Over the past year, there have been several trends I've noticed in the heavy industrial machinery and components space.
With regard to cooling towers, at the beginning of the year, market uncertainty drove maintenance deferrals in the power and heavy industrial sectors.
When a customer’s gearbox experienced vibration and gear damage, it opted for the Marley® M Series Geareducer® gearbox.
Now that trend has eased up, and we see pentup demand driving component needs. This increase is now meeting some headwinds with the supply chain issues we are all experiencing. Our recommendation is that companies should address maintenance now rather than later. In response to these trends, SPX Cooling has made adjustments to our operations to ensure that we're able to serve customers' needs, regardless of supply chain issues.
Deferred maintenance can lead to unplanned equipment failures. We have seen a rise in emergent work (even before COVID-19). Because emergent work arises unexpectedly, availability of parts and crews is of paramount importance. That is why we expanded our Marley® Cooling Tower Parts and Service facility in Houston. The Gulf Coast is a hub for cooling towers and we stock many parts ready to ship same day, including gearboxes and fans.
SPX Cooling has also expanded its product offerings. We have introduced a number of high-value products that help cooling market customers increase their performance.
- Everest® modular cooling towers, such as the NC® Everest (crossflow) and MD Everest (counterflow) models, ship sooner and install more quickly than comparable field-erected designs. This can reduce the labor required and shorten outage duration.
- At typical cooling tower static-pressure and air-flow operating conditions, new Marley HP7000 replacement fans for field-erected counterflow cooling towers operate at higher efficiencies, use less power and require fewer blades than other products on the market.
- New Marley M Series Geareducer® gearboxes are designed as "drop-in" replacements for other original equipment manufacturer (OEM) gearboxes in field-erected cooling towers. In terms of form and function, these gear drives go beyond the American Gear Manufacturers Association requirements to both maximize air movement through the tower and minimize maintenance requirements.
- Expanded inspection services provided by SPX Cooling representatives using our proprietary Inspection App, which provides the customer with a detailed written inspection report with maintenance, repair and replacement recommendations.
- Marley FIT Selection Software provides an easy online app for properly sizing the full cooling tower drive train, including gearbox, driveshaft and fan.
We have had a strong year in 2021 for cooling tower components in the industrial market. The challenges of gaining physical access to facilities to conduct cooling tower inspections have eased up, and maintenance and repairs are an active focus for SPX Cooling. All indications are that customers are more interested in OEMs to add higher performance and long-term reliability as they increase their capacity.
About SPX Cooling
Customers may know us by one of our trusted name brands: Marley, Recold, SGS, Balcke, Ceramic and many more. We design, manufacture, sell and service these brands, which have become part of the global SPX Cooling family.
We are an industry leader combining innovative design, breakthrough technologies and unmatched support to help you get the most out of your cooling process.
SPX Cooling offers a full line of quality options for your specific cooling requirements. Our current brands - Marley, Recold and SGS - represent the best-of-breed in wet and dry cooling; cooling towers; and air-cooled heat exchangers, parts and service, as well as our legacy brands and acquired businesses.
For more information, visit www.spxcooling.com or call (800) 4-MARLEY [462-7539].
