Made in Oceanside: McKenna Boiler

MADE IN OCEANSIDE A Boiling Hot Business, Q & A with McKenna Boiler 2601 Industry Street, Oceanside

McKenna Boiler, an Oceanside Chamber of Commerce member, may be new to Oceanside, but they have been in business for more than 100 years. Steam from boilers is used in almost every production line. McKenna Boiler executives Hali Krista and Corbin Smith tell us more.

Q: Tell us about McKenna’s Boiler’s beginning.

A: Since 1921, McKenna is a 5th generation, familyowned business. Ahead of his time and known for this innovative and entrepreneurial spirit, John

Bernard “JB” McKenna started servicing boilers in Southern California in 1887. Because of a need for local manufacturing in the area, JB McKenna launched McKenna Boiler in 1921, a boiler manufacturing and service shop in Downtown

Los Angeles. The company quickly gained a reputation for designing quality products that perform under harsh manufacturing conditions and began to grow by word-of-mouth recommendations. In the 1930’s, Guy Smith, a relative of McKenna, joined the business and brought in his own expertise and knowledge, designing and developing the innovative Scotch

Marine style units that are still used today.

Q: When did McKenna Boiler relocate to

Oceanside and why?

A: McKenna expanded into the San Diego territory in 2019. While our Los Angeles facility allowed the company to grow for nearly 100 years, a larger factory became a necessity as we began to increase both the size and quantity of our products along with growing our support staff for current and future company expansion.

Q: Which businesses and organizations in the

Oceanside area use McKenna Boiler?

A: Most manufacturing utilizes boilers, from your food processing, textile businesses, hotels, breweries, government buildings and military facilities.

Q: How does a boiler work?

A: In simple terms, there are multiple types of boilers, you have hot water boilers, low-pressure steam boilers and high-pressure steam boilers.

Depending on what your process requires with your company, that type of boiler will be used. You have an ASME (American Society of

Mechanical Engineers) code pressure vessel that is filled with water and then you apply a heating source ie. a gas fired burner to that pressure vessel. These boilers have special safety controls added them. The burner runs to heat up the vessel and then you have hot water or steam, like our water heater at home, but on a much larger scale. Once you have the hot water or steam at the desired temperature it is distributed through the plant, hotel, brewery, or whatever process is requiring this steam or hot water.

Q: Besides manufacturing the boilers, tell us about how you maintain them.

A: To maintain a boiler, you must have a boiler

service professional perform routine inspections and quarterly tune ups to ensure that all systems are working properly, up to code and to catch any potential areas of concern that may need to be addressed. These services maximize the efficiency and extend the lifespan of boiler systems. Efficiency equals saving money! So staying up to date on maintenance turns into a short term and long term investment in your equipment!

Q: Why do you think that advanced manufacturing is such a draw for people entering into the workforce or changing careers?

A: At McKenna Boiler, we value passion and integrity which guides our team to deliver quality boiler products and services. We are a forward-thinking manufacturer who offers turnkey solutions for our clientele. Work with the latest and greatest of technologies in our industry to deliver efficient and reliable equipment that handles all steam and hot water needs. Individuals joining the boiler industry enter a profession with tremendous growth potential and unique learning opportunities. There is no trade school available to learn how to be a boilermaker or service technician. It is mostly on-the-job experience. Once this foundational knowledge is set, professionals of the industry are highly valued.

Q: Why do you do what you do?

A: Being a 5th generation family company with over 100 years of experience in our field, an aspect of what my brothers and I do is out of family pride and loyalty, but the real reason why we wake up early every morning and keep coming back to work is for our employees that work tirelessly for our company and our customers. We strive to be the best employer, so that we can attract the best talent out there. If we have the best talent, then we can offer our customers the best quality products and services available on the market. And as we deliver the best products and services, our communities will benefit because our boilers are the backbone of manufacturing in our communities.