As The Wilkinson Companies celebrates 75 years in business, we're looking back at the people, ideas and milestones that helped shape the company. The story of Wilkinson Mobile Boilers, Inc. began during a cold, snowy winter in 1986, with an unexpected emergency and an old boiler sitting in a storage yard.
The First Mobile Boiler Wasn't Mobile
In the winter of 1986, a Catholic church in the Boston area experienced a boiler explosion caused by contaminated fuel oil. The explosion damaged the boiler's exterior and its asbestos insulation, leaving the boiler room contaminated and unable to operate.
The church also had an attached elementary school that depended on steam heat. With both buildings facing a loss of heat during a New England winter, a temporary solution was urgently needed.
Fortunately, Wilkinson had an old packaged steam boiler sitting in its storage yard. The boiler had been removed from a building the previous summer, and although it wasn't designed to be mobile, it could provide the steam the church and school needed.
The team transported the boiler to the site and set it on the ground near the boiler room entrance. From there, they got to work connecting the necessary utilities and bringing in a temporary 2,500-gallon No. 2 fuel oil tank.
Making It Work
The conditions were far from ideal. The work took place in bitterly cold, snowy weather, and the team had to find practical solutions to get the boiler operating safely and reliably.
To protect the boiler's control panel from the elements, they constructed a temporary shelter using steel angle iron, galvanized corrugated steel and nonflammable tarpaulins.
Within 48 hours, heat was restored to the church and school.
The temporary boiler remained on-site until May 1987, carrying the buildings through the remainder of the heating season. As Geoff Wilkinson Sr. recalls, Wilkinson was fortunate to have that old boiler available when the emergency occurred.
It was an unconventional setup, but it demonstrated something important: when a customer's boiler is out of service, having a temporary source of heat can make all the difference.
The Beginning of Wilkinson Mobile Boilers
That winter project offers a glimpse into the kind of customer need that mobile boilers could address. A boiler didn't necessarily have to be permanently installed in a building to provide the heat and steam it needed.
Wilkinson Mobile Boilers, Inc. (WMBI) was established in 1986, marking the beginning of a dedicated mobile boiler business. What started in an era when temporary boiler solutions could require considerable improvisation would grow into a fleet of purpose-built equipment designed to serve customers when their permanent systems were unavailable.
By 1991, the fleet had grown to eight boilers. By 1996, it had reached 12, as the business continued to expand its ability to respond to customers' needs.
In 2014, Wilkinson acquired the assets of Acme Boiler Rentals, further strengthening its position in the mobile boiler market.
Today, Wilkinson operates New England's largest mobile boiler fleet, supporting commercial and industrial facilities through planned boiler replacements, renovations, equipment failures and other situations requiring temporary heat or hot water.
75 Years of Finding Solutions
As Wilkinson celebrates its 75th anniversary, the origins of WMBI are a reminder that business growth often begins with recognizing a need and finding a way to meet it.
In this case, the story started with an old boiler, a snowy job site and a team determined to get the heat back on.
The equipment and capabilities have come a long way since that winter in 1986. But the underlying purpose of Wilkinson Mobile Boilers remains the same: helping customers maintain essential heating services when their permanent systems can't do the job.