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Feature - Pumps
Ta Ra Rum Pump!
With the growth in infrastructure, the pumps industry is
whistling its way to growth. CW tells you why.
What do drainage, sewage and irrigation facilities, chemical
plants, petroleum plants, refineries and hospitals all have
in common? The humble pump. This device that raises or transfers
fluids is indispensable to life as we know it.
First, let's understand pumps a little better. There are two
main categories: dynamic pumps and positive displacement pumps.
These two also have many subcategories of pumps. Selection
of the class and type of pump for a certain application is
influenced by system requirements, system layout, fluid characteristics,
intended life, energy cost, code requirements, and materials
of construction.
Worldview
Despite considerable consolidation over recent years, the
global pump industry remains highly fragmented, with more
than 5,000 manufacturers worldwide. The industry can be divided
into three tiers: a super league of a handful of companies
with pump sales in excess of $ 1 billion; a second tier of
companies with sales between $ 100 million and $ 1,000 million;
and the third tier, covering the vast majority of pump manufacturers
with sales below the $ 100 million mark. "Kirloskar Brothers
Ltd lies in the second tier in the bracket of the top 15 pump
companies in the world this year," says Ajay Shirodkar,
General Manager, Corporate Strategic Planning, Business Development
and Advertising, Kirloskar Brothers Ltd.
Over the past five years, the global pump landscape has changed
considerably through a series of pump-related mergers and
acquisitions. The mature nature of the pump sector and the
many family-owned companies are key drivers behind this industry
consolidation.
The India view
"The pump industry in India has over 500 manufacturers
with a worker strength of over 30,000 producing over 2 million
pumps valued over Rs 32 billion," says Shirodkar. From
2003, there has been a steady growth of the industry by over
12-15 per cent per annum. According to him, the Indian pump
industry is able to meet about 85 per cent of the national
demand and exports pumps close to Rs 5,000 million.
KBL typifies success in the pumps industry - it is a one-stop
shop for pumps, ranging from 0.1 kw to 12,000 kw. Its top
line business comes from infrastructural pump projects, turnkey
electromechanical pump projects, value added industrial pumping
systems, specially designed engineered pumps, and pump packages
in special materials of construction. However, capacity utilisation
is driven by volume business of its quality pump sets for
industrial, agricultural and domestic markets. An undisputed
leader in water pumps and pumping systems, Kirloskar process
pumps are suitable for handling corrosive, toxic, and inflammable
liquids operating under varying ranges of temperatures. The
process pumps range includes end suction pumps conforming
to international standards of DIN 24256, ISO 5199. A JV company,
Kirloskar Ebara Pumps Ltd., manufactures process pumps and
is a clear market leader for pumps used in the oil and gas
and refineries and petrochemical sectors. The ANSI process
pump range has also been developed successfully and is being
launched in the US.
"An ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 company, KBL has established
one of the largest pump manufacturing infrastructures in Asia
and has well-laid process controls and integrated manufacturing
systems," says Shirodkar with pride. "Today, KBL
process pumps are in operation in a variety of industries
such as chemical, pharmaceutical, fertilisers, sugar, oil
and gas, etc, in a hostile environment. KBL is always a front
runner in achieving technological breakthroughs, testified
by some of its trendsetting pumps such as canned motor pumps
developed indigenously for nuclear power plants, and liquid
sodium pumps being developed, once again, for the most stringent
and demanding applications in nuclear power plants."
Another successful company is the ISO- 9001:2000-certified
Kiwi Pumps, which won the Jamnalal Bajaj Award for Fair Business
Practices from the Indian Merchants' Chamber on Feb 1, 2007.
Established in 1999, the company has achieved a compound growth
rate of 20 per cent since inception, says Jayesh Patel, CEO,
Kiwi Pumps. The first company to introduce 3" submersible
pumps in India, it is the leading manufacturer in this category.
It has also started manufacturing submersible pumps of high
quality in 3", 4", 6" and 8" sizes with
a large range in terms of HP and number of stages, and manufactures
submersible pumps with different kinds of raw materials, like
CI, steel and brass.
"Submersible pumps of smaller capacities are used for
domestic purposes to lift water from the bore well to overhead
tank," explains Patel. "Open-well submersible pumps
of smaller capacities are also used for domestic purposes
to lift water from the underground tank to overhead tank.
And submersible and open-well submersible pumps of higher
capacities are used in commercial sectors, while centrifugal
pumps are greatly used in commercial areas." With its
manufacturing unit based in Rajkot, Kiwi Pumps markets its
products through a network of distributors and dealers across
India, supplies to other leading pump manufacturers in India
in their brand name, and engages in direct and indirect exports.
Tech trends
Pumps account for 20 per cent of the world's electricity consumption.
"With this in mind, pump companies are actively looking
at ways of improving energy efficiency and mean time between
two successive failures for their pump products," says
Shirodkar. "Electronics in pump operation control, along
with providing early warning signals together with recommended
remedies, are playing a major role in transforming the technology
from a pump user's perspective, making life a little easier
for a pump maintenance engineer."
Technology to diagnose anticipated problems that can arise
in running pumps will be driving the pump industry globally
in years to come. Shirodkar believes India will follow this
trend. KBL itself has been a leader in terms of innovation:
it has deployed product design-related technologies like concrete
volute concept, canned motor concept, use of energy-efficient
coatings, patented energy conserving siphon system, etc. And
just recently, it launched India's first FM approved and UL
listed fire-fighting pump packages.
The hindrances
According to Shirodkar, the manufacturers of spares remain
highly unorganised, catering to only 50-60 per cent of the
total spares market. "Loss of revenue to OEMs on this
account is alarming and unfathomable," he says.
Myriad applications
Stumbling blocks aside, major players continue to thrive because
pumps and valves are such a valuable commodity, used in diverse
fields like agriculture, domestic, industry, water and sewage
systems. The rapid growth in these segments has triggered
the demand for pumps.
Irrigation projects: With the help of pumps, groundwater has
been effectively used in Punjab and other states for irrigation.
Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have also
taken up irrigation and drainage projects, which will grow
demand for vertical pump-sets used in lift irrigation and
other major irrigation schemes.
Water canals and dams: Surface water in canals and dams has
been harnessed with the help of pumps for providing water
for drinking and irrigation purposes. Similarly, infrastructure
development depends heavily on the availability of power resources
and meeting the huge demand for power has become a major imperative
in recent years. Special pumps, such as large vertical pumps
for cooling water application for 500 mw and above, are being
increasingly used.
Water supply: River or canal water pumping, either for village
water supply or irrigation, is one of the most important applications
of pumps, especially concrete volute pumps, vertical turbine
pumps and hydro-pneumatic systems, which make use of vertical
inline, horizontal mono-block and submersible pumps.
Heat, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC): This is an
essential part of modern buildings, including commercial comp-lexes
like shopping malls, offices, multiplexes, educational institutions,
hospitals and hotels.
Sewage and effluent treatment: Raw and unscreened sewage,
industrial wastewater and chemical-contaminated effluents
are pumping problems that need to be tackled effectively.
As Shirodkar says, "Pump market activity is closely linked
to the general economic climate and to investment levels in
main end-use sectors such as water and wastewater, pulp and
paper, power generation, food and beverage processing, construction
and building, chemicals, petrochemicals, oil and gas, marine
and mining. As economies grow, so does the demand for pumps."
Never underestimate the power of the humble pump!
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