Core American Industries Rely on CR Heat Exchangers

Domestic Powered-Engine Sectors on the Rise 

Peering into US domestic manufacturing data here in early 2023, we're pleasantly surprised to see indication of a solid bounce-back underway.  US Manufacturing output is up about 12% since this time in 2020, representing a promising reinvigoration of domestic production.  This is important to note for several reasons:  

‍

• Domestic manufacturing has been on a steady decline since the 1990s, as production has been outsourced to foreign countries and internal investments have slowed due to perpetually rising local costs.  

• Though US manufacturing has long been a shrinking employment sector in our economy, it still disproportionately contributes to our GDP, export volumes, productivity growth, and net capital stock.  

• After the pandemic, US industries recognized a real need for more localized, direct, controllable supply chains, which prompted heavy interest in bringing manufacturing workflows back stateside - an interest that paved the way for increased investment in American manufacturing.  

• We can now start to see these investments pay off in the form of positive economic data such as the 12% output growth mentioned above, as well as first-hand in the improving availability of goods and materials.  

‍

As manufacturing and commercial activity returns to the States, the need for supporting infrastructure around these sectors naturally is on the rise as well.  All industrial segments rely on backup power, self-contained equipment, and emergency resources in order to operate safely and consistently.  This is where fuel-driven powered engines come into play, as a function of insulating our rekindled industrial manufacturing infrastructure from unexpected downtime, failure due to excess demands, and any other sort of issues stemming from not being domestically self-sufficient.  

Electrical generators, freight vehicles, tractors, well water pumps, irrigation water filtration, hydraulic construction equipment, data center cooling systems - all are examples of capital support equipment that allows our industrial manufacturing and commercial sectors to serve their missions.  All of these examples use a fuel-powered engine for their primary or supplementary power, which in turn relies on a radiator or mechanical heat exchanger to dissipate waste engine heat for safe, dependable operation.  This now brings us to the topic of our article - the role of American-made engine heat exchangers in supporting Core American industries.  

‍

Heat Exchanger Applications in Growing Core American Industries

Of the many American manufacturing and commercial industries currently benefiting from healthy growth, we'll take a look at three below which are especially reliant on high-performance, heavy duty heat exchangers and radiators.  

‍

Energy 

The United States is one of the most energy-dense nations on the planet, employing nearly every style of modern power generation technology in order to meet our demand.  Electricity, petroleum, natural gas, hydroelectric, wind, solar, coal, nuclear - all are sources of energy that fuel our daily lives.  At many points throughout each of these systems, waste heat must be dissipated, calling for robust radiator and heat exchanger solutions.  In addition, each of these energy platforms are supported by standby power systems, ready to kick in should a critical failure or extreme spike in demand occur.  Standby generators - or gensets - are typically fuel driven, and so also require high-performance, high-integrity radiators to discharge the engine's waste combustion heat.   

‍

Aerospace 

When most of us hear the word 'aerospace', we think immediately of airplanes and space-faring aircraft.  Beyond this simple definition, the aerospace industry spans an extremely wide array of commercial, military, industrial, and private activity.  Airplanes, satellites, weaponized missiles, surveillance drones, fighter jets, helicopters, unpowered gliders, and even rocket payloads to Mars all fall within the aerospace industry.  Most of these examples require high-energy engines in order to achieve speeds that defy gravity, and most of those require some way by which to discharge their waste heat.  High-performance radiators for spaceflight are a common solution, though are typically only used on lower elevation vehicles (as higher elevations experience cold, thin air that are better served by other solutions).  Apart from the vehicles themselves, aerospace missions are typically critical in nature, and so are supported by a large fleet of standby power generators and engine-driven machinery (such as fire water pumps and runway de-icing heaters).  

‍

Agriculture 

Everybody has to eat, and feeding the nation requires every one of our over two million US farms.  Farming requires resilient equipment and dependable energy, which is where performance heat exchangers and radiators come into play.  Agricultural equipment is often fuel-powered, requiring engine cooling radiators that can stand up to heavy use, aggressive environmental conditions, and long work cycles at high temperatures.  One good example is found in autonomous, GPS-guided tractors - vehicles that can operate around the clock for days on end, without human involvement.  Beyond farm vehicles, standby power and emergency gensets are vital to dealing with power upsets and rapidly changing conditions routinely experienced out in the country.  Cattle warming heaters, irrigation pumps, water filter stations, and well pumps may all rely on genset or direct engine power.  As cutting-edge technologies mature (such as indoor vertical farming and autonomous farm robotics), our reliance on standby support systems and scalable on-site power generation will as well.  

‍

Mission-critical vehicles and equipment in over a dozen infrastructure sectors rely on heat transfer components manufactured by Cincinnati Radiator. CR works directly with Original Equipment Manufacturers and Aftermarket service channels to supply premium-grade, long life radiators, coolers, and full cooling packages into extreme applications all over the world.  With our expanding inventory and fabrication space at our Fairfield, Ohio facility, we pride ourselves on having a personal touch, ultra-fast lead times, and one-off custom design capabilities.  For your next vehicle or heavy equipment heat transfer project, call us at (513) 874-5555, email us at sales@cincyradiator.com, or visit our website at https://cincyradiator.com/

‍