An Important Delivery in Madison

The boiler has landed! To create our insulation products, we start with wood chips, pressure, and steam. Sawmills will provide the chips; our ‘new’ boiler will provide the pressurized steam. Though this boiler is new to us, it had a very short previous life at a paper mill in Canada that recently closed. 

Finding a used piece of equipment in such great shape that matched our specifications is rare. It was welcomed news when the GO Lab team located and purchased this boiler and the auxiliary equipment required to run it at a bargain price.

“We found good, pre-owned equipment to install in our plant at an extremely reasonable cost—saving capital for other necessary infrastructure needs,” said Joe Clark, who manages mechanical and utilities support for GO Lab and worked for years at the Madison mill as the mechanical maintenance manager for Madison Paper Industries.

Receiving the boiler and getting it inside the mill was no small feat, as you can see in the accompanying photos.

“The boiler was, physically, one of the largest components we have ever brought into the mill,” said Clark. 

An overhead door to the basement of the mill had to be removed, and the opening enlarged, to be able to back the boiler in on a trailer. The boiler was then lifted from the basement level to the operating floor through a hatch. The hatch opening is 12 feet, 6 inches wide. Physically, the boiler is 14 feet high, 11 feet, 6 inches wide and 24 feet long. It weighs 30 tons. 

“Needless to say I had several nervous moments as the boiler was brought into the building and even had some doubts that it would fit,” said Clark. “Bancroft Contracting supplied the crew and the rigging to unload the boiler and did a great job. Our own Ralph Tranten was also involved and gave his normal outstanding effort!”