True Logistics Professionals – All In

Led by Director of Transportation Jeff VanderMass, the Victory Energy logistics team has years of experience across every facet of logistics support, ranging from holding Class A CDL licenses to rigging training from the NCCOO – the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators.  Logistics is an integral element in every project.  It is always forethought; never an afterthought ─ a true point of difference.

Using Internal Logistical Assets

Rather than relying solely on outside transportation companies, Victory Energy owns and maintains a fleet of equipment.  Many times, boiler deliveries are made by Victory Energy employees driving the rig.  It is all part of paying off on the company’s “concept to completion” promise of being with the project right to the delivery on site.   VEO has a personal interest in seeing the project through to completion.  It’s never left up to someone else or jobbed out.  It’s our product and we’re always behind the logistics of delivering it to the final destination.

A Solutions Mentality Drives Everything

Victory Energy boilers are shipped all over the world by every conceivable transportation method.  The company has two rail spurs that connect directly from the plant to the major railroad carriers – UP (Union Pacific) and BNSF (Burlington Northern Santa Fe).  Shipping boilers via rail car is increasingly more difficult and stringent where tight space constraints need to be addressed.   Having a great ongoing day-to- day working relationship with the railroad helps work through these challenges.  Many Victory Energy boilers are shipped by barge out of the Tulsa Port of Catoosa.  Stacking boilers on barges is not a job for the uninitiated.  There is no set way or one-size-fits-all mentality by which boilers are shipped.  It is solutions based that is always right for the project and the customer.

Going the Extra Mile

Victory Energy places GPS Impact Recorders on every shipment to enable real tracking for the product on its journey to the customer.  The recorder also provides feedback on how roughly or smoothly the product has been handled during the trip to the final destination.  It’s a value addition that demonstrates the care and commitment that Victory Energy takes in providing logistical support.

With each boiler that Victory Energy sells, every logistics consideration is factored in and done in-house and done right by a dedicated team of transportation and logistical experts that live and embrace the challenges of transporting boiler products.   Logistics is a way of life at Victory Energy.

For more information, click here.

About Victory Energy
Victory Energy is a single-source solutions provider for all types of industrial boilers; watertube packages, HRSG waste heat recovery solutions, firetube and solar powered units backed by superior service and a commitment to customer satisfaction. Victory Energy also offers custom steam boiler solutions through advanced technologies and state-of-the-art manufacturing.

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John Viskup, CEO
Victory Energy Operations

For years, boiler room experts were positioned at almost every plant.  They were the gurus who were subject level experts on all things boilers and were viewed as indispensable.  These influences are slowly exiting the boiler business through retirements and downsizing.  This resident knowledge is slowly slipping away and not being passed down to the next generation of boiler professionals.  Companies aren’t investing in talent and resources to work their boiler room operations.  They’re asking boiler manufacturers to assume more of the servicing and maintenance of their boilers.

The boiler industry has been good to many people who have worked in it.  It’s time that we give back and share our experience to infuse new enthusiasm for our industry with today’s young professionals.  It is truly the responsibility of anyone in an executive level position to leave their industry in a better place for the next generation.

Convincing young engineers, sales, and manufacturing professionals to enter the boiler business is paramount to future success.

We’re competing with many other industries to attract these young minds.  The benefit of working with what’s coming next with boiler products is vast and far reaching.  We’re a mature industry that is enjoying a renaissance.  It’s time for the next generation to be the impetus for driving the boiler business forward.

All of us need to take time and share our boiler knowledge.  Encourage young professionals to step up and shape where the boiler business can be in the future.  There is so much for them to learn.  Help them see what is truly great about boilers. At the same time, they’ll teach us things or convince us to do things differently and perhaps better.  Many people were directly influential in my career.  It is incumbent upon us to do the same with the next set of leaders that are working at our companies today. I’m enthusiastic about what this means for the boiler business.

Paying it forward is important to me.

It is one of the reasons why I’ve joined the Executive Board of Directors of the ABMA – the American Boiler Manufacturers Association – as Vice Chairman.  As an association, we need to continually create more awareness about all that is great about all things boilers.  I’m committed to seeing through an effort to ensure the future viability of this great business.

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No One Knows Your Product Better

Ask yourself, who truly knows more about the product? The strongest argument is for the OEM, based on the logic that the people who built it should be the people who fix it.  This is especially true when it applies to highly engineered industrial products that are complex to manufacture and require multiple parts to operate.  Victory Energy’s line of industrial boilers and HRSGs fall directly into this segment.

Victory Energy makes it a point to know your boiler systems and processes.  Long- standing service relationships have been established that extend to all spare and critical parts strategies that’s beneficial.  Keeping boilers operational and running at peak efficiency is what drives the Victory Energy End Market group.

An OEM Provides Expert Guidance

Having a well-thought-out spare and critical parts strategy is fundamentally important to avoiding unplanned shutdowns.

Victory Energy views its customer relationships from a “customer for life” viewpoint.  With competitive pricing and expert knowledge, you’ll have the confidence in knowing you have the correct part and the right solution.

Your OEM Is Your One-Stop Shop

Instead of calling three or four distributors for different parts, wasting, often critical, time and resources, it only takes one phone call to Victory Energy.

We have tremendous buying power with parts manufactured for use in its boiler systems.  We can expedite product where distributors normally can’t push the manufacturer.  We can make sure you have the right part, with the right fit when you need it most.

There is a place for OEM’s in the procurement of spare and critical parts.  It must include a customer- centric mentality that is all about keeping their products operational and contributing to production and revenue gains.  It’s an approach that customers are increasingly looking to Victory Energy to provide.

Find out more about spare parts!

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According to IBISWorld, the industrial rental business is expected to top out at $33 billion in 2016, with a strong 5.1% growth year over year.  The American Rental Association forecasts the business to be close to $50 billion by 2019.

There are many drivers behind the need for equipment manufacturers to have a well-defined rental program.  Many companies face unpredictable work backlogs and projected business activity levels which have resulted in a general unwillingness to commit to equipment purchases.  Others are looking for immediate answers to ramp up to meet demand and can’t afford to wait out the production lead times for new equipment.  Federal mandates like Boiler MACT and the Clean Power Plan are increasingly driving the requirement for short-term rental equipment.

At Victory Energy, the industrial boiler rental business unit is uniquely aligned to enhance the value of each and every customer relationship.  Customers have a wide variety of needs for rental boilers – working through plant shutdowns, expansions, or adding temporary steam to enhance productivity and output.  The need is often immediate and unexpected.  It is critical to have an inventory that meets user requirements when and where they are needed.  That is the basis upon which the Victory Energy industrial boiler rental business was conceived and built.

Renting industrial equipment gives users the chance to “trial” a product without committing to a long-term product solution.  They see first-hand how the product performs and the way in which the company responds from a customer support standpoint.  The percentage is high that, based upon favorable impressions, a rental customer becomes a new equipment buyer.  It is often the path to a long-term relationship.

You can’t be in the rental business in a small way. While a vibrant rental business represents another revenue stream that continues to pay off over time, it can’t be taken lightly.  Experienced people that are fully versed in the nuances of the rental business must be employed to oversee the business, rather than having it be another responsibility of already overburdened sales people.  Walter Heussmann heads up the rental business for Victory Energy, having over two decades of experience in the rental boiler segment. The company has made a significant year- over-year investment in the rental business offering to continue to build a robust fleet of boilers – business quarter in and business quarter out.  This includes developing distributor relationships strategically located across the country to bring Victory Energy rental boiler inventory closer to customers to mitigate shipping costs.  To be ultimately successful, a rental business offering must always be viewed as forethought rather than an afterthought.

For more information on Victory Energy’s industrial boiler rental programs, visit Rental Boilers

The post Renting Vs. Owning An Industrial Boiler: The Case for Working Together appeared first on blog.victoryenergy.com.

Enter the Dry-back Boiler

At Victory Energy, product line extensions are driven based upon unmet customer needs or from a direct request to get into the business.  Such was the case with the recent announcement that Victory Energy has entered the dry-back boiler business.  For years, customers asked Victory Energy to get into the business based upon having firsthand experience with the company’s line of wet-back firetube products.  The market timing was deemed right as other mature competitive firetube manufacturers began to fade away and customers noted a drop off in service and support from others.  It’s a classic case of where the market dynamics and audience desires intersected to create a market opportunity.

Extension and expansion come with significant investment in people, products, and processes.  Too many companies try to accomplish this with little to no budget allocated to the effort. It is product extension for the sake of product extension.  If done correctly, the extension creates several new revenue streams.

Dry-Back Boiler with Cutaway

By becoming a full-line firetube manufacturer, with both dry-back boiler and wet-back boiler offerings, Victory Energy is making a significant investment in the manufacture of firetube boilers in our Cushing, OK facility.  An entirely new sales force of independent sales reps who specialize in having relationships in the commercial world has to be built.  Product and project management talent is being recruited.  The market may have the desire and dictates the need for a new product source, but they still expect performance.  That is the ultimate decision criteria.  Just because you say you’re in a market does not make it so.

Extension into new markets is a hallmark of what Victory Energy is all about.  Three of our latest product extensions and introductions were driven directly from customers asking us to enter the market.  After years of making tremendous industrial boilers, Victory Energy made the decision to manufacture Vision burners.  The perspective of many customers was that it is a natural extension to be in the burner business.   The same holds true for greater emphasis on rental boilers as more operations require more steam on a temporary basis.  The market spoke and Victory Energy listened and responded with product extensions that delivered on the need.  Always listen to the voice of the customer.

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As its name alludes to, Heat Recovery Steam Generators take the heat that would otherwise go unused and generates steam. As exhaust heat leaves a gas turbine it enters the HRSG. When the hot exhaust enters the HRSG, additional burners are used to further heat a series of water tubes, which generate steam. HRSG’s can be configured to provide saturated or superheated steam from 5,000 PPH to 500,000 PPH in a single modular system.

The internal workings of Heat Recovery Steam Generators

HRSG’s are ideal for applications which can benefit from additional steam to supplement large demand swings. When the price of electricity reaches a point to justify the additional operation of a GT-HRSG, the unit is brought online to satisfy the uptick in demand. When the additional steam generation is not cost justified, HRSG’s can be outfitted with diverter valves to regulate inlet flow. This allows the gas turbine to stay in operation if there is no steam demand, or if the HRSG needs to be taken offline for routine maintenance.

GT-HRSG’s add a great deal of flexibility to power plants. They allow plants to utilize waste heat when it makes sense for them. Without an HRSG, in times of peak demand, power plants are missing out on gains that could be realized if an HRSG was in operation at their facility.

How do I get started?

We realize that Heat Recovery Steam Generators will need to be cost justified with top management in your organization before your project can truly begin. Let us help you in this justification. Call Victory Energy to speak with an industry leader in steam solutions: (918)-274-0023. We know the questions to ask we will help you make your case for the justification of an HRSG at your power plant. For more information about GT-HRSG’s visit victoryenergy.com

Author: Eric Coale

Eric is an experienced B2B writer with a focus in process and industrial utilities. His past experience includes industrial steam boilers, modular process systems, pilot plant development, packaging system automation and custom machines. He is currently a contributor to victoryenergy.com, www.epicmodularprocess.com, and www.epiccustommachines.com.

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Here are three reasons Victory Energy’s Combustion Solutions make sense for you.

• A custom fit, for a custom engineered boiler. The customer always wins when it comes to options. More options allow for a greater, more personalized fit and the right combustion system for that particular boiler’s needs. Victory Energy will continue the wonderful relationships with suppliers to offer all of the burners it’s always carried and add the option of the Vision^® Burner to its arsenal. These options will make sure their customers have the right burner for the right combustion system, every time.

• A single-source offering, from the company you know and trust. There’s nothing like being able to look a person in the eye and know that this person, with a name, will be taking care of your combustion needs. Customer experience is enhanced by the relationship.  Going forward with combustion solutions means that there is more Victory Energy content in Victory Energy products. As your company grows, and your industrial boiler needs change, Victory Energy will be able to step in seamlessly and augment your system to meet the growing demands.  It pays off the claim of being truly vertically integrated by keeping more product content manufactured under the roof of Victory Energy.

• Combustion solutions create another opportunity to satisfy all of our customers’ needs. Victory Energy is the boiler specialist. The customer isn’t really looking for a boiler. They’re looking for energy, heat and/or steam. Industries from pulp and paper and chemical processing, to oil and gas refining and power and utilities are looking to satisfy their industry needs. Through Combustion Solutions, Victory Energy now has more tools to offer its customers so they can serve their own industry and trust Victory Energy with all of their industrial boiler system needs.

Combustion Solutions is as right for the customer as it is for Victory Energy.

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At Victory Energy, our PMs are vital to our success. Our industrial boiler products and systems we supply are extremely complex and require the PM to be familiar with technical and engineering aspects of a given project.  We’ve found that no two project managers are the same from a working style and customer approach.   However, there are attributes that are common in the best.  These skills should not waver from project to project.  The following are four performance attributes that Victory Energy views as essential attributes for determining what to look for in a project manager.

Absolute Customer Empathy

Customers need to feel as though their project manager is truly in it with them.   With considerable capital being allocated to a project, the stakes are high, with even greater pressure to deliver.  Project managers must be empathetic with whatever the client is facing.  It goes beyond the axiom of “the client is always right.”  It means fixing a problem immediately and letting customers know you’ve got their back.

Mutual Respect and Confidence

The sheer number of people with whom project managers interact across a project engagement is staggering – engineering, sales, manufacturing.  That’s just internally!  Being respected is paramount – from both internal stakeholders and the customers.   The best project managers are respected based on their performance in solving problems or better yet eliminating a problem from ever occurring.  Exuding a sense of confidence is resident in the best.

Managing Client Expectations

It’s been said that the best project engagements are those where client expectations are managed rather than permitting client expectations to manage the project.  It is a balance that is delicate to navigate. The management and ranking of priorities almost always ground the ultimate success of the project.  The key to this open and clear communication.

Intimate Customer and Project Understanding

Project managers who strive to be the best at what they do are true students of their client’s business. Knowing the client inside and out helps build trust and confidence.  Having total project recall demonstrates that they’re totally invested in project success.

The goal is to identify how to recognize these attributes in future project management hires.  It also can help current project people to implement these characteristics in their day-to-day project management activities

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Savvy marketers like Victory Energy are realizing that the aftermarket is a way to enhance their operation beyond spare parts sales and the occasional service call. Increasingly, OEM’s are using their aftermarket operations to view and act on trends and market insights to develop new products.  At Victory Energy, it is the end-user driven “End-Market” that is being primed for growth with diverse offerings. The development of the Victory Energy Genesis® High Temp Thermal Fluid Generator (HTHW) was predicated directly on market need and user feedback.

Product development is being driven out of ideas generated by end-market requirements that have an extremely tight demand cycle.  The nimbleness of an aftermarket group is ideally suited to serving this niche.  It’s a game-changing paradigm that Victory Energy is embracing.

Making a commitment to the end-market needs to go far beyond just spare parts and overhauls.  As plant operations are forced to get by with fewer people resources, the burden of service is shifting to OEM suppliers.  Many are not prepared to deal with this responsibility.  It means having qualified people on board who can be sent out at a moment’s notice.  Having spare parts that are stocked and actually available to the customer’s stringent requirements, not to the needs of the manufacturing operation, is a mandatory.

Rethinking an end-market strategy calls for viewing your “aftermarket” business as not only being any and all activities after the product leaves the Victory Energy plant floor but also broader opportunities to offer solutions through custom engineered products for client needs as well as services on boilers manufactured by other OEMs.  Every interaction needs to be part of the end-market engagement strategy.  Victory Energy’s approach is from Concept to Completion, ensuring that customers and their boilers are well cared for.  Operator training at start-up is as important as the delivery of the boiler itself.  Preventative maintenance programs ensure continual operation of the boiler without interruption.  At Victory Energy, this is all part of the product brand experience.

People are the component that ultimately drives the success of an aftermarket program and the company itself.  VEO end-market people are the face of the company, who often times deal with the tough issues on the ground at the product installation.  They must be great listeners and have a strong sense of conviction.  The same holds true of the business leaders.  The end market must be embraced as a fundamental core element of the business.  The end-market – it makes good business sense.

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The EPA has a set of reconsiderations in front of them, primarily from the industry, regarding potential changes to the current Boiler MACT rules dealing with the definition and timing of start-up and operation.  Originally, the EPA was expected to rule on these reconsidera­tions at some point during the summer, but this may not happen until later in the year or early 2016.  It might not even occur until after the January 31, 2016 compliance date has passed.  This change is based on the significant emphasis being placed on the Clean Power Plan by the administration.  Boiler MACT is being pushed behind this initiative.

Recently, the Supreme Court ruled against the EPA regarding the Clean Air Act.  The EPA rule was slapped down because the agency claimed that it need not concern itself with cost considerations. The Supreme Court left the window open for how the EPA could determine costs, and settling the cost issue will definitely be the EPA’s first order of business in revision.  What effect this will have on Boiler MACT, if any, remains to be seen.

The majority of companies are forging ahead with their testing, performance plan development and compliance initiatives as though nothing will change, and this is the best practice model to utilize in your plant.  Some are working toward submitting all the required data and testing to receive a year-long extension.   These requests must be submitted 120 days in advance of the January 31 date, which  is only three months away.

Resources for compliance plan development, stack testing and environmental consulting firms are extremely tight.  There is a tremendous amount of paperwork and record keeping that goes along with building the case for being in total compliance with Boiler MACT.   A lot can potentially change over the next seven months, but the best plan is to have a full compliance plan and methodology to prepare for whatever direction the EPA may take.

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