News

Just because school’s out for summer, doesn’t mean the work stops for our project team. In fact, it’s the perfect opportunity for us to clear the decks, and we’re busier than ever supporting our FM clients to deliver essential maintenance work at school boiler houses while campuses are quiet.

For three of the large FM companies, that trust us to deliver quality projects on time, we are currently delivering a range of summer transformations at eleven schools throughout Stirlingshire, Renfrewshire and Ayrshire, including complete new plant rooms, essential maintenance on existing infrastructure, and upgrades to meet energy efficiency requirements.

It’s a huge logistical effort to ensure work is completed on time. So, we’re calling on the excellent project management skills and breadth of experience in our engineering team and pleased to be getting our sleeves rolled up to deliver!

To find out more about our maintenance service, visit http://jamesramsayltd.co.uk/services/commercial-and-industrial-burner-and-boiler-maintenance/

When our company was founded more than 100 years ago, our core business was steam. Today, we’re still heavily involved in the steam sector – carrying out new boiler installations, insurance inspections, pipework installations and boiler repairs, and you might be surprised to hear that the way steam is raised has not changed much at all. We use heat from a fuel source, such as oil, gas, biomass, waste heat or nuclear, to heat water and produce steam. The principle is exactly the same now as it was 100 years ago.

So, against the backdrop of diverse new fuel sources and innovative technology in the HVAC sector, we’re still going strong in steam.

Most recently, we’re pleased to report winning several new steam work contracts with end users, including new steam and condensate pipework to support the expansion of a large commercial laundry, the installation of pipework for a new press machine in a textiles business, on-going upgrades and compliance work to support the existing steam infrastructure at a life sciences facility, as well as the installation of metering equipment at a world-famous distillery.

We have decades of experience working with steam and our qualified steam specialist’s offer a range of services including the repair, supply, installation and re-tubing of steam boilers; steam pipework installation, repairs and modification; and steam system surveys.

The full strip down inspection of steam boilers and systems is a statutory legal requirement, and we’re well known and respected by most of the major insurance companies for this type of work. As a result, we also undertake recommended repairs, refurbishment and replacement of system components as instructed by the assessor.

To discuss your requirements, contact sales@jamesramsayltd.co.uk or call the office on 0141 774 2602, and we’d be delighted to help.

We’ve been busy in the workshop supporting Cochran fit out its temporary boiler hire fleet with this range of trailer installations.

David Weild, Industrial Boiler Business Manager at Cochran, said: “As part of our hire boiler investment programme, we turned to James Ramsay knowing the high standard of workmanship, impeccable professionalism and work ethic. Ramsay’s produce a first-class job time after time, and the speedy turnaround of excellent quality work is building a solid basis for future ventures.”   

This latest project for Cochran supports the delivery of its flexible, short and long-term boiler hire service – a critical resource for clients whose existing equipment is undergoing essential repair and maintenance work, or whilst awaiting the arrival of new capital equipment. These trailer-mounted and containerised solutions offer a cost-effective remedy for many different applications.

With our expertise in boiler installation, industrial boiler and burner maintenance and pipework, and specialist fabrication team, we love a challenge like this, and it’s great to see the fleet taking shape and hitting the road. 

We’ve been appointed by global life sciences firm, Thermo Fisher Scientific, to install two new Dunphy gas fired burners at its Inchinnan facility, near Glasgow, where it uses novel technology to make products for drugs which treat flu and other diseases.

In a drive to improve efficiency, the new equipment replaces older, out-dated systems with an upgraded solution that will reduce fuel consumption by five percent.

Gary Shepherd, managing director at James Ramsay, said: “A high demand site requires a high-performance burner to optimise operating efficiency. This new equipment has the potential to save five percent on fuel, and the digital combustion management system ensures accurate control and maximises combustion efficiency across the turndown range.

“We’re increasingly working with customers on measures to improve sustainability, and with environmental targets at the forefront, this is a great example of a pro-active approach to delivering really meaningful results and long-term cost savings.”

We’ll be managing the full CDM package as well as providing all the man-power, plant and material to execute the project from start to finish, including supply of the new Dunphy TG4.550MESC burners.

The project is now up and running with the installation of a new permanent steam and condensate pipe set up, including a fully engineered solution for expansion and trapping to allow the connection of a temporary steam boiler that will assist with the site load while each individual burner is replaced. Once the temporary set up is proven and made operational, the team will isolate the existing boilers, disconnect from the gas and electricity supplies, and remove, as well as removing the existing, out-dated burner control panel.

The existing boiler will then be modified to accept the new burner equipment. The new burners will be mounted and new burner control panels fitted, and installed with interconnecting wiring between the panel and burners.

James Ramsay, alongside trusted supply partner Dunphy Combustion, will carry out commissioning of the new burner in full load conditions, and conduct a full safety function check in conjunction with the site engineer and insurance inspector.

The new Dunphy TG series is hydrogen-ready and comes with a Ratiotronic 6000 digital combustion control system, Axial air flow forced draught fan, 10:1 turndown of modulation range, high-integrity self-checking photocell for 24/7 operation, and DN125 gas train for low pressure drop, so no booster is required.

Ewan McRory, Site Expansion Project Engineer at Thermo Fisher Scientific, said: “James Ramsay was selected following a competitive bid process. Progress to date has been to programme, a quality installation from all involved.”

Queens Quay is Clydebank’s new business and living quarter. A £250m development located on the former John Brown shipyard, it has transformed the site into a vibrant waterside community just a few minutes-walk from town with open access and views to the riverside.

The 23-hectare site includes a diverse range of housing, health and leisure facilities, office, bar, restaurant and retail elements, and civic spaces such as parkland, riverside walkway and cycle path.

The entire development is served by a new district heating system – Scotland’s first major water source heat pump district heating network. The system extracts heat from the river Clyde and distributes this throughout residential areas and the wider Clydebank community, making it the greenest town in Scotland.

Owned, operated and maintained by West Dunbartonshire Council, the entire heating system, ensures security of supply and reduced tariffs for customers.

The district heating network is operated through an energy centre where the water source heat pumps extract 3°C of heat from the river Clyde. The river water passes through a series of filters before being pumped up to the heat pumps in the energy centre. The heat harnessed from the river is then converted into usable heat via the refrigeration process and is then transported by district heating pipes at circa 75°C to homes, businesses and other public buildings, to provide heating and hot water without the need for gas fired appliances. The primary water is then discharged back into the river.

As part of this project, we worked with our customer, Vital Energi, to design and install a very specialist and completely bespoke, maintainable, water extraction system consisting of a filter, DN350 pipework and frame, to extract the water from the Clyde.

Fabricated at our Glasgow manufacturing facility from super duplex stainless steel using a specifically developed weld procedure, it was essential that this pipework and filter could be regularly disconnected and removed using the frame as a slide guide to remove it from its location on the quayside for cleaning. To ensure ease of use, a set of sliding rails were attached to the frame so it could easily be maintained.

This was no mean feat. As well as calling upon the design and technical expertise within our in-house team, we deployed a team of professional divers to install the underwater elements of the frame and slide rails.

Gary Shepherd, managing director at James Ramsay, said: “We’re really proud to be involved in this ground-breaking project which really showcases our range of traditional skills in the most modern application of heating and pipework technology today.”

The rollout of the district heating network at Queens Quay continues and we’re currently back onsite (February 2023) installing connections to a number of public buildings including Clydebank library and the townhall.