Grundfos Senior Regional Sales Director Jonathan Hamp-Adams answered the following questions from Pumps & Systems for our 2024 State of the Industry issue.
What are your thoughts regarding Build America, Buy America (BABA)? How has that impacted your company?
I think this is an important development in the USA industry. One thing we learned during COVID was the importance of having a robust global supply chain. Having local solutions and partners combined with global technologies has always been the Grundfos way and will be even more so in the future. Grundfos USA has always prided itself with having a strong, proudly USA production footprint with facilities in California, Texas, Illinois, Indiana and Alabama. We plan to increase our product portfolio’s BABA compliance over the current strategy period.
How have any price increases of products or materials impacted you or your company?
The input material price increase index rate that we experienced throughout 2021 and 2022 has slowed significantly during 2023. With high levels of inventory in the supply chain we have seen discounting from competitors. This would appear to indicate that price increases will be lower going into 2024.
What is your company doing to address the skills gap?
We have in the last number of years invested in intern programs and local development and training programs with various Texas institutions. We will continue to advance the development of training programs online and face to face at our Kansas, Chicago and Houston centers.
What needs to happen in regard to industry improvements in the short term?
We need to see end users' demand for energy efficient solutions increase.
What issues have you seen with any material shortages or supply chain issues?
Toward the end of last year and the beginning of this year we faced massive challenges particularly from vendors in Europe. This has improved significantly in the last three to four months.
What industry trends are you seeing as we go into 2024?
Digital solutions and connecting assets will continue to explode. There are many new entrants to the market as operators seek to have more data and analysis at their fingertips. Energy efficient solutions, water loss and wastewater spillage reduction are now top of mind along with the skills gap.
Are there any upcoming regulatory changes we should be aware of?
We are likely to see an increase in demand for BABA compliance at the city level.
How do you expect automation and AI to affect the industry in the next five years?
AI is already transforming how we collect, manage and analyze data, driving faster and more efficient decision making at the operator level. In addition, we are able to support designers with product and solution technical information faster than ever before.
What are you most looking forward to in 2024?
Grundfos USA will be bringing more new products and digital offerings to the market in this one year than we have ever done before.
What else should end users know about the year ahead?
The USA market will continue to be a focus for Grundfos and our competitors. We expect to see many solutions arriving on the market that help to reduce wastewater spillage and water loss.