Another successful retrofit! This time at a residential building at 1529 S. State Street in Chicago! The building management contracted Anchor Mechanical to replace the domestic water booster pumps in this building, with a US Pump Triplex Booster System, including multi-stage vertical pumps, that are ideal for low-flow, high-pressure conditions. 

Since this was a residential high-rise, full of tenants who wanted the water back on as soon as possible, time for removing and replacing the system was limited to a 6-hour window, which made the project even more challenging. 

Anchor Mechanical automatically called Mechanical Equipment about this project, based on our past service and expertise. We supplied them with our US Pump Booster system, as well as an expansion tank and flexible connectors, for a complete system. Our products and exceptional lead times, along with our affordable pricing and engineered solutions, make us your “go to” provider for commercial or residential, mechanical and plumbing needs.

The building manager Terry, was delighted that the project was completed on time, went smoothly and his residents were HAPPY! If you need a booster system and accessories, or any other mechanical room products, please contact Mechanical Equipment for more information on how we can help design the right system for you!

We get involved with the coolest projects! Mechanical Equipment recently had the opportunity to sponsor a three-person welding team of high school students for the 2025 National SkillsUSA National Leadership and Skills Conference (NLSC). SkillsUSA is a development organization that helps students become skilled professionals, leaders, and strong community members.

The team we sponsored included Aric Abbott, Jaden Sommers and Lou Jensen (the grandson of our very own Dean Powrozek). The team participated in several local and regional competitions, successfully advancing to each level before finally reaching the national competition. They were required to fabricate a backhoe loader bucket with a seat. The attached photo shows Aric, Jaden, and Lou with their finished piece.

The three team members competed as juniors from Hampshire, Illinois High School and finished in 11th place out of a field of 40 teams! That’s quite an accomplishment for these young men, and Mechanical Equipment was proud to support them!

Consider a Thriving Career in the Trades

Training in the trades is an important element of education for our future generations. Too many classes have been eliminated in high schools that were once taught in “shop class.” The focus has shifted to “everyone needs to go to college for a four-year degree,” which has not served all students well. Frankly, not everyone wants to go to college, and it often has nothing to do with their level of intelligence—it has to do with their level of interest in academics.

We need to provide alternate avenues for careers in the trades for those young people who don’t want more than a high school education but still have a desire to pursue a career that offers them good benefits, great income, and future leadership and entrepreneurial opportunities. The trades can provide all of that and more! We encourage anyone in our industry or others to support, sponsor, and/or offer mentorship programs to any young student wishing to pursue a career in the trades!

For more information about our company or to ask us questions about a potential career in the Mechanical Equipment industry, give us a call at 800-355-7061. We enjoy supporting growth and future talent for our industry.

More About SkillsUSA

SkillsUSA is the #1 workforce development organization for students and America’s proud champion of the skilled trades. They empower students to become skilled professionals, career-ready leaders, and responsible community members. Representing more than 442,000 career and technical education students and teachers, SkillsUSA chapters thrive in middle schools, high schools, and college/postsecondary institutions nationwide. Their mission is accomplished through the SkillsUSA Framework of Personal Skills, Workplace Skills, and Technical Skills Grounded in Academics, which is integrated into classroom curriculum.

A vital solution to the ongoing skills gap—where more highly skilled jobs are available than skilled professionals ready to fill them—SkillsUSA has served over 15 million diverse, difference-making members since 1965.

Learn more about SkillsUSA here.

Have you heard of the Revolution Workshop? You should. They are an impressive organization making serious change creating more employment opportunities for communities of color and the acute talent shortage in the construction sector in the Chicago area. We were happy to be able to help on a project at their facility in East Garfield Park, IL.

Revolution Workshop’s is a nonprofit social enterprise that provides construction workforce development for unemployed or underemployed people in partnership with area businesses. Their mission is to deliver financial independence and careers through skills, hope, and resilience.

You can read more about Revolution Workshop below.

As part of their model, they train large groups of people on construction skills. They quickly realized that when there’s a classroom break and a large number of people, it strains the plumbing system. The facility has many bathrooms, but the system couldn’t handle the volume all at once. They needed higher pressure capabilities.

So, Ed Lichner, one of our Sales Engineers at Mechanical Equipment, was called in by Stantec Engineering, to assist them in the correct sizing of a booster system for the facility. His recommendation was for an AMT booster pump system and we also included an Elbi hydro-pneumatic tank, and Twin City Hose flex connectors. All three popular, high-quality brands that Mechanical Equipment represents. Chicago Area Plumbing was brought in as the contractors and the project was installed successfully.

For more information about these, or any of our other products, give us a call at 800-355-7061. We enjoy creating the specification for interesting projects.

More About Revolution Workshop

Revolution Workshop was inspired by a small group of skilled trades employers and workforce development leaders who were concerned by the lack of opportunity for minorities and especially the acute talent shortage in the construction sector.

Faced with a staggering 37% unemployment rate for Chicago’s black residents aged 20 to 24, they felt something needed to be done. 

In 2017, the group banded together to found Revolution Workshop, a unique incubator that would serve as a pipeline to the construction industry. Using best practices, the organization aims to uplift Chicago’s underserved communities by providing free training for jobs in the skilled construction trades.

We have another great client success story for you – this time it was with Ceroni Piping for a project at Mercy Hospital in Rockford, IL. As always, we pride ourselves on the decades of experience and knowledge our Sales Engineers have under their belt. For this project, their expertise definitely came into play.

Ceroni Piping in Cherry Valley, Illinois needed to install a hydronic, radiant fin-tube heating system in the new lobby of the hospital. The lobby was designed with custom-sized and curved fin-tube components, and the job had a very aggressive deadline. Our customer asked us for our expertise in recommending the right products and relied on us to ensure the measurements were correct for the curved window mullions in the lobby.

Dean Powrozek, one of our Sales Engineers, and a Union sheet-metal worker, excels in these situations, but this job was even more difficult than most. With most projects, we get called-in to measure once the walls are up. However, because of the aggressive schedule, and product lead-times, the contractor couldn’t wait and the materials needed to be ordered. Using his many years of experience, Dean laid-out the window mullion design in chalk on the floor, and was able to measure correctly so that every spliced connection lined up perfectly with the mullions for a more aesthetic look.

As you can see, it was tricky because we had to account for the curve of the wall in between the columns. The fin-tube needed to be designed, measured and a correct bill of materials had to arrive on time, based on chalk marks on the floor! No other company offers this level of service or expertise! Dean’s measurements were right on the money, the system was installed perfectly by the customer and the finished product, speaks for itself!

Sterling Commercial Hydronic products are the top of the line, and their engineers worked with us during the design stage, to assure a perfect fit and a fantastic looking, finished product. Ceroni Piping was able to meet their deadline in part, because of our service and expertise!

We are proud to represent Sterling, the leader in the industry with the most diverse and complete line of hydronic heating products. They are also the best choice for custom, finned tube applications, which was exactly what was needed for this project.

For more information about Sterling or any of our other products, or how our Team can help you with a custom project, give us a call at 800-355-7061.

We wanted to let everyone know that Taco is migrating their product tags from NFC technology to QR codes to make your life a little easier. This enhancement is going to be a great assist and time saver for everyone allowing you to access information you need, on the job site.

The new tag technology will allow you to easily access important product information by simply scanning the QR code with your mobile device. The transition will be a seamless experience for you.

How Does It Work?

The new tags are designed to provide you and your customers with vital product information. A quick scan will now bring all relevant details directly to your fingertips—no setup required!

When you scan the QR code, you’ll be linked to eLink®, Taco’s cloud-based service. This platform provides comprehensive, product-specific information, including:

• Order Information
• Product Specs
• Instruction Sheets
• Replacement Parts
• CAD/REVIT Files
• Technical Support
• Catalogs

• Sales Representative Information

The new QR Code accessibility with Taco products will begin in October 2024. Rest assured, existing Taco Tags utilizing NFC technology will continue to be supported, so you can still access information as before.

Taco Comfort Solutions is one of our top-selling brands and we are excited that they continue to make changes that make life easier for all of us – distributors, mechanical contractors, engineers, and end user customers.

If you have any questions or need further clarification about this product tag technology change, please reach out to your Mechanical Equipment Representative. We are happy to help.

The Challenge:

CGH Medical Center’s existing hot water system consisted of a leaking 2,000-gallon hot water tank, which was tasked with providing domestic hot water to the hospital’s laundry facility. Part of the hospital’s capital plan was to replace and expand their laundry machines, but they needed a dependable hot water solution to satisfy the newly added capacity, that more machines would offer them. Mechanical Equipment gave them the solution they needed!

The Solution:

We worked closely with our Patterson-Kelley engineers to provide a model “PK Compact” instantaneous, double-walled, steam-to-hot water generator.  Our P-K Compact eliminated the need for wasting money in a “Band-Aid approach”, trying to fix the old and leaking equipment. The additional benefit was the new P-K Compact hot water heater saved the hospital considerable space in the boiler room, allowing them to easily increase the needed capacity with additional washing machines. 

This small, Compact heater produces high hot water output at a closely controlled temperature, making it the ideal water heater for new or existing installations.

The Advantages:

The advantages of the P-K Compact system include:

• Saves valuable floor space
• No overhead room required for service
• Meets hot water requirements in most buildings without the need for additional hot water storage
• Performs equally well with steam, boiler water or high temperature hot water
• Improved valve performance and capacities, configurable to suit customer requirements

These Patterson Kelley instantaneous hot water heaters have a long history of successful use throughout Illinois and the rest of the country and are ideal for hospital applications that have existing steam heating systems. 

As with all Patterson Kelley products this compact heater is constructed to have a long life. The shell is constructed of solid 90-10 copper nickel, the premium corrosion-resistant material for potable water service, eliminating potable water contamination.

If you have an application where this product could improve service AND save money, contact Mechanical Equipment for more information regarding these steam-to-hot water instantaneous heaters, or any of our other Patterson Kelley boilers and equipment. See how we can help you successfully solve your hot water challenges. 

We are happy to showcase our line of Unfired Clean Steam Generators from Ace Heaters. They offer the best performance using high pressure steam and high temperature water to generate clean steam. They’ve been expertly designed for medical product sterilization, humidification, pharmaceutical manufacturing and research applications.

The ACE Unfired Clean Steam Generators are perfect for any large space or facilities needing fast and precise control of clean steam. They are engineered for efficiency and are ideal for use in industrial plants, commercial buildings, universities, and correctional facilities.

We recently visited the Ace Heaters factory to see the steam generators and other products, being fabricated. We were happy to see that they also use one of our top products, Taco, for their pumps.

What impressed us? The extremely high quality of hand-built product and the unit’s ability to generate high purity steam, with a very quiet operation. Also, the units are easy to install and program.

Ace Unfired Clean Steam Generators come in Vertical (HSGV), Combination (HSGC), and Horizontal (HSGH) configurations. All are available as high temperature water to steam, steam to steam, and thermal fluid to steam units. Check out these features and options.

Features:

• Fully controlled and insulated, ready to operate with level, pressure, and double safety controls
• All 316/L wetted surfaces on the clean steam side
• Integral steam separator produces dry steam
• Single point connections minimizing field installation costs
• Horizontal, combination and vertical configurations available
• Steam output pressures up to 150 PSI
• Fully modulating energy input
• Fully modulating feedwater input
• Steam, boiler water, thermal fluids, and high temperature water as the heat source
• Building management system capable via ModBus IP or built-in BacNet IP
• ASME B&PV Code Sec. VIII, Div. 1, U/UB stamped

Options:

• Timed bottom blowdown
• Blowdown cooler
• Skid mounting
• PLC panel
• Tube Material – Titanium, Duplex Alloys
• 18”-150# ASME B16.5 flanged and hinged manway
• Touchsafe/IP rated control panels

Want more information, download a brochure here.

Availability:

We are proud to represent the ACE line of products. So, contact us for more specification, solution design, and pricing on the new ACE Unfired Cold-Steam Generators.

We want to share another customer success story, that required our “above and beyond” customer service, to solve an issue that was threatening the successful completion of a major project for our customer.

The Chicago Botanic Garden needed a new radiant heat system installed in three of their existing, large Greenhouses:

• The Semi-tropical Greenhouse has average temperatures hover between 75- and 85-degrees Fahrenheit during the day, and the humidity is close to 30 percent.
• The Tropical Greenhouse has average temperatures between 85 and 95 degrees during the day and the humidity bumps up to close to 90 percent.
• The Arid Greenhouse where temperatures are hot and dry, around 80 degrees during the day, but can drop to 40 degrees at night and humidity is almost non-existent.

The Greenhouses have displayed hundreds of beautiful, fragrant and even rare plants from around the world, for more than 40 years. The Chicago Botanic Garden is also a popular attraction during the winter months, where visitors can go to continue to enjoy the greenery and dream about spring! The existing radiant heat system was old and inefficient so, it was important to get the new radiant heat system installed before the weather got cold, to keep the plants heated and healthy in their appropriate environment.

Radiant heat works great in a Greenhouse environment by supplying warm air to cold spaces, and distributing the heat evenly to keep the temperature levels stable for the plants.

Mechanical Equipment supplied our Sterling fin-tube product, model JVB S-24 for the project to our customer F.E. Moran, the installing contractor. The project was unique not only because of the sheer size of the space and amount of element and enclosure, but more so because per the design requirements, the aluminum enclosure was required to be anodized!

Sterling offers the industry’s most complete line of finned tube element and enclosure options whether for baseboard location or mounted anywhere else on a wall or ceiling.

Unexpected supply issues became a major concern, when the anodizing contractor, could not keep pace with the installation and the order was in jeopardy of not making the Garden’s deadline.

Our General Manager of Operations, Dean Powrozek jumped in to solve the issue and meet the customer’s deadline. We had Sterling bypass their anodizing contractor, and ship all of the enclosure to us. We sourced a local company to complete the anodizing in record time, and made deliveries as needed while storing the rest so it wouldn’t be damaged at the jobsite. We want to give a “shout-out” to Spectrum Aluminum Finishing. The job turned out beautifully. You should make a visit and enjoy the day at the Garden.

This job was a great example of having an issue arise from a place you least expect it. More importantly, it shows how the Mechanical Equipment team and Sterling, rises to the occasion and finds a way to solve problems and meet our customer’s needs.

If you have questions about finned tube enclosure or any other radiant heating systems, or if you have a challenging issue you need help with, give us a call. We are happy to utilize our decades of experience with customer service, to answer your questions and successfully complete your projects.

Sterlco is pleased to announce that they are back to having simplex units and valves in stock and ready for quick ship deliveries. Also, lead times on their custom units have been cut substantially.

Sterlco is currently leading the industry in being able to get products in your hands quickly!  

If you have any questions on Sterlco’s products or delivery times for both stock and custom, please give us a call at 800-355-7061.

The U.S Department of Energy (DOE) has announced $10 million to support the installation of energy efficiency extended product systems (e.g., combined electric motor, variable speed drive, and pump). The funding has been made available as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal which included more than $62 billion for the DOE to deliver a more equitable clean energy future for the American people.

What this means for you and your customers is that any Taco commercial pump covered by the DOE rulemaking, which carries a qualifying Variable Load (PEIVL) or HI Energy Rating, such as the Self-Sensing SFI, SCI, SKS, SKV pumps, is eligible to receive a rebate of $25 per horsepower (HP) up to $25,000 directly from the DOE. All pumps installed on or after October 1, 2021 are eligible and the incentive is paid directly to the owner of the mechanical system in which the pumps are installed.

Helping your customers apply for this incentive shows them how you are looking out for their best interests. And, if they don’t have an energy efficiency extended product system, now is the time to invest in one.

Pump Qualifying Criteria:

The $10 million will be available until the money has been distributed, so now’s the time to talk with your past and current customers and let them know of the incentive opportunity. It’s a great way to promote Self-Sensing pump sales, including the Oe package and the new Modulating Pump Controller (MPC), and the energy savings and system benefits they provide.

*Click here to learn more about the Hydraulic Institute’s Energy Rating program, including the pump savings calculator that allows a user to calculate life cycle energy and cost savings.

Here are some other helpful links you may need to take advantage of this opportunity:

DOE Rebate Application Portal

DOE Implementation Guidance

Taco SelfSensing Catalog

If you need help with system design, information on lead times, or placing an order, please give on our sales team a call at 800-355-7061.