About Us

You can be all things to all people. Or at least you can try, and Sandy and Richard Blaser are trying by parlaying their 70-year-old firm into a multifaceted heating installation and service vendor.

If there's such a thing as a one-stop shop for heating, then we're it," says Richard Blaser, president of Atlas Welding & Boiler Repair Inc.  This is the Atlas philosophy - a philosophy that, over the past 70 years, has made the firm one of the largest boiler repair and replacement companies in the country.

As Sandy Blaser, chairman of the company and Richard's father explains, "A lack of versatility means certain trouble in the service industry. No matter how well you do one thing, there is always the chance that the one thing you do will become obsolete."  He should know.  Atlas, he recalls, was started in 1936, because, "When the war broke out, people couldn't get steel for boiler replacement, and repairs become essential."  Then, as oil became a more cost-effective way to heat, traditional burners were taken out and replaced with oil burners.  "So", he adds, "if we hadn't been versatile enough to change with the times, we would have never even made it through the early years, let alone the 40 or so that have followed."

Looking at the list of services Atlas now offers, there seems little chance of obsolescence.  Besides the full boiler cleaning, repair and maintenance services now being provided by Atlas the firm also supplies full, around-the-clock burner service.  What's more, it furnishes complete compactor conversion services, manufactures its own line of heating coils, does welding, and makes available on-truck mobile boiler units for temporary heating and hot water during various jobs and emergencies.

Cost-Effective Choices

Atlas has also provided emergency service to the insurance and real estate industries for more than four decades. "Through the years," says Richard Blaser, "many insurance companies have come to rely on us to provide a wide range of cost-effective alternatives that they require," including advice on such crises as boiler malfunctions.

So, in keeping with the firm's one-stop philosophy, Atlas has devised a comprehensive, interlocking system whereby burner service complements boiler service and coil manufacturing feeds both.  Does this lower rates for the client?  "Of course," says Sandy Blaser.  "Whenever you go to one place for a variety of services, you're bound to pay less for each one."

"Providing well-rounded service means more than merely responding to the needs of the marketplace, though," states Sandy. "Sometimes it means anticipating those needs. When you serve a particular field the way Atlas serves the real estate industry, it is essential to stay up on top of all current events that affect it.  This includes everything from new equipment to changes in legislation."

 Frequent Speaker
Blaser has also spoken out frequently, as president of Atlas Welding & Boiler Repair  Why the constant push to spread information? "I don't know how other contractors feel," says Sandy Blaser, "but we would rather a customer be as well informed as possible.  In fact, we encourage them to shop around.  Quality work and service will always speak for themselves."
 

 Atlas is also known for its instructional seminars regarding proper boiler maintenance.  Conducted by Richard Blaser, these seminars are normally held in the conference rooms at various property management firms.  Occasionally, these seminars become hands-on tutorials, since Blaser has been known to take managing agents and superintendents on a tour through the boiler room of their buildings.  "Such tours," he says, "provide a rare opportunity to demonstrate the workings of various boiler components." 

In whatever location they are held, during each seminar, Atlas professionals offer vital information regarding preventive maintenance.  Many of the attendees have, in fact, learned simple methods for cutting down on accidents as well as repair costs, without the need to call in a boiler repair specialist.

"As well as teaching preventive maintenance", says Richard, "we are also teaching owners how to work most effectively and in unison with the boiler specialist they have hired."  Two tips he commonly offers, for example, are the checking of low water cut-offs and the installation of stack thermometers in a boiler's breeching.  The low water cut-off is a device that is meant to shut down the burner in the event that the water levels in the boiler room become too low.  "If this device should fail during low water period," warns Blaser, "the result can be boiler meltdown."

The installation of a thermometer in a boiler's breeching, he adds, is the best and least expensive way to tell if the stack temperature is too high.  This is extremely important information, since exorbitantly high stack temperatures mean that too much fuel is being burned and the boiler is working at significantly decreased efficiency.

Checking simple items like these on a regular basis will help a superintendent better maintain his boiler system, "says Blaser.  "It may even enable him to recognize a problem and alert his boiler specialist before it becomes too serious."

When trouble does arise -- with or without warning --Atlas is fast to respond.  "Radio dispatching helps a lot in this respect," says Bryan Ennist, Vice President of Atlas.  "Surprise calls are no longer a problem.  We simply locate a truck in the area of the call and send it right over."  Atlas currently dispatches more than 100 trucks a day and sends out approximately 200 service people, including welders, mechanics, masons and compactor service technicians.

"Speed is a cornerstone of our industry," insists Sandy Blaser, "especially during winter months, when boiler downtime is critical." For this reason, he explains, Atlas has built a self-sufficient service complex at its 37,000-square-foot Bronx headquarters. On hand at all times is a complete truck maintenance station, equipped with auto mechanics, spare parts, and towing facilities.  "Less downtime for us," says Richard Blaser, "means less downtime for our clients."

Armed with Information
Manufacturing has also become a major part of the company's service. Its coil manufacturing division, equipped with state-of-the-art fabricating and bending machines, supplies Atlas and several outside vendors as well. In addition, Atlas has technicians to install its own coils, perform extensive piping work and repair and install various types of mixing valves.

What, more than anything, allows Atlas to keep its service response time to a minimum, though, is probably its innovative computer system. The Atlas computer banks allow the staff to have every possible piece of information available about a particular building's heating installations. This includes address, type of boiler, type of burner, tube sizes and maintenance histories, as well as the name and telephone number of the building manager and superintendent.

"Our computer systems keep us armed with facts," says Richard Blaser.  "And, in most cases, it saves us at least one trip."  Atlas computers hold 15 years worth of information on each building.  This enables technicians -- before they even leave the plant -- to study patterns and begin diagnosing problems.  "Having tube sizes readily available is a perfect illustration of this point," says Blaser.  "Without such information, a technician would have to go to the location of the problem and measure the specific tubes.  He would then have to make another trip to bring the correct tubing."

Is there anything missing in this comprehensive, omni-directional boiler service called Atlas?  Any weak links?  Any places to expand?  "I don't know," says Richard Blaser, "But we're always looking."