Industry News

Noritz America, a leader in tankless water heating systems for over six decades, proudly introduces its newly reinvigorated, bilingual, self-paced training courses through its online Noritz University. The recently updated curriculum replaces the previous slide-and-voiceover presentation with succinct, self-paced video lessons in a modernized format designed to empower professional contractors with the knowledge needed to size, select, install, and maintain Noritz products confidently for their customers.

As part of Noritz’s commitment to ongoing innovation, the new online courses will be available free of charge and on-demand, allowing learners to progress at their own pace, anytime and anywhere. These courses are easily accessible through the Noritz University website from the comfort of a student’s home, workplace, or job site. Historically, the lessons have been available only in English; however, the new online courses will begin to expand Noritz’s Spanish library as part of their continuing emphasis on inclusion.

“At Noritz America, we believe that knowledge is the key to success,” says Noritz Executive Vice President-Sales and Marketing Jason Fleming. “We are introducing our online training courses as a powerful resource for our growing community of tankless water heating professionals.

“Our goal is to democratize access to information and education and equip our community with the skills and confidence they need to use our products effectively,” he continues. “By harnessing the power of online education in a modern video format configured to fit into a working tradesperson’s schedule, Noritz can make valuable training accessible to a wider professional audience than ever before.”

In celebration of International Data Center Day, Watts has announced the ‘Chill and Skill Data Center Cooling eLearning Challenge.’ This 6-week, eLearning campaign, running from March 20 to April 30, is specifically designed to educate industry professionals about Watts’ family of solutions designed for data center hydronic cooling systems.

Participants will have free access to a wide selection of eLearning modules, averaging just 8 minutes each, across seven key categories:

• Hydronic Cooling
• Fire Protection
• Intelligent Monitoring
• Plumbing, Hot Water, & HVAC
• Drainage
• Water Quality
• Continuing Education

Upon completing modules, learners earn tokens and tickets. Tokens are accrued and redeemed for a wide variety of Free lifestyle merchandise through the Watts Learn & Earn program. Tickets serve as entries into the 150^th Anniversary Sweepstake Drawings. As an extra bonus, upon completing 12 of the 147 available modules in this campaign, learners will receive a bonus: a 14 oz. 4-in-1 tumbler/cooler.

To participate, please register for your free Watts Works Online account at training.watts.com. Access is immediate and so are the benefits.

Strategic Investment Future-Proofs Manufacturing

A long-awaited expansion to Taco’s Fall River, MA, plant is underway. The $20+ million project greatly enhances and expands the manufacturer’s ability to build larger tanks, heat exchangers and a wide range of other products – while also enabling them to add capacity and reduce lead times.

Taco Comfort Solutions, based in Cranston, RI, began making plans for the plant expansion more than a decade ago. Groundbreaking began in early September ’23 and the project is expected to take about 18 months to complete.

“The expansion of Taco’s Fall River facility is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Taco team and our commitment to our customers,” said Cheryl Merchant, President and CEO, Taco Family of Companies. “The need for ASME certified fabricated products has grown tremendously as well as many facets of our market. When our customers asked us to increase our capacity to fulfill their demand, we said YES!  Our ability to innovate and grow with our customers and partners has been, and will continue to be, a key reason Taco has remained strong and innovative for 104 years,” noted Cheryl.

The Fall River plant’s previous footprint was 60,000 square feet. With the expansion, Taco is adding 52,000 square feet.

“After overcoming COVID and supply line setbacks, countless questions about details of the project, and through economic ups and downs, we determined that the time is right for this project,” said Anthony DeMoura, VP – Taco Fabricated Products Division & PIFA Foundry Operations. “The project is finally underway.”

For more than 100 years, Taco has been committed to designing and manufacturing innovative and dependable HVAC, plumbing and industrial solutions. Taco’s Fall River plant manufactures ASME Section VIII pressure vessels used in commercial and industrial heating and cooling systems.

“At Taco Fall River we design, fabricate and test both custom and standard plate heat exchangers, shell and tube heat exchangers, expansion tanks, air and dirt separators, hydraulic balancers and other specialized pressure vessels,” added DeMoura.

According to DeMoura, the plant was previously capable of constructing vessels up to capacities of 12,000 gallons (about 10’ w x 20’ h). Taco’s plant expansion will enable the fabrication of vessels up to 40,000 gallons, more than tripling current tank sizes. “We’ll have lifting capacity within the plant capable of lifting 60 tons. In many respects, we’re building the new facility around a massive crane system.”

World class custom engineering

Taco has grown to become a premier custom fabrication provider among global manufacturers. Their veteran team of engineers, welders, assemblers and customer support personnel carry an extensive wealth of industry knowledge, design logic and technical experience.

Customized variations of all standard designs are available. Some examples of custom projects include:

• Flash tanks
• Thermal energy storage tanks
• De-aerator tanks
• Clean steam generation
• Fully custom ASME Section VIII rated pressure vessels

According to DeMoura, the expanded plant will offer these capabilities as well:

• Plate rolling (up to 1 ¼” thick)
• Steel cutting (up to 5” thick)
• Stainless steel cutting (up to 2 ½” thick)
• Robotic welding of tank heads up to 60” in diameter
• Fabrication of vessels up to 12’ in diameter
• Unmatched welding precision and quality with over 50 ASME certified pressure vessel welders

Engineering capabilities

The engineering capabilities of Taco’s ASME design team extend even further, fulfilling custom requests to meet unique requirements. All phases of fabrication are handled by Taco. Their skill and expertise stem from a culture of pride and close attention to detail, resulting in industry-leading quality and customer satisfaction.

With ASME certified welders, certified testers and a National Board Authorized Inspector in-house, Taco offers the team and equipment needed to provide fast, flexible lead times and the ability to accommodate quick turnaround and emergency requests.

“This is exciting. Our exceptional welders, fabricators, machinists, and assemblers build some impressive products already. When this project is completed, we will be able to build even bigger and more complicated products for the global marketplace, and we are doing it right here in Fall River, MA, with some of the best tradespeople in the industry,” concluded DeMoura.