On-Demand Steam Boiler Solutions and Lifecycle Partnerships For the Packing and Processing Industry
The packaging and processing industry, a massive market, faces several unique challenges as it innovates and creates, providing businesses with packing solutions to suit their needs. One such challenge is the thermal processing required for high-volume packing and processing to meet demands. Whether the manufacturer’s needs lie in sustainability, safety, or efficiency, excelling in these areas requires eco-friendly energy solutions that are both cost-effective and reliable.
Packaging and packing are critical players in the economic market. From logistics and shipping to food-grade compliant packing in processing plants, it is a familiar element of every consumer journey. The packing industry supplies other manufacturers with the means to ship their goods cost-efficiently from factory to store shelf. They ensure the safety of valuable or hazardous products like medical supplies, electronic parts, or food products destined for a grocery store. So, when faced with challenges within the manufacturing chain, such a vital player in the supply chain must find a solution.
What Challenges Does the Packing and Processing Industry Face?
Rising Costs
As with many manufacturing industries, rising production costs drive the needle closer to the line. Inflation, escalating fuel prices, and blowbacks from the COVID-19 pandemic have created an unstable economic climate. And, although demand in the packaging industry isn’t necessarily falling, it has become increasingly necessary to find creative ways to keep up with orders while staying within price and budget. Using a steam supply that can be adjusted to suit your business’s needs is one way to keep costs low and efficiency high.
Attracting Skilled Workers
Further complicating the production line is the shortage of employees. Across the United States, finding skilled workers capable and willing to work within a manufacturing environment is becoming increasingly difficult. Many workers now prefer to work remotely and in seemingly safer environments, another consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. A shift in focus towards employee safety and hiring the right employees is essential to boosting the morale and productivity of current and new skilled workers. A hands-on approach from steam solution technicians means they work alongside boiler room employees to ensure they always feel safe and in control.
Manufacturing Floor Space
Another challenge this industry faces is the need for adequate floor space to house the conveyors, robots, and automated machines used in packaging manufacturing. As demand increases and processing lines are added, these machines occupy more real estate. A compact modular boiler system occupies a smaller footprint, so it won’t significantly impact the overall floor space, allowing manufacturers more freedom to increase capacity. And the modular boilers are designed for flexibility and scalability, so additional boiler units can be added to meet increased steam requirements as production grows.
Sustainability Concerns
Adopting sustainable practices to lower their environmental impact is a critical factor that every manufacturer, processor, and packaging plant must address. Increasingly, consumers are seeking more sustainable options in every element of their purchasing, and they’re willing to invest in “Greener” options. Environmentally-friendly labels (“Greenwashing”) are no longer enough for consumers seeking impactful changes in the methods used to manufacture their products or consumables. So a change is needed to the manufacturing process, the chosen packaging materials, and shipping methods. A system that prioritizes greener emissions, a lower carbon footprint, and reduced energy use without compromising on efficiency is the solution for a more sustainable future.
Miura’s Complete Solutions and Lifecycle Partnership Philosophy
A philosophy that begins with a need for a reliable energy solution and continues with a holistic response, guaranteeing a partnership with clients at every point in their journey, Miura is the gold standard in an all-encompassing steam solution package.
Our approach considers everything from the boiler room floor to the overall operations of our client’s business.
- We work with you to find a steam boiler solution that best meets your steam load requirements as your business grows. A one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t prioritize the continued success of a manufacturing line, so our in-depth research and understanding of our customer’s needs play a role in choosing the right steam solution. By understanding your average steam demand and how that changes as your steam needs fluctuate, our technical support team can recommend the right number of Miura boilers to install.
- Once the right steam boiler system is selected, we don’t install it and leave. Our technicians are on hand to ensure all your industrial steam boilers are set up to run as safely and efficiently as possible. We also don’t wait for something to break; we follow a “predict and prevent” approach, ensuring that minor issues in your boiler system never become significant problems.
- After installation, we never take our finger off the pulse of the steam boilers. Remote monitoring equipment through the Miura Connect web portal allows you and our Miura technicians to have a real-time view of connected equipment in the boiler room. The system provides health reports, and general and maintenance feedback, facilitating proactive responses to possible issues. Providing our clients with this data allows us to send safety alerts and also allows a quick response to prevent any expensive (or dangerous) disruptions to the steam boiler’s function.
Our systems and hands-on approach are designed to mitigate risks to our client’s employees or businesses. Boiler room and manufacturing workers can feel confident that their working environment is safe and maintained.
Miura’s Focus on Sustainability Principles
Supported by a safe and reliable system, our efficiency goals boost production sustainably, helping companies towards a low-carbon future.
In 2023, the United States is predicted to become the third-largest consumer of coal worldwide, following China and India, so the pressure is on to find low-carbon energy solutions that prioritize sustainability. Most industrial steam boilers rely on natural gas, propane, No.2 fuel, oil, or kerosene oil, and not coal as a fuel for generating steam. The results from burning these gases create noxious emissions such as nitrogen oxide (NOx), which is poisonous and incredibly harmful to the environment.
Miura has evolved its industrial steam boilers to limit harmful emissions and energy wastage. Our “low NOx out of the box” modular boiler systems can respond to fluctuating demands, burning fuel and producing steam only when needed.
The vertical water tube design means the flame heating the water into steam only travels about 3-5 feet while heating smaller amounts of water inside the tubes. Heat is used efficiently, and steam is generated quickly. In contrast, the flame in a horizontal firetube boiler needs to thrust 8-10 feet over multiple passes, requiring a more powerful flame to maintain heat transfer, ultimately burning more fuel while taking longer to heat and creating more NOx.
Additionally, Miura boilers include a mesh burner that encourages the flame to spread vertically and evenly. Temperature reduction correlates to lower NOx production, and Miura’s are designed to go as low as 9ppm, depending on the model. So, as we optimize fuel consumption and heat transfer through the boiler, we limit the volume of NOx produced by a manufacturing or packaging plant.
Miura’s Complete Steam Solution Supports You
Miura’s complete solution approach keeps your employees in your boiler room connected with our technicians. We’re hands-on, ensuring the smooth running of your operations while proactively preventing any expensive problems. Boiler room operators feel supported and safe with a comprehensive understanding of the boiler’s systems and how to monitor them.
We want to support you and future-proof your business as you continue to innovate and optimize, so we’ll conduct annual reports, data analysis, and examine market trends. We’re constantly optimizing our systems to ensure that our products and services give clients the best service with cost-efficient excellence.
We’re not just selling products. We’re building lifetime partnerships with our clients to ensure their boiler room needs are met safely and efficiently in the long term. Join us and benefit from Miura’s Complete Solutions and Lifecycle Partnerships!
To learn more about Miura and our products, contact us today.
