Thomas W. Reed II, the U.S. Representative for New York’s 23rd Congressional District and Ron Passafaro, Chairman of the Hydronics Institute, and President & CEO of ECR International recently met in Washington, DC. The two are allies in support of the boiler industry’s position on pending US Department of Energy minimum boiler efficiency standards to be determined this year and implemented in 2020. Passafaro said “The challenge is in striking the right balance between efficiency and cost to consumers. As an industry, our member companies currently deliver boilers from an entry level efficiency of 82% up to an ultra-efficient 95%, but efficiency is not one-size-fits-all. Consumers need choices that allow them and their professional contractor to select the best option for them, weighing such items as their specific heating application, venting options, system design temperature and of course price point.”

Representative Reed is fully engaged in the issue and will be assisting companies like ECR who employ hundreds of workers and have been manufacturing the Dunkirk Boiler and many other fine brands since 1928 in their factory at 85 Middle Road in Dunkirk, New York. Passafaro commented that “Congressman Reed gets it, he’s a business owner and understands the balance between prudent regulations that aide job and economic growth versus impractical, unsubstantiated standards. “To continue encouraging manufacturers to ‘make it here and sell it there,’ we need to protect local consumers and businesses from potentially damaging mandates out of Washington,” Reed said. “Partnering with ECR we’re able to bring the voice and expertise of a local manufacturer to the table down in Washington and fight for fair, feasible regulations, not Washington mandates that increase costs to both manufacturers and consumers.”