A mechanical contractor was working with an industrial facility in the Midwest to replace a cooling tower that had suffered a failure during a catastrophic weather event. Lead time on the replacement tower was expected to be several years due to supply chain issues and other hurdles, so a rental unit was needed.

Time was of the essence, since the damaged tower severely limited production. The contractor, who had a long history of partnering with United Rentals on projects of this scale and complexity, reached out to their local representative for assistance. United Rentals’ product development team created a plan to meet the customer’s demands in the shortest possible time. Space limitations and installation challenges made the job more complex.

Thanks to United Rentals’ engineering partners and diverse fleet, the company was able to provide a temporary cooling tower system that could be installed quickly. The system had the modularity necessary to connect to existing piping and structures. Because it was imperative to keep transportation lanes open, United Rentals designed the system to be built on a platform that would allow trucking and transport to continue running safely underneath. It provided custom, built-to-spec legs to raise the platform to the necessary height without adding to the installation length.

United Rentals team members, who had completed site-specific safety training before arriving on site, participated in the plant’s safety program to communicate the importance of safety around the temporary equipment during installation and operation.

Once the equipment was on site, United Rentals worked with the customer to ensure they received world-class service and an equipment maintenance routine that fit their production schedule. To simplify the invoicing process, it extended the ability to bill most rental items on a lump sum basis, which also removed the complexity of tracking multiple billing dates. The customer used Total Control® to handle the rental administration.

With lead times for new equipment extended by supply chain issues, rentals remain an important option for replacing damaged or aging equipment, expanding capacity and ensuring that plants continue to operate as efficiently as possible.