See more of our State of the Industry 2016 coverage.Pumps & Systems staff spoke with Larry Lewis, president of Vanton Pump, about the current state of the industry and what we should watch for in the coming year.
Q. What has been your experience in the pump market in 2015?
A. While we have seen some signs of economic recovery, municipal business still remains inconsistent. However, we have experienced more jobs being released for production this year over last. Traditional methods for capital expenditures still seem to be unresolved for new plant construction and expansions or upgrades of existing plants. Regardless of monetary constraints there remains the ever-present concerns pertaining to aging infrastructure and environmental issues as they relate to corrosion, chemical containment, transfer, collection, water and wastewater treatment, neutralization and odor abatement. An unsettled economic environment has less of an impact on niche products, such as our thermoplastic pumps, for the safe handling of aggressive and corrosive fluids when compared to pumps intended for more traditional applications. An exception is the oil and gas industry, which has slowed considerably as the price of oil continues to drop precipitously. Long standing customer relationships and the engineered pumps we manufacture help to provide a hedge against individual market fluctuations. OEM business and exports to Europe, Latin America and Asia for industrial processes as well as water and waste treatment continue to be a significant part of our business. Whether a robust economy or not, the challenge to provide greater utility and value to the customer has never been more significant. While product performance and reliability remain an absolute requirement, from our perspective, overall customer support and service is more important than ever; from presale consultation and faster response times leading to quicker deliveries to post sale support including start-up and aftermarket care. To this point we have grown our field support team to over 200 domestic representatives and distributors and we have a presence in over 70 countries. We have found the best investment is the reinvestment in our selves; be it new product development, tooling for existing product enhancement or expanding our pump testing facility capability.
Q. Predictions for 2016?
A. We have seen an increase in traditional chemical business domestically and an upswing in municipal business so we are optimistic for 2016.