Proud of Our Military Work

When a new U.S. Navy vessel heads out to sea – whether it be a destroyer, aircraft carrier, submarine, or other combatant craft – you can be sure there are three things on board:

• Brave, dedicated sailors, airmen and marines
• The most advanced weaponry in the world
• Top-quality, ultra-reliable Marlo coils, and usually AHUs

We don’t talk about it often, but a significant portion of our production is done for the United States Navy – something that all of us at Marlo are incredibly proud of. In fact, every new Navy vessel built today, as well as all those commissioned over the past several years, have Marlo coils on board, as well as Marlo air handling units (AHUs) for every combatant vessel type except submarines (which don’t have AHUs).

Our work with the Navy dates all the way back to World War II when we built our first coils for a wide range of naval vessels. Over the past 80+ years, we’ve built a tremendous relationship with the Navy – and after repeatedly proving our ability to meet their stringent quality, durability, performance and delivery standards – have earned the right to supply 100% of the Navy’s coil and air handling units needs for new construction ships.

Of course, Navy coils and AHUs are designed and built to much higher standards than typical commercial and industrial equipment. They not only need to withstand the constant and rigorous stresses of tidal motion, as well as the highly corrosive saltwater environment, but they must also be built to survive the impacts of war.

As a result, these products are built with very robust, high-quality materials and must pass a battery of tests to prove both durability and performance. A few of these tests are described below.

Military Standard 901 (MIL-STD-901)

The primary objective of MIL-STD-901 is to ensure that equipment installed on Navy ships can withstand the shock and vibration encountered during explosive events, such as underwater explosions or missile impacts, without significant damage or performance degradation.

For Marlo products, the MIL-STD-901 shock test involves mounting the unit being tested on a shock testing platform or shock machine. The equipment is then subjected to a series of shock pulses that simulate the effects of explosions or other impact events. The shock pulses are designed to match the expected shock profile experienced during naval operations. To pass the test, the equipment must continue to function normally and show no signs of structural damage or performance degradation during or after the shock tests.

Military Standard 167 (MIL-STD-167)

This test subjects the coil or AHU to simulated environmental vibration equivalent to that which is encountered aboard naval ships, using frequencies that would most seriously affect the functional and/or structural integrity of the equipment. The standard provides a sufficiently large amplitude within the selected frequency range to obtain a high degree of confidence that, after passing the test, the coil or AHU will not malfunction during service operation at sea.

Vibration measurement transducers, such as accelerometers, are installed on the unit during the test. After the vibration magnitudes are reached in the prescribed frequency and amplitude ranges, they are held for a minimum of 2 hours. Again, the equipment must continue to function normally without sustaining damage for the duration of the test.

Performance Testing

Of course, strength and durability are only part of the equation. Each coil or air handling unit is also put through extensive performance testing. Depending on the specific piece of equipment and application, the Navy sets detailed performance standards that must be met – and our coils and AHUs consistently meet or exceed these stringent requirements.

What it all means for our commercial and industrial customers

Due to our longstanding and ongoing work for the Navy, we have extensive quality-control and testing procedures in place in our manufacturing facility – including a certified ISO 9001 quality management system. The good news for our non-military customers is that the intense focus on quality driven by our work for the Navy – which is practiced by our entire workforce – is applied to every single coil and AHU we make, for any application.

Bottom line, we feel that if we can design and manufacture heating and cooling coils, and air handling units, that meet the extremely high durability, reliability and performance standards of the U.S. military, we can certainly produce equipment that will exceed the needs of commercial and industrial HVAC applications – at a competitive price.

Our proven quality – and our complete confidence in that quality – is why we can offer our exclusive 3-year warranty on all of our products, even though the industry standard is just one year. So, when you’re choosing a coil or AHU manufacturer, and you want equipment that is built to last, keep in mind that Marlo is a trusted source for products that literally leave our factory ready for battle.