Mr K V Karthik, Managing Director, Deccan Industries, one of India’s leading pump manufacturing companies, headquartered in Coimbatore, has been elected as the president of the Indian Pump Manufacturers Association (IPMA), the country’s premier body representing the US$ 2 billion pump manufacturing sector, for 2023-24.


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Mr Karthik is the 39th president of IPMA. He was elected at the 72nd Annual General Meeting of IPMA held recently at Coimbatore, which was attended by Mr R. Kumaravelu, Managing Director, Aquasub Group as the Chief Guest and IPMA’s members from across the country including Pune, Ahmedabad, and Rajkot.


While thanking the IPMA members for having elected him as their president, Mr Karthik said that he would focus on increasing the synergy between IPMA, The Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association and Rajkot Engineering Association, the two other major industry bodies representing the 1500-odd pump manufacturers in the organised sector. “We need to promote collaboration among the units which would pave the way for cost savings, improved product design & collective sourcing, and thus help the sector address the global demand of diverse product offerings and competitive pricing.”


 
India’s pump industry is 100 years old. It manufactures more than more than 1 million pumps every year. Agriculture and residential sectors comprise 46% of the market by value, while the industrial sector comprises the rest. The industry is expected to reach US$ 100 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 4% during 2021-2026. India exports pumps to 100+ countries. The sector is providing employment to around 120,000 people.


 
Commenting about the strengths and opportunities of the industry, Mr Karthik said that Indian companies had a unique opportunity to test their pumps in diverse and tough field conditions, and used their experience to improve technology. Indian pumps have become world-class and can challenge the best in the world. While pumps for agricultural and water supply are the strengths of the Indian companies, the industry is striving to add high-value pumps used for mining, wastewater, oil and gas to its offerings.


“Growing investments globally in irrigation, water and wastewater, mining, and chemical industries present a tremendous scope. We are witnessing an enormous interest in the global market for Indian pumps. Post Covid, pump exports from the country have grown by more than 20%. There is every opportunity for India to be a global leader,” he said. “IPMA will focus on improving the global share of Indian pumps to make the Indian Pump Industry a lakh crore industry by 2030”. Karthik thanked the Government of India for providing grants through its Department of Heavy Industry towards promoting research and development in advanced pump technologies.


He added that by making use of the country’s strength in the IT sector, the industry should up the ante in product design and introduce pumping systems with IoT and smart control features to gain strength in the global market as the customers demand real-time and remote monitoring, optimised energy consumption and predictive maintenance alerts. 


As for threats, Mr Karthik cautioned that the grey market posed serious challenges to the organised pump industry. The grey market products offer cheap alternatives, but they are made of sub-standard materials; they are inefficient and do not conform to IS standards. He said that IPMA would work with the government to take strict action against the grey market players. While thanking the Government for extending all assistance for expanding the global footprint of Indian pumps, he also requested the Government to consider the industry’s plea for “one country, one product, one standard and one certificate” for pumps as multiple certifications through different agencies are affecting the ease of doing business in this sector.


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