Industrial Flow Solutions president John Wilson answered several questions for Pumps & Systems pertaining to the state of the industry heading into 2022.
How have any price increases of products or materials impacted you or your company?
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We have seen a varying array of increases depending on the commodity. Metal commodities such as copper, aluminum, nickel and associated alloys all continue to experience significant fluctuations. The biggest surprise has and continues to be freight and the associated logistical challenges and cost increases with receiving and shipping material. We have implement price increases on selective equipment to offset some of these costs while not creating unnecessary headwinds for our customers.
What needs to happen in regards to industry improvements?
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I believe we need to get a level of stability at the ports and transportation industry. This includes operating times, availability of staff and training of additional resources.
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We have seen a wide array of quality issues regarding raw material, finished components and shipping as a whole. A recommitment to quality combined with the needed training and improvement programs is critical.
What issues have you seen with any material shortages or supply chain issues?
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It is difficult to isolate this to one area as the shortages and issues have varied over the past year. We began the year seeing challenges in availability of various castings and forgings. As the year progressed, we have seen shortages in various electrical components such as printed circuit boards, cabling and connectors.
What industry trends are you seeing as we go into 2022?
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I expect that we will see supply chain and logistical challenges for the next 12 to 24 months.
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ESG related programs will continue to receive a higher level of focus and funding.
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There is a great deal of excitement around the pending infrastructure bill and what that means for new construction and upgrade activities. Whether or not this occurs remains to be seen.
What keeps you up at night?
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Retention of our precious talent combined with the ability to attract new and capable talent.
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The ability to exceed our customer’s expectations with respect to availability and on-time delivery.