Fulton Limited has celebrated 50 years of manufacturing heat transfer solutions in the UK by hosting a ceremony and party at the M-Shed in Bristol for distributors, dignitaries and employees past and present.

Established in Bristol in 1966 and initially manufacturing a range of vertical tubeless steam boilers primarily for the laundry and dry cleaning market, Fulton Limited is today an important manufacturing base in the corporation’s global network that also includes production facilities in the USA, Canada and China.

Ronald and Bramley Palm (the son and grandson of Lewis Palm, Fulton’s founder) from Fulton’s parent company in the USA flew in to attend the celebrations and, amongst others, were joined by former managing director and co-founder of Fulton Boiler Works, Ian Davidson, and former sales and marketing director Gordon Bareham, who were both asked to take to the floor and give speeches.

Congratulating employees past and present on their achievements over the past 50 years, Fulton Limited’s managing director Carl Knight says the company’s Bristol-based manufacturing and design facility makes it possible to design, engineer and manufacture products more efficiently and assemble completed units for whenever and wherever they are needed for domestic and export customers.

The achievements were echoed by Bramley Palm, CEO of the Fulton Group, who added that, with a pride in workmanship that is second-to-none, Fulton’s UK facility has been responsible for designing and manufacturing some of the corporation’s highest quality steam boilers and heat transfer systems. “The company has a solid reputation with great products and many more on the way,” says Bramley “and we’re looking forward to our future with the UK facility!”

During his speech on the day, former sales and marketing director Gordon Bareham says: “I joined Fulton in the early 1990s as the company was going through major changes in every department and further centralising its operations in Bristol. This meant building a new office block and investing in plant, machinery and an extensive mezzanine floor for storage and production offices at the former Broomhill Road facility. This was real proof of the owners’ commitment to the future of Fulton in the UK; and was quickly followed by the adoption of the ISO9001 Quality Assurance standard, with the British Standards Institute rating Fulton as an excellent example of a specialist manufacturer following and meeting the standard.

“However, perhaps the most progressive change for Fulton at that time – and a first for any UK-based steam boiler manufacturer – was the company’s move from simply manufacturing steam boilers, to designing and building skid-mounted and pre-fabricated packaged plant room heat transfer solutions, some of which didn’t even feature a Fulton boiler! While a steep learning curve for every department, Fulton succeeded and I’m proud to have played a part in what was a very important transition for the company.” says Gordon

For the company’s dignitaries, distributors and former employees, the celebrations started with a tour of the current Bristol manufacturing facility which, on the day, housed Fulton Limited’s largest ever plant room build featuring two of the company’s fuel-fired FB horizontal boilers.

Summarising, Gordon Bareham goes on to say that ten years ago, he organised the 40th Anniversary celebrations at the old facility in Broomhill Road and has fond memories of that day. “Today, when I see the magnificent new facility and the ‘monster’ plant room in build, together with the lavish celebrations, it is clear that Fulton has made great progress in the last ten years!”

Opened in September 2015, the £81m Diamond building is the University of Sheffield’s largest ever investment in learning and teaching. It is home to students from its Faculty of Engineering and over its six floors, provides teaching facilities, library and IT services and state-of-the-art specialist engineering laboratories, including a clean room, a virtual reality suite and a project workshop.

The Diamond is a multi-disciplinary engineering teaching space, utilised by all seven departments and three interdisciplinary programme areas. Of the many disciplines taught at The Diamond – from materials science and aerospace to traditional mechanical engineering – the University’s bio-engineering degree is an innovative and technology-driven subject that uses engineering techniques to analyse and solve some of the most important questions in biology and medicine today.

For this undertaking, the bio-engineering department required a source of low- and high-pressure steam and, having looked at numerous solutions and manufacturers from the UK and Europe, approached Fulton for advice and a solution.

Low and high pressure steam is used by the department for process control in the laboratory-scale Solaris bio fermenters. These are used to produce a variety of single-cell organisms that are used to break down cells, extract DNA and look at protein extraction and expression. High pressure steam is used for vessel sterilisation to ensure that both the vessels are bacteria-free and ready for the next broth batch.

Commenting for the University of Sheffield, The Diamond’s technical operations manager, Dr Stephen Mason says: “A method of raising steam wasn’t considered as part of the building’s original specification so we started looking at laboratory steam generators, but couldn’t find a solution to provide the mass flow rate required for the faculty. It therefore became obvious that we needed some fairly serious steam-raising equipment and started looking at alternative boiler systems.”

Having dismissed steam generators, Stephen and his team looked at fuel-fired steam boilers but, with their requirement for ancillary equipment, these ‘traditional’ systems would have taken up too much of the laboratory’s valuable space and also weren’t deemed compatible with the building’s existing infrastructure. Additionally, with steam load only being required during teaching sessions, it was essential that a system could be powered-up and operational with 30 minutes and shut down again within just a few hours.

So, the University’s operations team started looking at numerous alternatives from manufacturers in the UK and Europe and eventually opted for a bespoke, skid-mounted EFS electric steam boiler system from Bristol-based Fulton Limited.

“With the search for a suitable source of steam for the bio-engineering laboratory having taken longer than we had hoped, our principal performance requirement had moved from output and size, to lead time.” says Stephen. “And having opened discussions with manufacturers in early December, Fulton was the only supplier able to survey, design, deliver and install a bespoke system within the three-month timescale required of the University.”

To make The Diamond an integral part of the city centre and allow visitors to watch students studying, a large proportion of the building façade is glass and the plant room (pilot plant) within it also surrounded by a glass partition. Because the Fulton EFS electric flash steam boiler was placed within the laboratory and therefore on display to students and visitors alike, the system was skid-mounted with a blowdown vessel that was housed in an identical cabinet to the boiler. The system was then delivered to site and installed within the self-contained, glass-fronted pilot plant, which also housed the Solaris fermenter.

With the boiler system installed on the ground floor and located almost at the point-of-use for the laboratory, all safety and planning aspects were discussed with, and solved by Fulton, with excess steam from the system being vented to roof-level via convoluted risers.

Having successfully resolved the planning and health and safety aspects of the installation, Fulton was also tasked with discussing the fermenter’s requirements for process steam with Solaris, the Italian manufacturer.

“Having no first-hand knowledge of fermenters or steam raising equipment, the University was delighted when Fulton took the lead on discussing its conceptual and detailed designs with Solaris, as the two companies were able to ensure that its systems worked seamlessly together.” says Stephen.

Fulton’s four-model EFS range has been designed specifically to deliver the short period/high demand steam loads that are typical of laboratory applications. The fully-automatic and self-contained steam boiler range incorporates an integrated feed water tank and feed water pump and provides short duration steam pulses at steady pressures. The EFS is able to meet fluctuations in steam loads and meets short-term peak flow rates of a typical steriliser cycle.

EFS boilers are designed to reduce entrainment of water droplets to a minimum and, as a result, produce high quality, contaminant-free steam. They are also quiet, clean and efficient and are protected with a fail-safe control system to ensure trouble-free operation in medical environments.

Working from a 400V 3ph 50Hz electrical supply, the University of Sheffield’s boiler system was designed by Fulton to BS1894 Class 2 and PED EC/97/23/EC and included an EFS54 automatic carbon steel electric flash steam boiler, rated at 86kg/h (F&A 100°C). This was skid-mounted with a Fulton model BDV2 blowdown vessel was constructed and certified to BS5500 Cat. 3.

Steam is often seen as a traditional source of indirect heat for brewing and distilling processes but, with the recent explosion in micro-breweries and resurgence in craft brewing, the regulations and additional ongoing investment required for running a pressure-based system often adds too much cost when considering steam as a heat transfer solution. So when Rebellion Beer Company was looking to replace its ageing steam boiler system, they turned to two of the UK’s major thermal fluid specialists for help.

Established in 1993 by two school friends from Marlow, Rebellion Beer Company is a medium-sized micro-brewery that uses traditional brewing methods and natural ingredients to produce four million pints of beer from its Chiltern Hills-based brewery every year.

Having secured a new 20-year lease on its premises, and as part of a three-stage development plan for the business, Rebellion’s Mark Gloyens decided that an upgrade to some of the company’s original brewing equipment was required and, with its steam boiler reaching the end of its operational life, he started looking at options for new heat transfer equipment.

“This was the first time we had approached thermal fluid system specialists for a project of this sort and, having met with two of the UK’s main suppliers to discuss the project, we were impressed with Fulton’s enthusiasm and interest in getting involved with what turns out to be one of only a handful of brewery-based thermal fluid heat transfer projects in the UK.” says Mark.

Explaining the potential energy savings, Mark says that Fulton’s new FT-C 240 vertical coil thermal system should save money on the company’s energy bills as it is possible to easily turn the heater on and off as required, and with minimal heat-up time. In contrast, the old steam-based system needed to be turned on at the beginning of the day and left running regardless of the demand for steam.

The new system also provided value-for-money, as thermal fluid heaters are non-pressurised systems and therefore not subject to the costs of running a system under the pressure regulations. For example, thermal fluid heaters use specialist oils as heat carriers and operate, at atmospheric pressures, up to 300°C. To gain a similar operating temperature from traditional water- or steam-based systems would require a pressure of 85 bar. And while Rebellion Beer Company prefers to operate its thermal system at lower temperatures of around 135°C to ensure a quality product, for many processes where high process temperatures are required, thermal fluid heaters are an ideal source of heat.

For Rebellion, the system is also much simpler than a steam solution and was therefore less expensive to set-up and maintain. Additionally, Fulton’s FT-C thermal fluid system is more compact than the original steam-based system, which has freed up much needed space for other valuable process equipment.

Commenting for Fulton, Doug Howarth explains that unlike steam, thermal systems provide useable temperature with very little pressure and a variety of cost savings should therefore be expected. The additional control provided by thermal systems also allows multiple, easy and accurate temperatures throughout a single system that can also include cooling. There are also no freezing hazards, they provide rapid start up and shutdown with minimal heat losses and there’s no requirement for blow down or condensate losses.

“The whole life costs for thermal systems can also be cheaper because they require fewer insurance inspections, which minimises production downtime and shut down periods. There’s also no requirement for water treatment or chemical dosing, which leads to zero waste disposal and minimal maintenance costs.” says Doug.  

Fulton’s thermal fluid heat transfer solution is now used throughout Rebellion’s brewing process. From the brewhouse, where liquor (water) is heated to 66 degrees for the mashing-in process and wort is boiled with hops for 90 minutes; to heating the brewhouse and fermentation tank CIP system.

Fulton’s highly-efficient FT-C thermal fluid boiler offers a compact, fuel-fired, 4-pass heater design capable of operating at temperatures up to 345°C. The system is designed to provide high-fluid velocities and low-film temperatures for improved longevity. The system’s compact footprint also means it could be skid-mounted, accommodating ancillaries such as circulating pump, expansion tank and related pipework, to minimise the floor space required for installation.

Summarising, Doug Howarth says that whilst the company is known as a reliable source of multi-fuel-fired steam boilers, Fulton is also synonymous with heat transfer solutions and produces an unrivalled range of thermal oil and hot water solutions. And because Fulton offers a complete range, they are well placed to offer customers an unbiased review of their heat transfer requirements.

For further information on its thermal fluid systems, including the FT-C vertical coil, FT-N vertical electric and FT-HC horizontal coil heaters,call Fulton on 0117 972 3322, email sales@fulton.co.uk or visit Fulton’s new-look website at www.fulton.co.uk.

With the company already launching a new, radically-designed vertical steam boiler and celebrating 50 years of manufacturing in the UK in 2016, Fulton could be forgiven for concentrating its efforts on these two major events. But, as sales and marketing manager Doug Howarth explains, following an extensive review of its existing aftercare fleet, Fulton has secured eight new commercial vehicles, enabling the company to provide a more flexible approach when it comes to managing resources and reinforcing its reputation as a world class aftercare provider.

“The new fleet has the potential to provide substantial benefits for Fulton’s customers. Six new VW Caddy Maxi service vehicles means the aftercare teams are now able to follow optimum timetables and provide a rapid response to emergency needs, which in turn reduces downtime by getting equipment back in service.” says Doug.

Additionally, the aftercare team has also taken delivery of two new long-wheel-base VW Transporters, which enables small boilers and energy-saving products including modulating burners, TDS energy recovery systems and economisers, to be delivered to site and installed or retrofitted on the same day.

The eight new vehicles will also enable on-board stock holding to increase, which will in turn increase the already high first-time-fix ratio that Fulton is acknowledge for.

Additional investment in in-house software and field-service tablet devices has also streamlined workloads and provided an improved monitoring system of Fulton’s network of highly-skilled engineers. Integrated GPS tracking of the vehicles also means Fulton can identify the location of its vehicles, which has improved call-outs by cutting the time it takes for its engineers to reach customers in need of emergency appointments.

For further information on Fulton’s service packages, call +44 (0)117 972 3322, email service@fulton.co.uk or visit www.fulton.co.uk.

In the year that sees the company celebrate 50 years of UK manufacturing in the UK, Fulton is also launching its latest heat transfer solution, claiming that the all-new, next-generation SRT Series is the most radical change to vertical steam boiler design for nearly 70 years.  

Commenting for Fulton, sales and marketing manager Doug Howarth says: “This will be quite a year for Fulton. Not only are we celebrating 50 years of manufacturing in the UK, but we’re also launching a great new heat transfer solution that we believe to be the most radical change in steam boiler design since we pioneered the vertical tubeless boiler in 1949!”

By adopting a systems engineering approach to design and using its own ‘PURE’ technology, Fulton’s SRT Series challenges the heat transfer and mechanical design principles of traditional vertical steam boilers.

With over 30 worldwide patents pending, the new vertical boiler’s spiral-rib tubeless design is a world first that has enabled Fulton to create a compact boiler with the industry’s smallest footprint. In fact, compared to the equivalent 30hp model from the company’s renowned J Series, the SRT Series is an impressive 40% smaller.

Using a combination of in-house modelling with computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis, the ‘PURE Optimised’ design of the SRT Series makes the new boiler durable and reliable in operation; and with up to 6:1 turndown and featuring a fully-modulating burner, the SRT also boasts industry-leading performance with an 84.5% Gross (93.5% Net) thermal efficiency and 99.5% steam quality from a fully-water-backed design with no refractory.

The SRT Series features patented, self-compensating stress relief architecture that virtually removes longitudinal stress and deflection absorption. And, to comply with anticipated EU regulations, the boiler’s combustion technology has also been completely reconfigured, with the mesh burner and furnace designed as a single component, resulting in ultra-low NOx emissions of less than 40mg/kWh.

Fulton has further reason to celebrate, as 2016 sees the company celebrate 50 years of UK manufacturing, with the Bristol-based facility now an important design and manufacturing base in Fulton’s global network, which includes production facilities in the USA and China.

As Doug Howarth explains, Fulton concentrated on steam boiler manufacturer for many years, but the company is now a major solutions-based provider specialising in fully-packaged, ready-to-ship steam, hot water and thermal fluid heat transfer systems.

“We put great emphasis on providing sales and application advice and a full commissioning and after sales service, to a growing customer base in numerous sectors including food processing, brewing and distilling, etc.” says Doug.

For further information on the SRT Series, call Fulton on 0117 972 3322, email sales@fulton.co.uk or visit Fulton’s new-look website at www.fulton.co.uk.