History

Since 1921, McKenna Boiler has been manufacturing steam and hot water boilers making the business  one of the oldest boiler manufacturers on the West Coast. Brothers Richard and James Smith are now the newly formed partners and owners of the corporation which has been in the family since its inception.

It all began with Richard and James’s uncles’ grandfather, J.B. McKenna, in 1921. He began repair on small boilers to keep alive during the railroad strike. In 1930, uncle Wayne Prior teamed up with McKenna and eventually inherited the business from him.

In 1941, Richard and James’ father, Guy Smith who had been working with Wayne, bought half interest from Wayne Prior. In 1979, with the death of their father, the brothers inherited the half interest.

In January of 1988, Richard and James bought out Wayne Prior’s remaining half interest, making them sole owners of the company. With a total of nearly 100 years in the business, Richard and James have are considered experts in the field of boilers. Richard is even an expert at speaking Spanish.