water heating

Increase in demand for steam boilers from several end-use industries and surge in investment toward adding power generation capacity have boosted the growth of the global steam boiler market.

Portland, Ore. — Allied Market Research recently published a report, titled, “Steam Boiler Market by Type (Water Tube Boiler and Fire Tube Boiler), Fuel Type (Coal Fired, Oil Fired, Gas Fired, and Others), Pressure (Low Pressure and High Pressure), and End-Use Industry (Power Generation, Oil & Gas, Chemical, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020–2027″. As per the report, the global steam boiler industry was accounted for $15.6 billion in 2019, and is projected to reach $20.0 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 3.3% from 2020 to 2027.

Drivers, restraints, and opportunities

Increase in demand for steam boilers from several end-use industries and surge in investment toward adding power generation capacity have boosted the growth of the global steam boiler market. However, implementation of strict government regulations toward environmental pollution and high initial cost and development in the renewable energy sector hinder the market growth. On the contrary, advancements in technology and upgradation of aging power generation infrastructure are expected to open lucrative opportunities for the market players in the future.

Covid-19 scenario:

• The Covid-19 pandemic and followed lockdown resulted in temporary ban on import & export and hampered the manufacturing & processing activities across various industries. This reduced the demand for electricity from end-user industries.
• However, the demand for steam boilers is expected to rise as the need for electricity has increased in the first quarter of 2021 from individual and commercial customers.

The gas fired segment to manifest the highest CAGR through 2027

By fuel type, the gas fired segment is estimated to register the highest CAGR of 3.6% during the forecast period, due to rise in awareness and stringent government regulations towards low emission fuels. However, the coal fired segment held the lion’s share in 2019, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the global steam boiler market, owing to rise in demand for coal fired steam boilers from the various end-use industries including power, food processing, cement, sugar, and steel.

The chemical segment held the largest share

By end-use industry, the chemical segment dominated in 2019, holding nearly half of the global steam boiler market, due to rise in demand for steam boilers from the chemical processing applications ranging from heating fluids to driving equipment. However, the power generation segment is expected to portray the highest CAGR of 3.5% during the forecast period, owing to increase in electricity demand from the various customers ranging from individual residential customers to industrial customers across the globe.

North America dominated the market

By region, the market across North America held the largest share in 2019, contributing to more than one-third of the market, due to increase in demand for steam boilers from large-scale industries such as mining, power, healthcare, commercial, manufacturing, and data centers. However, the global steam boiler market across Asia-Pacific is projected the highest CAGR of 3.6% during the forecast period, owing to large number of key players and availability of the manufacturing facilities in these countries.

Major market players

• General Electric
• IHI Corporation
• Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc.
• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd.
• Forbes Marshall
• Alfa Laval AB
• Viessmann Limited
• Hurst Boiler & Welding, Inc.
• Thyssenkrup
• Thermax Limited

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of “Market Research Reports” and “Business Intelligence Solutions.”

It’s that time of year again where media, prognosticators and media prognosticators try to look into the immediate future to predict, and make sense of, the short-term economy. And, yes, even in this uncertain climate.

Having said all of that, Mechanical Hub decided to go right to the source to get an up-close sense of how the market is faring. We continue our Forecast Series with Bruce Carnevale, president & CEO, Bradford White.

MH: When it comes to 2021 industry forecasts, the most resonant word I hear is optimistic. That word can become hollow if it doesn’t have any substance backing it up. I’ve read reports that residential service repair and remodel may remain constant with a slight increase in early 2021. What does the short-term economy look like as it relates to BW?

CARNEVALE: In a word, challenging. While demand for our core residential products remains strong, material and labor costs have risen substantially.  Labor availability for manufacturers is still a significant problem and has been exacerbated by COVID-19 complications and government policies. Steel prices are at or near all time highs, and supply is becoming an issue for some manufacturers. These factors lead to longer lead times, higher prices to the end user, and product shortages.

We know intuitively that the “nesting” effect has led to increased demand because household appliances are being use much more that they normally would be. There is no good data on magnitude of the increased demand, nor how long it will last.

Commercial demand has recovered slightly, but with commercial businesses still in some state of shutdown in much of the country, we don’t see that segment starting to recover until the second half of 2021. It is unlikely that the commercial segment will fully recover to pre-pandemic levels until after 2022 because so many businesses will permanently shut down as a result of the pandemic-forced shutdowns.

MH: What are some indicators you look at to determine trends, movements, etc.? 

CARNEVALE: We look at traditional indicators such as housing starts re-sales, mortgage rates, CPI, consumer confidence, manufacturing output and inventories, unemployment rates, etc. Several years ago, we incorporated student loan debt into our analyses since it has such a significant impact on first time homebuyers. Additionally, we closely follow regulations and all levels and social preferences to determine their impact on product trends.

MH: I read somewhere that at the rate the U.S. is distributing the vaccine, we should be back to “normal” by 2024. Perhaps that’s a bit overly dramatic, but how does (has) BW positioned itself from the “fallout” of COVID-19?

The honest answer is that nobody really knows when we will be back to normal.  Even after we are, there will be lasting effects from the pandemic. We are following the data and trends closely and adjusting our strategy accordingly.  We expect some pre-pandemic trends to change significantly. For example, the trend toward urbanization will change as more people are able to work from home. This leads us to believe that the housing new construction will shift away from multifamily towards single family as people can move further out from cities.

Additionally, we are solidifying supply chain and strengthening our contingency plans, further developing our own work force, and investing significantly in R&D to bring relevant, innovative products to the post-pandemic market.

MH: Is the only certainty heading into early 2021 uncertainty? How do you forecast and budget for such uncertainty? (Or is it fairly certain at this point during the pandemic?)

CARNEVALE: Uncertainty has made forecasting for 2021 is as much art as it is science. We used an immense amount of data, both historical and forward-looking, and applied significantly more assumptions than we typically would.  We also included insights derived from some original research projects we commissioned.

MH: Without getting overly political, does a change at the presidential level (and congress) change the outlook for your company, if at all? (Infrastructure, regulations, green energy initiatives, etc.)

CARNEVALE: Yes. It is no secret that the Biden administration will have a very different policy positions than the Trump administration. Some of the expected changes may be helpful, and others will present challenges. Infrastructure legislation, for example, will be good for our industry. We know there will be a focus on green energy initiatives, and that too can be good for our industry if they are thoughtfully applied. The regulatory environment will become more challenging, but we are hopeful that the new administration will partner with manufacturers in developing new regulations.

Bradford White Corporation subsidiary recognizes the experienced executive’s contributions to the company and industry with promotion to senior VP and general manager post

Bradford White Corporation, an industry-leading manufacturer of commercial, residential and industrial water heating and storage applications, has named Rich Simons senior vice president and general manager of Laars® Heating Systems Company.

“I’ve often said that Rich is the epitome of a general manager, because he can bring insight and ideas to every facet of the Laars Heating System’s business,” said Bruce Carnevale, president and CEO of Bradford White Corporation. “His broad knowledge base, tireless work ethic and industry experience have made him an invaluable part of our corporate leadership team.”

Simons, a graduate of Case Western Reserve University and the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Business, joined Laars in 2016 as vice president and general manager. His responsibilities encompass the overall operation of the business as well as its strategic direction and financial results. Simons has more than 30 years of experience in the boiler industry.

“The opportunities that we are taking to deliver innovative customer solutions have never been better and we are excited about our future,” Simons said.  “It’s about our customers and our people, and as a member of the Bradford White family, I am very proud of what we have accomplished. I believe we embody a customer commitment that is second to none as one of the industry’s premier boiler manufacturers.”

In January, Simons was appointed to the board of directors of the American Boiler Manufacturers Association.

“When Rich arrived at Laars, his priority was to spend time with our customers and manufacturers’ representatives so he could truly understand their needs and learn about any challenges they were experiencing,” Carnevale said. “Under his leadership, the Laars team has brought new products to market in record time and implemented improvements across the major functional areas of the company.”

NCB-H Condensing Combi Boiler

Navien, Inc. announced three new innovations during their boiler virtual launch event on February 16. The three new products include the NCB-H condensing combi-boiler, NFC-H condensing fire tube combi-boiler and NFB-H condensing fire tube boiler.

Navien’s new NCB-H condensing combi-boiler series includes 5 models ranging from 160,000 BTU/H for DHW and 60,000 BTU/H for heating, to an industry first 210,000 BTU/H DHW and 150,000 BTU/H heating. The NCB-H uses durable dual stainless steel heat exchangers for heating and a separate flat plate stainless steel heat exchanger for DHW.

NFB-H Fire Tube Condensing Boiler

Advanced features on the NCB-H include 15:1 TDR for DHW and up to 11:1 TDR for heating, advanced controls with intuitive display, built-in advanced DHW recirculation controls, 2” venting up to 65’ and 3” venting up to 150’, common venting capability with up to 7 NPE tankless water heaters, cascade capability with up to 15 NPE tankless water heaters, field gas convertibility to NG high altitude (5,400 ft. to 10,100 ft.) or LP (up to 10,000 ft.) and a new DHW module with mixing valve and flow adjustment valve.

NCB-H is available to ship from Navien immediately.

NFC-H Fire Tube Condensing Boiler

Navien also revealed updates to their fire tube lines with the NFC-H fire tube combi-boilers and NFB-H fire tube boilers. Both the NFC-H and NFB-H now offer turndown ratios up to 15:1, powered connections for 3 zone pumps or 3 zone valves, easy to use Setup Wizard for improved installation, 2” venting up to 65’ and 3” venting up to 150’. The NFC-H also includes increased DHW performance with up to 210,000 BTU/H for DHW, offering up to 5.4 GPM at a 70-degree temperature rise. Both the NFC-H and NFB-H will begin shipping from Navien in April 2021.

Navien will host another virtual launch event focused on water heaters on March 16, 2021. Registration is still open for the event at navieninc.com/live. For more information on all products shown during Navien’s boiler virtual launch event, visit navieninc.com.