Core sectors activities need to be accelerated
“The industrial activity is at a low ebb today. But the stage is bound to be set for an economic up-thrust and hopefully the results should be visible from end 2016.” – Mr. Y.I. Buch, Dy. General Manager, KSB
KSB India, a dominant player in the pumps & valves industry and the undisputed leader in certain product categories, is always proactive and perceptive to the evolving and constantly changing market needs. KSB, known for its technology leadership, has nurtured its business on customer trust over five decades of its presence in India, backed by 145 years of experience of its parent company, KSB, Ag, Germany. Mr. Yagnesh Buch, Dy. General Manager, KSB India speaks to Mr. P.K. Balasubbramaniian, reflecting on wide ranging topics including the state of the economy, the need for acceleration of activities and the role of pumps & valves in harnessing our resources to the fullest extent. Mr. Buch also hints on the emerging trends in the pump technologies and KSB’s readiness to offer integrated and automated solutions to burgeon the economy. Excerpts:
Q. What are the pump segments you are present in and which are the product segments in which you are dominant in the market?
KSB Pumps Limited has a broad portfolio of Centrifugal Power driven Pumps and Industrial Valves available to its clients; which cover almost every conceivable application that such products could serve. Pumps range from small domestic pumps for household and building applications; through to pumps used in the water supply, irrigation and sewage applications or even Industrial sectors including all process industries; refineries and petrochemicals. Our portfolio also addresses the needs of Power plants; which cover the spectrum of Conventional; Supercritical and even Nuclear Power plants with great aplomb.
The cast and forged Gate, Globe, Check and Ball valves manufactured by us at Coimbatore cater, predominantly, to the Energy and Industry sectors. As far as our After Market Services are concerned, we back up our supplies via our spare part service, as well as providing supervision of Installation and Commissioning, or any further support that the customer may require of us. The diverse array of Products that KSB Pumps Limited, India offers is the result of, not only the over five decades of portfolio diversification and expansion in India, but also being backed by our over 145 years of experience and expertise of our parent company and doyens in the Industry KSB Ag., Germany. This has helped us with new products consistently being added to the wealth of solutions, already available. This is a result of the company being proactive and perceptive to the evolving and constantly changing market needs.We are known for our technology leadership, and have nurtured our business on customer trust.
We have a network of 4 Zonal sales offices, 18 Branch offices and over 900 dealers and authorized service partners across the country, apart from our own 4 Service stations. Our manufacturing hubs total to 5 pan India; and address special customer needs and focus. The Irrigation and Process division in Pimpri, Pune; The Power projects Division in Chinchwad, also in Pune; Water Pumps Division in Sinnar, Nashik; and the Valves Division in Coimbatore. In order to support these manufacturing units with quality castings, we have an Alloy steel and a Cast Iron foundry in Vambori, near Ahmednagar. As you may be aware; a Pump or a Valve is as good as its casting. We manufacture our own castings in these ultramodern foundries of ours … that is why our end products are robust and even more reliable.
Q. What has been the growth in the segments you are present over the last two years and how do you see this panning out in the next two years from the present standpoint?
As you know, sentiments were very high when this Government came into Power with great majority. But ground realities are still different, till date! The activities in the core sectors that would propel the economy and Industrial activity; viz. those in Power, Oil and Gas sectors are still at a low ebb. Barring some projects in each of these segments materializing in the period gone by; nothing dramatic has exited the capital goods Industry at large. This has led to poor liquidity and Capex expansion / implementing of new projects has been lackluster in the General Industry.
In the agriculture Sector, poor / unseasonal monsoon has had a telling effect on its fortunes. Loss of crops leading to poor financial resources of farmers saw this market plummeting. In fact most of the manufacturers addressing this segment reported a loss of 20 – 25% business in the same period over the previous year. KSB was however able to sustain its numbers due to strategic measures through product innovations and availability. This effort was ably supported by the sharp focus of the very loyal and strong dealer network. In infrastructure and Building services, the supply continues to be more than the demand; mainly due to resource crunch.
However, the stage is bound to be set and become ready for an economic upthrust, which should be visible towards and from the end of 2016. On a backdrop that India has a long way to go on the road to progress; the green signals and opportunities for this are ample! Our developments are slow and need to speed up; rural India has yet to get the full benefits of Technology. Modernization and accelerated development in the Power sector is imminent. Developments in Infrastructure – in building roads and dams will be on faster track. Water is becoming scarce; and the advent of desalination of sea water will need to be looked at seriously in the coming years. India is gearing up to be a super power in the nearest future. We have the resources (including talent and knowledge) in the country, however, we must preserve these inlands to seize this leadership position, worldwide. In doing so, the Pump and valve industry has a major part to play – as it is the heart of these activities –and the only one direction to move is – up and up!
Q. How does one optimize the efficiency of pumps?
In general, the performance of a pump can be read / judged through many parameters like lower or higher flow, lower or higher pressure at discharge, higher vibration, abnormal noise, higher current drawn by the motor etc. The operator has to monitor these parameters regularly, either manually or if customers have done all instrumentation set up then the same can be monitoredfrom the Control room. The performance can be guarded by providing Alarms and trip signals on key parameters. The life of the pump depends on the standards which are being used to design the Pumps. It also depends on low/medium/high tech requirement from the application side. For example, there are several boiler feed / condensate extraction pumps which are running for decades; while there could be some submersible pumps which could run for 4-5 years. On the other hand, some domestic pumps of very small capacity for house-hold usage may run below 2 years. If the pump is giving desired performance, then it is not necessary to change it. But regular maintenance of pumps is a must which keeps them running for longer periods and avoids downtime.
Q. What is the share of unorganized sector in pumps manufacturing? How does it affect the adoption of global quality standards/benchmarks?
The unorganized sector is a big obstacle to the development of the Industry as well as the nation. These types of players are still strongly present, mainly in the Agriculture and domestic Markets for reasons more than one
- They use inferior designs and materials, thereby, are very aggressive on price
- They generally do not have a consistent / acceptable quality
- They are energy inefficient
- They are generally local players and not national players
- Power is not metered / charged to farmers and hence the need of energy efficient pumps manufactured by the organized players becomes secondary to the price conscious customers.
Till such time Power is not metered and charged to the farmers / or the power is metered and free power is only offered to the extent of the load sanctioned; unorganized players will still be a strong deterrent to the progress of our industry. Today the unorganized sector corners 30 to 35% of these segments.
Q. What are the emerging trends in pump technologies and how do you address the changing industry needs?
As regards 90% of the Pumps and Valves required by the Indian Customers, Indigenous supplies by Multinationals / local players in India take care of the same. Multinational companies, keep bringing in newer technologies / designs for local manufacture and take care of advanced needs of the customers. As India is evolving fast,newer technologies are bound to find way in the country
The breadth of KSB Pumps Limited – India’s product portfolio affords the company a wide range of customers and thereby also ensuring that quality control becomes a vital part of the business. Analysis and correction of processes and products is constant with improvements being continuously implemented.
”Customer feedback heavily influences such improvements”. We are the technology leaders in most of the segments we operate in. Our products are designed to meet needs of myriad applications right from Domestic Water Supply to the most critical applications. If you take the power sector; our pumps and valves serve most critical services in Nuclear, Supercritical and thermal power. We have contemporary technologies and products.
We have access to a host of products and systems from our principles, for which India is yet not ready to imbibe them. Remote monitoring of pumping systems is one such example! We expect more and more evolutions to take place – more efficient; integrated and automated solutions to be used in the Indian Industry; for which KSB is completely ready!
Since, every rotating equipment results in some wear and tear and this leads to deterioration of performance as well as occupational hazards. Hence it’s a prudent practice that the pump is replaced after it has served its design life, it can be 10 year to 25 years.
To ensure that pump is running at its optimum efficiency, the exercise starts right from setting the specification by designer of the application / plant. Every pump has an optimum pump range and a best efficiency point. This is the combination of flow and head at which pump works most efficiently.
If the pumps are operated in this preferred operating range then their long service life can be expected. This will automatically lead to lower noise and vibration of pump.
At KSB, “Special is our standard” and to take special care during selection of the pump or valve; its materials based on liquids handled; its installation and commissioning is a way of life! That is why a KSB user enjoys being our customer purely due to the reliable and quality performance any KSB pump or valve exhibits; when put in operation.
