For years, Maple Springs depended on one, 150-horsepower firetube boiler to provide its steam. However, as the business expanded from an 8,000-square-foot building and increased its capacity to processing 100,000 pounds of laundry per shift, the cost of fuel to run the boiler was rapidly rising. Not only did they want to conserve energy, they wanted a boiler that was ecologically friendly.
Vice president and general manager Lee Bell said the company has been concerned about the environment throughout his 25-year tenure and earlier.