Long-term boiler hire can be cost-effective while giving companies flexibility and peace of mind, says Byworth Hire sales director Michael Rutter.
Increasingly, boiler hire is being seen as more than a solution to provide short-term planned or emergency heating.
From hospitals and horticulture to food and beverage manufacturing, boiler hire has provided an energy-efficient solution to maintain continuity of service during planned maintenance of existing systems, emergency breakdowns and also for seasonal increased demand.
Now, however, to a greater extent businesses are hiring on a continuing basis, with turnkey projects including delivery, positioning, installing and commissioning together with training to avoid critical operations being interrupted. When an additional or replacement boiler is needed, the cashflow advantages of hiring the latest fuel-efficient type can be the most cost-effective route to take.
One company that has chosen long-term hire over purchase is Belvoir Fruit Farms in Leicestershire. Established in 1984, the family-owned business offers a range of over 40 products, producing ever-increasing volumes of cordials, pressés and canned fruit drinks stocked by major supermarkets, individual retailers and farm shops. The company first required a temporary boiler in April 2016 to cover an annual inspection of its on-site boilers.
The boilers were showing signs of ageing and were not large enough for demand. A feasibility study looked at the costs and implications of replacement with new plant or a rental solution. Due to the steadily growing requirement, it was unclear what size of boiler would be needed, so a steam metering exercise was undertaken by Byworth Boiler Hire, which had supplied the temporary boiler in 2016.
Byworth returned to site in January 2018 with a 4500kg/hr boiler to cover both site boilers for inspection, and a steam meter to achieve an understanding of the actual site load. The result of this study culminated in a 12-month hire contract for a 3500kg/hr boiler to run the site while the old site boilers were switched off. By this time, Belvoir was seeing ever-increasing demand for its products. So in June last year the 3500kg/hr boiler was exchanged for a 4500kg/hr trailerised model, again for a further 12 months’ hire.
During the second annual hire contract, the option to purchase outright or to take out a long term hire was reassessed, and the success of the existing arrangement led to a five-year hire contract for a bespoke 5000kg/hr low NOx “Yorkshireman” prefabricated boilerhouse. This decision coincided with the installation of an LPG tank farm by Calor gas. In May this year the new 5000kg/hr LPG/gas oil boilerhouse was supplied and fully commissioned and is now running.
Belvoir Fruit Farms considered future needs, as well as the cost of borrowing to buy a boiler outright versus the cost of hiring. By adopting the hire solution it has built running costs and service into its future strategy, while retaining the opportunity to upgrade in five years to meet new demand if required.
It has been able to avoid the large capital outlay for the purchase of new plant and, other than for day-to-day operations, all maintenance and servicing costs are included.
The turnkey solution is specifically designed to meet the drinks producer’s exact needs with the capacity to expand as necessary.
In addition, the boiler is fitted with Byworth’s remote monitoring system, keeping track of boiler operating conditions and facilitating quick diagnosis of any operational issues. The previous hire trailer had remote monitoring fitted, which had identified site issues on a number of occasions, speeding up diagnosis and rectification and keeping the boiler operational.
As well as having new plant rather than old, the new boiler has brought about significant fuel savings and reduced maintenance costs because of its higher efficiency and the fact it is able to run on LPG instead of red diesel. The site has seen a fuel saving of around 43% since commissioning in April on a like-for-like basis – a testimony to much improved efficiency.
Further info: Michael Rutter, sales director, Byworth Hire
01535 662599 | www.byworth.co.uk