Agriculture and domestic segment of the Indian pump market is highly fragmented and competitive, while industrial pumps - which serve sectors such as water & sewage treatment, power generation, oil & gas, metals & mining and others - are technologically intensive. Driven by the need for energy conservation, manufacturers are using latest technologies to make pumps which are smart, efficient and consume less energy, says Rakesh Rao.

 

Pumps industry, considered to be one of the oldest industries, is primarily driven by developments in agriculture, industrial and building & construction sectors. Agriculture and domestic account for 46 per cent of the pumps market with industrial sector accounting for the rest. “It is observed that replacement market accounts for 60 per cent of the pumps industry, while remaining 40 per cent comes from new market. Overall, Indian pump industry is showing a robust growth with agriculture, domestic, submersible sewage pump and solar pump segments growing at 10-12 per cent, 18-20 percent, 8-10 per cent and 20-25 per cent, respectively," says Prabhubhai P Patel, President of Indian Pump Manufacturers' Association (IPMA); and Managing Director of Duke Plasto Technique Pvt Ltd.

 

Agriculture and domestic segment of the Indian pump market is vastly fragmented and presence of large number of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) makes this market highly competitive. Being technologically intensive, industrial pumps market - which serves sectors such as water & sewage treatment, power generation, oil & gas, metals & mining and others - is a relatively hard sector for SMEs to penetrate. Based on product types, centrifugal pumps (single stage radial, submersible, multi-stage radial and axial & mixed) comprises 95 per cent of the market, positive displacement pumps (rotary, reciprocating and peristaltic) accounts for the rest. Slump in the rural sector in the last few months, due to stagnant income growth, is hampering the agriculture pumps market. “Pump industry is crawling with single digit growth and uncertain market conditions in different segments,” says Yogesh Mistri, Senior General Manager - Pumps, V-Guard Industries Ltd.

Pumps industry is highly fragmented as it deals with a large variety of products target at different segments. Every segment has its own pulls and pushes and hence very difficult to chalk out one strategy/policy for growth. “Because the pump industry is scattered, it is unable to effectively influence the government policies. The policy makers are also heading without clear vision which is aligned to the needs of the market,” says Mistri.

 

Agriculture pumps is largely driven by government policies and climatic condition. Free electricity and pumps schemes of the governments – centre as well as states – distort market conditions and make it hard for private players. “Government has initiated number of schemes for farmers to move away from inefficient old pumps to energy efficient or solar powered pumps. For this, the government floats tender to buy pumps, which are then distributed free-of-cost to farmers in exchange of old pumps. At the same time, many state governments offer free electricity to farmers discouraging them to opt for energy-efficient pumps. Though these schemes are facilitating uptake of pumps, it is also hurting the open market. This also distorts supply chain right from distributors to after-sales-services market,” opines Yogesh Mistri.

Industrial pumps

 

The Government’s Make in India program, aimed at giving a push to manufacturing sector, is leading to development of industries which, in turn, is driving the demand for industrial pumps. “We cater a wide range of products with more than 350 models. We are seeing a pick-up in demand for our products from industries such as fire fighting, paper mills, steel plants, power stations, petrochemicals, sugar, fertiliser, desalination, air conditioning, bulk water supplies, dewatering, mining, etc,” says C Kandaswamy, CEO, Keerthi Pumps, the Coimbatore based MSME that specialises in the manufacturing of non-standard and standard pumps in iron and special steel constructions.

With the government working towards improving its ease of doing business ranking, many policies are being framed to encourage investment from global players in local manufacturing facility. For example, rapid growth of the Indian chemical market has stimulated the demand for high quality industrial pumps

 

“The industrial pumps market has seen an average increase of upto 10 per cent in business in 2019 starting from April 2019 as compared to same period last year. All major pump manufacturers worldwide are setting up their manufacturing bases in India. This is looked upon as an opportunity to Indian producers to upgrade their manufacturing processes as well as design of the products. Many small scale industries have successfully established vendor relations with the large scale brands. India is slowly becoming a manufacturing hub for industrial pumps,” says Milind Alwekar, CEO and Managing Director of Chemlin Pumps & Valves Pvt Ltd.

 

Reducing carbon footprint

Stringent environmental regulations, rapid urbanisation, water scarcity and process inefficiencies are some of the key challenges faced by Indian industries today. As a solution, some companies are offering smart pumping systems – which use sensors and software to regulate and control flow and pressure – to improve product performance and raise efficiency of the plant. For example, KSB Limited - the Indian arm of the German firm KSB AG - has launched KSB Guard to run the system smoothly and, at the same time, minimise the expenses of maintenance. “KSB Guard monitors the status of the pumps at regular intervals and allows to fix the problem before more substantial damage occurs. KSB has also launched the controllers for the pressure boosting systems for the smooth operation of the system,” says Rajeev Jain, Managing Director, KSB Limited who is also heading KSB groups’ Asia West operations as the Regional Executive Officer.

 

As part of its commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change adopted by 195 countries in Paris in 2015, India plans to reduce its carbon footprint by 33-35 per cent from its 2005 levels by 2030. Pumps can also play their role in helping India achieve this goal. Jain explains, “Product development is a continuous process in KSB as we strive to be customer centric by introducing newer and better solutions to cater the customer needs in more efficient way. One such solution is the supply of pumps required in the Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) process which helps reducing polluting flue gases from power plants. As our honorable Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, reiterated the commitment of India to reduce emissions, KSB Limited is proud to support the cause by partnering & localising pumps required for FGD application. A monster by size, these pumps handle critical slurry application in FGD plants. KSB Limited has bagged several orders in these plants and also trying to localize Special Lining technology required for longer life of the pumps and to give better Services to its customers. FGD Plants are comparatively new in India and I feel proud to mention that KSB Limited is one of the only few suppliers from India who can cater to this market. Recently, energy efficient AC motors with IE2 & IE3 efficiency class are introduced in the Indian market. Apart from introduction of new pumps in the agriculture and domestic segment, we are planning to launch additional sizes, variety of material combinations in mechanical seals. On the GGC valves front, development of higher size valves is also in progress. To cater the growing demand of solar pump market, we are developing a DC motor.”

 

The intelligent quotient 

In the next few years, the Indian pumps industry is expected witness a rise in demand for intelligent pump systems, which enable efficient usage of the pump. These systems can control and regulate the flow or pressure of the fluid and can adjust to process changes. Intelligent pumps have a fault tolerant design, which induces several manufacturers to adopt these pumps as they reduce the total cost of ownership without compromising performance parameters. “Energy efficient, cost effective and high performance pumps will be emerging in the market. Intelligent pumps, which can control and regulate the flow or pressure of the fluid, are also coming into the market. There is also a trend to distinctly connect process pumps to automation architecture,” observes Kandaswamy.

 

By incorporating Internet of Things (IoT) manufacturers are making ‘smart’ pumps to create a buzz in the market. “We see a lot of scope and chances with the emerging technology for smart pumps in the coming years. We, at Keerthi Pumps are focusing more on R&D to develop higher efficiency and cost effective pumps, which will contribute to the next generation smart pumps,” discloses Kandaswamy.

 

Intelligent pumps are helpful to consumer; however their affordability is the key issue for farmers and individual household users. Yogesh Mistri explains, “Indian market is very price sensitive. Though industry is witnessing launch of electronic embedded products, demand for such products is mainly from industrial segment that understands their benefits and can afford it.”

 

Pumping up demand 

At present, AC pumps are preferred choice for the user because they are cost effective and low maintenance. However, with demand for energy efficient pumps rising, manufacturers are now offering DC pumps, which operate at higher efficiency. Micro disc pump technology, which helps manufacturers develop small-size and energy-efficient disc pumps, is also gaining traction. In coming months, one can expected companies to introduce new disc pumps in India. “Disc pumps work on the principles of 'Viscous Drag and Boundary Layer'. In disc pumps, the flow in the casing/disc is near to laminar flow and with less turbulence as compared to other pumping methods. Due to this, erosion reduces drastically thereby increasing life of the pump components. So also, for sensitive media, the disc pumps have very less damaging effect in pumping sensitive emulsions as well as crystal slurries. Disc pumps are presently manufactured by Discflo Corporation in USA. There is a good demand for pumps to handle difficult slurries. In 2020, we plan to introduce Chemlin disc-type pumps for handling difficult slurries as well as shear sensitive slurries,” comments Milind Alwekar.

 

While cast iron is the most commonly used material of construction for pumps in India, stainless steel pumps are also now finding takers in the market. Stainless steel pumps, though costlier than cast iron pumps, are considered to be highly energy efficient. Rising demand for energy efficient and solar pumps is expected to push the market for SS pumps, thus opening up big opportunity for manufacturers such as Grundfos and Shakti Pumps who the leading players in this segment. 

 

Prospects of industrial pumps, which constitute a significant chunk of India’s pumps market, look better with demand likely to increase from sectors like power, chemicals, water & wastewater treatment, etc. Government is putting in efforts to improve infrastructure, water supply and sanitation services across the country creating a favourable condition for domestic pumps market to grow. 

 

With demand likely to increase manifold, can India become a manufacturing hub for industrial pumps? Kandaswamy responds, “India’s industrial upgrade is moving fast and it could replace China as ‘factory of the world’. Incomplete infrastructure network like inadequate electricity, water and transportation are problems for manufacturers in India. If government helps Indian manufactures, we can contribute better to the growing economy.”

 

Quote

Product development is a continuous process in KSB as we strive to be customer centric by introducing newer and better solutions to cater the customer needs in more efficient way. To cater the growing demand of solar pump market, we are developing a DC motor.

Rajeev Jain, Managing Director, KSB Ltd

 

Energy efficient, cost effective and high performance pumps will be emerging in the market. Intelligent pumps, which can control and regulate the flow or pressure of the fluid, are also coming into the market. There is also a trend to distinctly connect process pumps to automation architecture.

Kandaswamy, CEO, Keerthi Pumps

 

Because the pump industry is scattered, it is unable to effectively influence the government policies. Indian market is very price sensitive. Though industry is witnessing launch of electronic embedded products, demand for such products is mainly from industrial segment that understands their benefits and can afford it.

Yogesh Mistri, Sr. GM - Pumps, V-Guard Industries Ltd