Miura launched its Quick Ship Xpress (QSX) program in 2018 to ensure reps and customers could receive their boilers in just days. In 2019, the program is changing the way some steam boiler users make buying decisions, as QSX impacts the often-expensive rental market, reduces the need to continually tinker with “end-of-life” boilers, and assists in disaster recovery efforts.
“Quick Ship Xpress is an amazing advantage for our customers who might otherwise be spending tens of thousands of dollars on a rental boiler,” said Paul O’Donnell, Miura's VP of strategic development. “The program is also a major life-saver for customers who may have waited too long to order a new boiler, and instead finds themselves constantly patching up an old, inefficient model, while trying to avoid downtime costs. With QSX, Miura customers can have a new 'cold start to full steam in five minutes' boiler from 50 - 600HP (multiple 300HP units) in the time it usually takes to install a rental unit."
David Flowers, sales and engineering manager at Combustion & Control Solutions (CCS), located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, agrees that Miura’s QSX has impressive benefits.
“We first used Miura’s QSX Program with a customer who was unable to meet production requirements,” said Flowers. "The boilers helped the customer out of a significant bind, while negating costly rental boilers. Miura was able to ship the boilers within 48 hours, and CCS was able to install them and have them running in a few days."
This “fastest-in-industry” shipment and installation of a new boiler was faster than delivering and installing a used rental boiler, which would have to be uninstalled at the time a new boiler was delivered, thus driving up costs.
“Typically, significant piping has to be installed or re-routed to accommodate a rental boiler,” said Flowers. “A lot of people often forget to take into consideration that the installation and then removal of a rental boiler is very expensive, particularly when overtime costs are involved.”
On average, delivery and installation costs for a rental boiler 50HP or larger can total $75,000 to $90,000.
“Our customer paid less than twice this amount for the new Miura boiler,” said Flowers. “They were delivered and installed as quickly or quicker, with much less hassle, than a rental boiler would have been. And at the end of the day, the customer has a brand new boiler that was easy to fit into the space, connect to existing piping and utilities with little modification, and get them back up and running in a very short time frame.”
During another time, Miura received a request from a company that had waited too long to change out its old, inefficient boiler and needed a new one fast.
“We received a call from a popular soft drink manufacturer in Southern Florida," said Jason Bell, Miura’s regional manager for the Southeast division. “They were having major issues with a boiler they had purchased from another company. Since we had already replaced another boiler from that company with a new Miura, we weren’t surprised that they would be calling us. The customer contacted us trying to find out if there was any way to get a new boiler delivered and installed in much less time than the industry-standard of a few months. They were really in a bind, since their current boiler was scaling up badly, and causing them all sorts of issues.”
“Before Miura’s QSX Program, some companies did everything they could to keep old warhorse boilers online, and this company was no different," said O’Donnell. “The problem was that they were getting all sorts of alarms, and while they kept running the boiler to meet production demands, the fuel costs were becoming unmanageable because the boiler had become totally inefficient. Having waited too long to change out the boiler, and hoping there was some way Miura could help, they called Jason before having to bite the bullet on a costly rental unit.”
“It took a moment for the plant manager to realize that we could meet his expectations and have a new Miura boiler shipped and installed in the time it normally takes for a rental,” said Bell. “I still remember his big smile.”
Disaster Recovery is another way QSX is making a difference. Weather-related conditions such as hurricanes and floods can render boilers useless. These difficult situations can be even more troubling when steam boilers are damaged or ineffective, and companies, schools, and healthcare facilities have to scramble for replacements. This also represents a burden on insurers who must pay costly claims, as well as the insured whose rates can be affected. The QSX program and Miura’s compact, lighter-weight design provides users with an option to quickly install the boilers in elevated areas away from rising flood waters.
“Providing essential energy for processing, heating and other applications fast, after first responders have done their work and it is safe to enter areas that have suffered disasters gives us a great sense of pride,” said O’Donnell. “Our Made in the USA (in their Rockmart, Georgia US headquarters) boilers can play a critical role after a weather-related disaster strikes.”
