ECR International — meeting the needs of contractors

 

ECR International was founded in 1999 as a result of the merger between Dunkirk Radiator Corp. and Utica Boiler Companies, both of which were founded in 1928 by Earle C. Reed: The founder’s initials were taken for the newly formed entity. ECR designs, manufactures and distributes boilers, hydronic controls, oil furnaces, ductless air conditioning, PTACs and micro-combined heat and power products. The company goes to market under multiple brands and through multiple channels to provide a single source solution for its customers.

ECR has a core principle of developing and owning critical to successful product technology. For example, it believes it is the only North American-based residential company that designs, manufactures and assembles its own condensing boiler heat exchangers, ductless air conditioners and micro combined heat and power systems. Having the internal capability to develop world class technology puts it and its customers in charge of its mutual future rather than having its future dictated by suppliers whose primary attention is on European or Asian markets. Owning its own intellectual property has been invaluable in developing products to specifically meet North American contractor’s needs and applications.

Recently, Phc News spoke with Ron Passafaro, president and CEO of ECR International.
How did you get involved in the industry?

RP: I joined Dunkirk Radiator Corporation as national sales manager in 1989 after spending five years in the medical diagnostics industry with Abbott Laboratories. At that time, I would have never guessed that I would be in the HVAC business but, after 22 years, I’m extremely proud to say that I am. This is an industry of relationships, where your word and that of others still means something, and a handshake is the only contract you really need. That’s the way I was taught to do business in this industry, and I love it. Hell, even our competitors are good guys who make nearly as good products (Ha, Ha). I’m happy to sit at a corner bar sipping a cold one with a contractor and talking about his last tough install. That’s where you learn how to serve in this business, “belly to belly” we call it.

How can contractors benefit from installing your product (through quality, innovation, on-time shipping, customer service and satisfaction)?

RP: We are a professional trade business, and we are only successful by serving our distributor and dealer customers better than our competitors. That starts with all of us understanding our customers’ businesses so we can understand how to make a positive impact on the business. We always want to be working on tasks, projects and services that will make our customers more effective and profitable. If we do this for them, they’ll reward us with more business.

We build quality and time savings into our products from design to manufacture so that it costs less to install and service them. That’s why we have built in primary secondary piping on our new condensing boiler products; contractors can be sure the piping loop is correct, and it greatly reduces their material and labor costs. The same philosophy applies to why we factory wire and install LWCOs on water boilers, introduced the first oil boiler with a swing-out burner door, mount our oil furnace blower decks on slide rails and provide Schrader service valves on our ductless condensers. Make it easier and more productive for the contractor; they’re the ones that pay the bills around here.

Taking labor out of the basement and putting it in the factory where it is least costly and most consistent makes sense to us and our customers.

Any news/new products at ECR?

RP: We just released our new wallhung condensing boiler lines in June for our flagship brands Utica, the SSC and Dunkirk, the Helix VLT. These products incorporate our proprietary stainless steel heat exchanger designs and have significant installation timesaving advantages built into them. Our engineering staff has overcome some of the industry’s most troublesome challenges by designing a true self cleaning heat exchanger with a corrosion resistant flue collector that withstands the acidic transition environment between heat exchanger and flue. Our customers have responded very favorably to these products, and we are grateful to them, as it has resulted in our company’s most successful product launch.

Explain the freewatt system (installation, benefits, etc.).

RP: Freewatt is a micro combined heat and power product for hydronic or warm air systems developed by our joint venture, Climate Energy LLC of Medfield, Mass. It’s mini cogeneration. The T-stat calls for heat, and the natural gas engine engages and generates electricity; the waste heat from the engine is used to satisfy the first 12,000 Btu of heat. As heat load increases, the boiler or furnace supplements the engine generator.

The electricity produced is consumed onsite or, if freewatt power output is greater than onsite consumption, excess power is exported through the grid and spins the end user’s electric meter backwards. This power exportation is called net metering and earns the freewatt owner retail level credit, which typically negates half an annual residential electrical bill over the course of an operating year.
We were the first to introduce a 95% residential condensing boiler way back in 1996 and now we are the first in micro combined heat and power. It all goes back to a commitment to invest in the critical technology that drives our business and propels the industries in which we compete.

How do you sell efficiency, especially in this economy?

RP: All consumers want to get the most efficiency their budget will allow. Efficiency is a trade-off between first cost and operating cost; the importance of each is different for each consumer. We have customers at both ends of the efficiency spectrum, and they’re all important to us. We encourage our contractors to point out to consumers that it is more important than ever for homeowners to invest in high efficiency because, due to the economy, it’s likely they’ll stay in their homes longer. This provides them greater time to benefit from fuel savings and, when home buying returns to normal levels, future owners will be critical buyers looking for the best appliances in new homes. So, those end users who can upgrade to high efficiency should do so for their own near-term benefit and for resale value in the future.

Describe the advantages of high efficiency condensing boilers.

RP: The most obvious advantage to high efficiency condensing boilers is the fuel savings they provide. If we look a little further, however, there are many other advantages to the end user. Sealed combustion results in lower operating sound levels, modulating operation provides greater comfort and system performance due to load matching. Also, they’re smaller in footprint; that’s important too, as consumers want to increase the usable living space in their homes.

Describe the core products/services offered at ECR.

RP: We are predominantly a hydronic equipment manufacturing company that has added complimentary product lines through organic development and acquisition. Our boiler lineup includes product platforms for virtually every type of residential application. We expand our boiler offering to the light commercial market with water and steam boilers up to 3 MMBtu/hr capacities. We compliment our boiler lines with the Argo control line and Hot Line indirect water heaters to complete the hydronic system and fulfill our single source solution offering for our distributor and dealer customers.

Our Olsen and Airco oil furnace lines are a natural fit for us and our customers as these products are sold right alongside hydronics to the oil dealer. Our air conditioning products consist of EMI ductless air conditioning, which compliments our core boiler business, and RetroAire PTACs, which use the same technology as the ductless products. Our joint venture Climate Energy’s freewatt micro-combined heat and power products are the future of hydronic and warm air heating and keep us well positioned to continue leading in the industry.

How has ECR faced the struggling economy?

RP: When business gets very challenging, as it is in today’s world, we revert back to the fundamentals that have made us successful for 83 years. We are focused on the basics; trying to better understand how our customers are successful so that we can help them be even more successful with our products and services. We are introducing new products faster that not only provide end users with efficiency and reliability benefits but focus on taking labor out of the basement for our contractors. For example, our new wallhung boilers are the only boilers in the industry that are delivered from the factory with primary/secondary piping installed, wired probe type LWCO controls and controls that communicate in English text, not error codes. Doing this allows our contractors to be more productive, deal with employee education and turnover more easily and, ultimately, to be more profitable.

We believe that if we continue to provide contractors benefits like these across all of our product lines they’ll prefer ECR as their supplier.

How do you think ECR helps end users in struggling times? (rebates, training, education, reduced prices, etc.)

RP: We believe end users want efficiency, reliability and a fair price when they purchase an HVAC product. Reliability is the constant in the buyer’s “needs” column, no matter the customer type, product or price of the product being considered. Therefore, quality is always priority one, which reduces the cost of ownership and eliminates the surprise costs that no end user wants. Efficiency and price are linked, and the importance of each is individually driven. Our responsibility as a manufacturer is to provide choice in all categories of efficiency and price, which we do. We provide the most efficient boilers in the industry at 97% AFUE, which qualify for all available rebates for those customers seeking the top end. Likewise, we provide entry level efficiency products that are most cost effective when considering first price.

Do you deal directly with wholesalers? If so, describe the importance of the wholesaler- manufacturer relationship.

RP: ECR is a professional trades business; the only way our products get to basements is through wholesalers and, in turn, to contractors. Our wholesalers are an extension of our business; they add value to the experience of buying our products. I’ve heard others say that wholesalers only do three things: local inventory, delivery and invoicing. Fortunately for ECR, our wholesalers must be cut from different cloth, because they help us serve our mutual customer, the contractor. Our wholesale distributors are constantly adding value by promoting our products, hosting factory training events, providing assistance in job layouts. Many have technical staff on board to help contractors through problems. Wholesale distributors play a critical role in our business success, and we are fortunate to have many distributor relationships that, literally, span decades. We have some distributors that have been with us for more than 60 years: We’re very proud of that.

What is ECR’s presence globally?

RP: ECR has two manufacturing facilities in New York State: Dunkirk (heat exchanger and steel fabrication, furnace assembly) and Utica (corporate headquarters, assembly and central distribution). We have two joint venture companies: Climate Energy LLC in Medfield, Mass. (freewatt micro-combined heat and power products) and Ningbo Utica Fulton Co. in Ningbo, China, that manufacturers and sells boilers, controls and ductless air conditioning.