The industry's versatiles

By: Héctor Gómez Pérez

If there is an equipment in the industry that is characterized by its versatility is the boiler, its use extends from the heating of buildings such as apartments, hotels, schools, chemical laboratories or hospitals, to industrial uses of dry cleaning in laundries or in food processing.

In theory, boiler manufacturing has not had drastic changes, although as noted by Victor Chavarria, president of AVS Atlanta, Inc. and distributor of Triad Boiler Systems, Inc:" Production efficiency has been increased as the computerized cutting flame of boilers and parts, in addition to improvement in welding techniques." He also highlighted the high-efficiency condensing boilers, which operate with a lower water temperature, consuming less fuel and obtaining yields of 95% or more.

The other of our guests, Enrique Salazar, from Clayton, mentioned as novelties
the improvement in steam-fuel efficiency, the improvement of safety since they are equipment that do not explode and the production of steam in five minutes.

Team Recommendations
The good performance of a boiler depends on multiple factors that can well be taken into account to ensure the durability of the equipment and its optimal performance. Chavarria stressed that the first step is to keep the burner calibrated to the point, first to avoid stops and then for safety reasons, in such a way that the correct levels of CO (carbon monoxide) are guaranteed. "If the burner is not properly tuned, its operation does not reach the maximum efficiency in combustion, which causes fuel and therefore money to be wasted," Chavarriaga said.

Salazar highlighted the maintenance of water as a fundamental factor for the performance of the equipment, to which the president of AVS Atlanta noted that it must be treated chemically and under the supervision of a professional "to maximize thermal efficiency and extend the life of the boiler. This is especially true for steam boilers where dissolved solid particles and pH balance must be controlled," Chavarria said.

The boiler market
The next few years are expected to be a revival for the HVAC/R industry, after two periods in which many market players have had to suffer "the hard and mature" in terms of sales and expansion. For example, on clayton's side, his representative said that sales in 2009 were below expected projections. For the current year, he expects the outlook to be good, although it will be the facts that will consolidate these expectations.

For Victor Chavarria, although boiler sales were reduced the previous year, 2010 started well due to demand that was repressed by projects that had to be suspended as a result of the crisis. This same growth projection has the company for 2011.

Now, as we had anticipated at the beginning of this article, we want to make an analysis of boiler imports in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, countries belonging to the Andean Community of Nations (CAN). This will be a good indication to make projections for this year and look for business opportunities as far as these teams are concerned.

Colombia, the one that grew the most
Compared to the other two countries in this study, Colombia had the best growth in 2009 compared to 2008. We have that in total, this South American country imported 4,008 boilers for central heating, 3,603 more equipment than in 2008, which is equivalent to a growth of 89.9%.

In terms of money, the 4,008 pieces of equipment imported in 2009 cost US$ 525,046 while those imported in 2008 were worth US$ 457,112. A difference in value that represents 12.94%.

The ranking of the ten companies that imported this equipment the most in 2009 can be found in Table 1 (the top ten importing companies in Peru are also included because there are no records available from Ecuador). On the other hand, the countries from which the boilers were sent in 2009 were in their order: United States (3,850), Italy (43), China (34), Argentina (27), Spain (25), Canada (16), Portugal (10), United Kingdom (2) and Japan (1).

Peru few imports, but sustained
In 2009 the Inca country imported 42 boilers for central heating, only nine more equipment than in 2008. A growth equivalent to 21%. The paradox is found when making an analysis of the value of the equipment: the cost of the 42 boilers imported the previous year was US $ 74,884, while the 33 of 2008 was US $ 158,042, a difference of -52.62%.

The countries from which the boilers were shipped the previous year to Peru were: Spain (14), Argentina (13), united States (5), Germany (3), Turkey (3), Italy (2), Canada (1) and China (1).

Ecuador, an appreciable downturn
Of the three CAN countries that we analyzed (there are no data from Bolivia), we have that Ecuador is the one that most decreased imports of boilers for central heating to its territory. In 2009 alone, 47 teams arrived in this country, 193 less than in 2008 when 240 boilers were imported (-80.42%). The 47 pieces of equipment imported in 2009 cost US$ 445,448 (this is the value including cost, insurance and freight), compared to US$ 134,524 for the 240 boilers imported in 2008.

It should be noted that the boilers imported by Ecuador in 2009 came from States (33), Portugal (5), Colombia (3), Argentina (2), China (2), Germany (1) and the Netherlands (1). In 2008 only five countries imported this equipment to this country: Spain (224), United States (9), Taiwan (5), Italy (1) and Portugal (1).

Comparing then the figures obtained, we can conclude that although the sales of these equipment were below the projections that the invited companies had for 2009, the previous year can not be classified as bad for these teams. For its part, 2010 is seen as a period of growth and important sales for boilers, it only remains to heed the saying of the old: "it will dawn and we will see".