipp Services pointed out that this may mean you’ll need to clean some burners, remove carbon buildup from flues, calibrate pressure gauges and make sure that flames can burn cleanly without any obstructions that can create a fire hazard.
One heating system aspect that’s easy to overlook is wasted heat. Many systems that require hot water or steam produce heat that can be captured and used elsewhere in your facility. A shell and tube heat exchanger is ideal for waste heat recovery, an effort that can simultaneously make your operation more sustainable and cut energy costs. Perhaps a heating system overhaul isn’t practical during your planned maintenance day, but it’s worth checking out to see if it’d be a feasible investment further down the line.
On the other end of the scale, your cooling system deserves some attention, too. While you may not be turning it back on until June, assessing the condition of your cooling system is better done sooner than later. Check condensate drain taps, cooling towers and chillers for signs of aging or damage sustained during the summer and fall.
Prevent slip and fall incidents
The ice and snow of wintertime can make for a risky work environment if precautions aren’t taken. Outdoors, you may put down salt or sand to create a safer walkway, but don’t neglect your buildings’ interiors, Cleaning & Maintenance Management Magazine noted. Use a combination of scraper mats and absorbent mats at your entrances to remove snow, ice and water from shoes and boots to mitigate moisture and puddles forming on your floors.
Anticipate power losses
When a winter storm hits, there’s always a chance that a power outage can occur. While you can’t predict when these events will take place, you can prepare for them. If you already have a backup generator, be sure to inspect it to make sure it’ll perform when it’s needed, Facility Executive suggested. If you don’t, or you need to replace an aging one, do this sooner than later.
If you’re planning your scheduled maintenance shutdown day, be sure to consider all tasks you want to accomplish. Remember to have spare parts on hand before you open up equipment to prevent unexpected downtime. To order spare parts early for your shell and tube heat exchanger, reach out to the helpful heat exchanger experts at Enerquip.
How do you tackle your shell and tube heat exchanger routine maintenance? When heat exchangers are an essential aspect of your operation, it’s important that they’re working at top efficiency. Dirty or fouled exchangers can slow down your processes, contaminate your product and lower your company’s overall efficiency. To avoid these negative consequences, it’s important to be vigilant about shell and tube heat exchanger routine maintenance and proper cleaning.
Here are five factors to keep in mind to make your shell and tube heat exchanger routine maintenance as effective as possible:
1. Create a Plan for your Heat Exchanger Routine Maintenance
When it’s time to clean your shell and tube heat exchanger, there’s a good chance that you’ll need to shut down operations temporarily. This is lost production time, which translates to reduced output and efficiency. However, there are ways to minimize the effects of a plant shutdown. One of the most effective ways to lower the impact is to prepare for it.
Have a dedicated datefor planned maintenance, Ethanol Producer Magazine suggested. This way, you can plan and prepare for the event, allowing you to choose an inconsequential day for the shutdown. Additionally, since contractors who specialize in equipment maintenance often have busy schedules, planning and preparing can help you choose the date and time that suits you best – not when the contractor has a free space in his schedule.
Make sure that any spare gaskets or replacement tube bundles are ordered in plenty of time to arrive by your scheduled maintenance date. Without a predetermined date for planned maintenance, it’s all too easy to let this important task get pushed back. When this happens, your equipment is more likely to run into problems. Sooner or later, you’ll either have to shut down your operation yourself, or a piece of equipment will fail, and you’ll have to quickly schedule reactive maintenance. There’s no predicting if or when this will occur, and it may not always be in your favor.
2. Inspect Your Equipment
Excessive fouling is never a good thing for your heat exchanger. If not identified or addressed in a timely manner, it could result in several problems, including contaminated or unusable product, corrosion or leaks. Ethanol Producer Magazine pointed out that, in some cases, material buildup can become a fire hazard.
To prevent these issues, it’s important to note when fouling begins to form and to remove it promptly. Check your tube bundles as well as the shell side for signs of material buildup or corrosion.
3. Test your Heat Transfer Fluid
Another area of concern is the heat transfer fluid. When using chemical-based HTFs, it’s inevitable that the material will eventually become degraded and less effective. When this happens, it can reduce the efficiency of the exchanger and, depending on the chosen fluid, can adhere to the surface of the tubes, become a more volatile solution or create a fire hazard, Processing Magazine reported.
Regularly testing the HTF will tell operators where in the lifespan the fluid is. Take the fluid from several different places to get a more complete idea of how good the fluid still is. Additionally, be sure to test the fluid while it’s in operation; cooled HTF will display different properties than the HTF in action, making the reading of fluid from a shutdown machine a less informative sample. Additionally, shutting down a piece of equipment for the purpose of taking a sample will slow down operations, put undue stress on the equipment and HTF, and takes more time out of your workday.
Test the fluid periodically; Processing Magazine noted that quarterly testing typically provides the best results.
4. Collaborate with the Right People
Shell and tube heat exchanger routine maintenance is no small task, so it’s important to include any and all relevant personnel in planning it. Work together to identify maintenance needs, a day that works best for the company and the right professionals to assist or carry out the job.
“Approach your planned maintenance day with a checklist.”
“The maintenance manager, the environmental health and safety coordinator, and I typically work together on scheduling and making sure we have the proper documentation, training records, etc.,” Tyler Edmundson, the plant manager at ethanol plant Mid-Missouri Energy, told Ethanol Producer Magazine. “Safety is the No. 1 priority – making sure contractors have proper credentials and understand our policies and expectations.”
When you include people from different departments, such as your environmental health and safety team, you’ll be able to collaborate on smart decisions that are good for the company overall. Additionally, when you approach your planned maintenance day with a checklist, you’re more likely to have as productive a shutdown day as possible.
Edmundson noted that working with different people to plan out the maintenance day also allows them to collect all the necessary documentation that any incoming professional would need to know. For example, Matt Werzyn, maintenance manager with Louis Dreyfus Commodities, Elkhorn Valley Ethanol LLC, told Ethanol Producer Magazine that he creates and sends an informational packet to any contractors that will work on their equipment. It includes the company’s safety rules and requests items from the contractor, like employee training records, to demonstrate their credentials. Then, after arriving on-site, but before they get their hands on the equipment, the team goes through a contractor orientation.
Other information you may want to provide any contractor that will be working with your equipment is a maintenance log, documentation from the original equipment manufacturer or information about the products or fluids used in the equipment.
5. Cleanup after your Heat Exchanger Routine Maintenance
Depending on your cleaning method, there may still be necessary tasks to carry out once everything is all cleaned. Whether you used chemical or mechanical cleaners to remove fouling, there could be debris left over. This could contaminate your product if left unaddressed. Give your equipment a rinse to ensure there are no leftover chemicals or dirt.
Your shell and tube heat exchanger is designed to be closed up tight most of the time. As such, opening it can sometimes cause damage to the gasket, Marine Insight explained. Be sure to double-check your gasket and gasket cover before wrapping up your heat exchanger maintenance. Make sure that you have spare gaskets on hand and replace them if necessary.
Heat exchanger routine maintenance and cleaning can be a time-consuming task, but it’s not one that’s worth putting off. By being proactive, you can help your equipment perform more efficiently and last longer. When you have questions about proper care for your heat exchanger, need replacement parts, or when you’re ready for a replacement unit, reach out to the helpful heat exchanger experts at Enerquip. Clickhere to contact us today.
U.S. companies with international manufacturing plants have been re-evaluating the benefits of offshore jobs, and many of them are making the decision to move back home. In 2016, more jobs moved back to the states than left them, according to data collected by Reshoring Initiative.
Between 2010 and 2016, a total of 338,000 manufacturing jobs have been reshored. In 2016 alone, 77,000 jobs were relocated back to America.
Communities across the country have enjoyed the addition of new jobs, particularly in recent months. The Mid-America Business Conditions Index for May was 55.5, a slight decline from March and April’s 60.1 and 61.4, respectively, but still high enough to spark optimism among manufacturers.
“The overall index over the past several months indicates a healthy regional manufacturing economy, and points to healthy growth for both manufacturing and nonmanufacturing through the third quarter of this year,” explained Ernie Goss, a Creighton University economist who oversees the survey, according to U.S. News & World report.
Reasons for reshoring
The reshoring trend has slowly been building momentum over the past few years as companies compare the benefits of their international plants and potential domestic ones. Being close to one’s own consumers has numerous benefits.
Bali Padda, the executive vice president and chief operating officer for Lego, explained to Material Handling & Logistics that the company’s local manufacturing philosophy stems from its goal to reduce the company’s environmental impact.
” … By placing a manufacturing site in the region we reduce our environmental impact as we will reduce the need for transporting products from Europe to be sold in Asia,” he explained.
Many companies have found that they aren’t realizing the cost savings they expected from their move overseas. While direct labor may cost less, other expenses have eaten away at their hoped-for savings, Harry Moser, president of Reshoring Initiative, explained to MHL.
“Companies looked mostly at labor costs when deciding whether to move offshore,” Moser said. “They weren’t focused on other costs such as intellectual property, import/export costs and potential shortages against demand because of unpredictable variables like shipping.”
He went on to explain that some companies’ savings estimates may have been off by 20 or 30 percent. Moving back to the U.S. may actually be the most cost-effective option.
Then, there’s the matter of consumer perception. Companies are finding that the ability to advertise a product as made in the USA is one sales-boosting strategy. Additionally, having a manufacturing plant close to the customer means that lead times can be shortened – something everyone on the supply chain might enjoy.
Obstacles in reshoring
Though moving operations back to the U.S. is typically beneficial for the company, it’s hardly an easy process. Closing down operations at the plant overseas takes time, work and careful strategy. Then, there’s the matter of finding a new location in the states, outfitting it with the necessary equipment and hiring employees to run the facility.
“When companies move back to the states, they will need to invest in new equipment.”
For some companies, the prospect of opening a new manufacturing facility is a journey into a world completely unknown to them. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that when Redman & Associates, a toy company in Arkansas,decided to move operations from China to the U.S.., the company’s executive team needed to come up with a solution for domestic manufacturing. For a group of people with extensive retail backgrounds and little knowledge of actual manufacturing, this was a tall task. It took strategic thinking and careful reverse engineering of their most popular products to make their move successful, but they were able to get their new plant up and running.
For a company like this – one that knows what it needs to produce, but isn’t quite sure how – finding a local supplier that can give it advice is helpful. When companies move back to the states, they will need to invest in new equipment, and may be seeking out new suppliers that are more suited for their new location. A company well-versed in manufacturing equipment may have useful advice that companies can use.
Some reshoring companies like their particular international facility, and in a perfect world, would be able to just pick the whole thing up and set it back down in the U.S. Of course, this isn’t possible. These companies will need to recreate their operation by investing in a similar building and precise machinery. Domestic equipment suppliers should be able to help companies meet these challenges as well. For example, companies moving jobs back to America have reached out to Enerquip with schematics of the shell and tube heat exchangers they use overseas. Enerquip’s engineers review the drawings and determine how they can recreate the equipment for the new facility’s needs.
Reshoring is a long process that requires a lot of hard work and careful strategy. But, done right, bringing operations back stateside could benefit a business and attract more customers.
If your company is looking into investing in equipment for a new facility,reach out the the engineers at Enerquip for any custom heat exchangers you will need.
A quality product doesn’t just happen by chance. The materials used to make it need to be carefully chosen; the plant or factory where it’s made needs to be intelligently designed; and the equipment needed to manufacture the product needs to be top-notch.
Once these three requirements are filled, your operation is in good shape. But all equipment has a lifespan, and over time, it’ll start to wear out. Ensuring that all pieces of equipment are working properly is crucial in any operation.
Ordering new equipment or replacement parts can become a tricky business. It takes time to build a large piece of processing machinery, such as a shell and tube heat exchanger. And making a specialized design can take even longer. Chemical Processing pointed out that some of the biggest pieces of processing equipment can have lead times of as long as 24 months – longer in some cases. A lot can happen in two years of waiting for an item, and your time is precious.
It’s important that months aren’t wasted spent waiting for a critical piece of equipment to arrive. To avoid too-long lead times, be sure to follow some best practices and keep some strategies in mind.
Know when you’ll need it
You don’t need a crystal ball to get a good idea of when you’ll need to replace equipment. You should know the age and condition of most pieces already. You are also probably familiar with the average lifespan of the types of equipment you use. Some simple math can give you a general range for when your equipment may begin to age out.
“Keep in mind that your machine could be an outlier.”
Knowing when a machine’s performance is likely to begin diminishing is a good start, but not every machine runs the same. Many factors determine how a machine will normally operate. Differences in the environment in which it’s used, where it was built and by whom will all play important roles. Learn the average lifespan to get a good idea, but keep in mind that your machine could be an outlier.
Regular inspections are key to detecting when an item needs to be repaired or replaced. Even when the equipment is brand new, be sure to inspect it on a regular basis. As it gets older, it might be a good idea to increase the frequency of inspections.
Create an ordering schedule
Since you can determine the general timeframe that you’ll need to order a piece of equipment, it shouldn’t be hard to draft up a guideline or schedule for when you’ll need to order certain pieces of equipment.
Once you have this clearly written out, it’ll be easier to determine when and how much you should be saving up for the next equipment purchase. If you know around when you’ll need a new piece of equipment or replacement part, you’ll be able to order it ahead of time. That way, you won’t have to put any equipment out of commission while you wait for your order to come in, and you can replace broken machinery quickly.
You can also communicate this information to your manufacturer so they are aware of your needs. Plus, they’ll have a good idea of how much time it’ll take to produce and ship what you need – valuable information to have when ordering equipment.
“Work with a company you trust can produce quality equipment.”
Be prepared for emergencies
No one can predict the future, and even the most careful manufacturers might have to handle a costly mistake or damaged piece of equipment at some point. When something like this happens, it’s important to move fast to make up for lost production time. Having an emergency budget set aside can help maintain your financial stability. And working with a company that you trust can produce quality equipment on a quick schedule is crucial. They can also assist you by recommending what spare parts to have on hand, in the event of an emergency.
Work with a company you can trust
No matter what industry you’re in, the importance of building a good relationship with your business partners can’t be overstated. The stronger your relationship with the company, and the longer you work with it, the more it’ll learn about your unique process and the better it will be able to help you. Also, when you get to know a company, you’ll get to know its process a little bit better, which will only make collaboration smoother.
When it comes to your shell and tube heat exchangers, if you’re unsure of the best way to initiate the order process, or want to learn about how to reduce the impact of lead times, contact the engineers at Enerquip
When your reputation is on the line, you can trust Enerquip to provide the quality, performance and on-time delivery that you need to keep your shell and tube exchanger project on track.
Enerquip, a homegrown company that specializes in a wide variety of shell and tube heat exchangers, recently broke ground on construction of facility improvements to meet its plans for continued growth.
Enerquip has been one of the leading providers of heating and cooling equipment for production plants and the OEM’s and system integrators that support them. The company crafts stainless steel and high alloy shell and tube heat exchangers of the highest quality, with delivery lead-times that are half of the industry standard. The size of Enerquip heat exchangers can vary from the length of a loaf of bread to the size of a school bus.
The new additions to the facility will include an expanded and remodeled office area, allowing enough room for 10 new employees. The facility has also installed building-wide Wi-Fi, which will allow employees to use state-of-the-art video meeting screens to remotely review projects with clients from their conference rooms.
“We wanted Enerquip to make a better first impression on our customers, and to be a place that our employees are proud to come to work,” said Jeannie Deml, President & CEO.
Enerquip also gave the facility a facelift, and the building underwent some light construction to add more windows throughout the facility to allow access to additional natural light. The facility increased its shop floor space by 25 percent by adding vertical storage racks, which didn’t require the company to add on to the building.
“With the additional space and updated facilities, Enerquip will be able to serve customers more efficiently, increase production throughput and volume, and blend better with the surrounding neighborhood,” said Tim Strebig, Plant Manager.
The indoor renovations are planned to be complete for staff to move in by the end of January, 2015. Exterior improvements and landscaping are scheduled for completion in the Spring of 2015.
About Enerquip
For more than 40 years, Enerquip has been a top designer and fabricator of stainless steel and high alloy shell and tube heat exchangers, with a reputation for quality and fast delivery. The company is one of the most trusted in the industry and provides both custom and standard off-the-shelf solutions for heating and cooling applications. Enerquip serves markets such as the pharmaceutical, beverage, brewing, food processing, dairy, paper, chemical, waste water and renewable fuels industries.
Food processing facilities have to ensure the highest safety standards while handling food products for consumption. Bacteria can grow in damp areas or on equipment if it is not properly cleaned. While this all might sound simple and basic enough, floor space is actually very critical to a processing plant’s operations.
Easily cleanable materials
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Guidance Regulation report for Retail Food Protection explained that surface characteristics for indoor areas have to be both smooth and cleanable. The report added that areas that are highly prone to moisture such as food preparation areas, walk-in refrigerators, bathrooms or washing areas should have nonabsorbent surfaces for easier cleaning.
“Walls and ceilings may be constructed of a material that protects the interior from the weather and windblown dust and debris,” the FDA report stated.
Flooring and spacing
The factory floor material should be smooth, waterproof and hard with an anti-slip finishing preventing injuries, the Food and Beverage Reporter stated. Additionally, some processing facilities that work with meat cutting should have cutting done in separate rooms to prevent any cross contamination on the facility’s other products.
“In open food areas in particular, a high performance and functional floor which fulfills the requirements of the HACCP International Food Standard (IFS), those for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and also workplace safety, forms the basis for quality and high-value products in the meat industry,” said Gary Johnson, business section manager for Performance Flooring, according to the source.
The spaces in these areas have to be open so workers are able to move around heavy machinery and other large pieces of equipment, comfortably and safely. The open spaces also allow for easier cleaning so stray food products don’t get lost or avoided during cleaning periods.
Certain pieces of equipment can take up large amounts of space in food processing facilities. However, larger critical pieces of equipment like shell and tube heat exchangers can be customized specifically to the facility to create more floor space throughout a manufacturing facility. They can also be mounted vertically, overhead, or in a mezzanine area.
Handling multiple cleanings
Flooring and process equipment has to be able to withstand numerous cleanings since sanitary practices are followed each and every day, since food processing facilities are able to build up bacteria quickly.
“Puddling of cleaning solutions, if allowed to evaporate, may lead to deposits on the surface and ‘water marks’ which can be hard to remove subsequently,” Johnson said, according to Food and Beverage Reporter. “It follows that removal of cleaning solutions and adequate rinsing is required to keep your floor looking its best. Contaminants that could quickly spoil food must be removed with suitable processes in defined cleaning cycles.”
Proper walkways and spaces
For food processing facilities, finished food products could be contaminated when exposed to raw products nearby. According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, facilities have to create appropriate walkways for unpackaged food and finished products so they do not rest or move around one another.
To create these types of spaces, customizing heat exchangers to fit appropriately in the facility could clear enough room to make necessary walkways. When it comes to food preparation, sanitation, cleaning and efficient use of floor space are all necessary.
Editor’s note: This content was originally published in 2015 but was updated in 2024.
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