Tribune Tower Saves With Equipment Upgrade
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The Tribune applied for and received a rebate check from Peoples Gas Company in the amount of $234,629.85, hurrying along a return on investment that the smaller low-pressure boilers will deliver in the near future.
This latest Kroeschell Engineering project at the Tribune Tower wrapped up in October of last year. Along with the five new 120 Bhp, Bryant, stage fired boilers, a new feed-water system and steam and condensate piping was also installed that guarantees the Tribune decades of service as well as considerable savings in energy. New electronic controls were also added in the turnkey project that covered not only demolition of the existing boilers but the concrete boiler pads as well.
The Tribune applied for and received a rebate check from Peoples Gas Company in the amount of $234,629.85, hurrying along a return on investment that the smaller low-pressure boilers will deliver in the near future.
According to Al Strohmeyer PE, Vice President at Kroeschell, gas company rebate programs remain a strong incentive for commercial property owners to upgrade their old heating systems to more modern and efficient systems and Kroeschell Engineering has benefited from that program with a steady growth of business that has already taxed the limit of capacity at their new facility.
Founded in 1879 by the four sons of a German immigrant who came to Chicago shortly after the great fire, the Kroeschell Company was originally a boiler manufacturer and installer. When refrigeration technology came on the scene, the brothers were quick to embrace the opportunities the technology brought and opened the Kroeschell Brothers Ice Machine Company, manufacturing and installing refrigeration equipment. In 1906, the Kroeschell brothers are said to have installed the first commercial air-conditioning system in the United States, inside the Congress Hotel in Chicago.
In the late 1920’s, Brunswick Refrigeration Company, York Heating and Ventilation and Carrier Engineering merged to form the Carrier Corporation. Four of the executives of the newly formed conglomerate, including Robert and Paul Kroeschell would eventually resign and form the Kroeschell Engineering Company, which still thrives today within their 45,000 square foot facility in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
We thank the Kroeschell team for sharing this latest project with our readers and congratulate the Tribune Corporation for undertaking such a successful project. With a fully modernized boiler system in place, future generations of Chicagoans as well as visitors from around the world will be able to enjoy the breathtaking beauty of the crown jewel in Chicago’s Magnificent Mile. 
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