1. What regulations or standards are you preparing for or watching in the coming year?
We are continuing to watch the development of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) regulations as they relate to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drinking water standards at the national level, as well as state level PFAS regulations, particularly in states like California. The vast majority of components that are utilized in a pump assembly do not contain PFAS materials. However, there are certain aspects of many pump designs that do rely upon PFAS materials, such as Viton or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), to properly function. It is critical for pump manufacturers to adapt their designs to comply with these evolving regulations aimed at keeping the general public safe.
2. What key trends have emerged over the past year, and how are they shaping the market?
A drive toward more energy-efficient pumping solutions continues to be a prominent trend within the pump industry. End users are placing a significant emphasis on pump efficiency, which is one of the key driving factors for this trend, in addition to energy efficiency regulations being imposed at state and federal levels.
3. How have any price increases of products or materials impacted you or your company?
Supplier price increases are a fact of life. However, aside from tariff driven price increases, 2025 was a fairly “normal” year with regards to price increases that we observed from our suppliers. At Kinetiflo, we always look for every opportunity to minimize the impact of a price increase to our customers.
4. What training or educational initiatives are being implemented to prepare the next generation of professionals?
The Hydraulic Institute (HI) continues to be at the forefront with their training and educational programs for pump industry professionals. The HI certification programs, live webinars and instructor-led trainings are all truly top notch. We utilize these services quite extensively within our organization to help our employees learn and grow as pump industry experts.
5. What upcoming technologies or innovations do you foresee having the most significant impact on the industry in the next five years?
I think the continued adoption of AI copilots and AI-powered tools within the pump industry will have a massive impact on how we do business. Not only on overall business efficiency, but also our ability to serve our customers better and with higher technical accuracy than ever before.
6. Have tariffs affected your business in the past year? If so, how?
Throughout 2025, we have seen pricing pressure from many of our suppliers, driven by newly instituted tariff policies. However, our business has been fortunate enough to leverage investments in new processes and technology, increasing our operational efficiency and allowing us to minimize the impact of tariffs to our customers.
7. Have you incorporated AI into your processes? Or is your company adding AI infrastructure, such as data centers, into your product or service focus in 2026?
We are trying a few AI-powered tools that we feel will help us operate more efficiently, respond to our customers faster and serve them better. These are currently being tested on a trial basis before we plan to roll them out on a broader scale. We also expect our pumps to see broader deployment within the data center cooling space as we move into the future. The demand for water-based cooling within the data center market is growing at a rapid pace, with many pump manufacturers looking to serve this relatively new market.
8. How have customer expectations changed in the past year, particularly regarding service, performance and sustainability?
On the heels of some significant global supply chain disruptions, we are seeing customers place a heightened emphasis on reduced lead times and technical customer service. We have focused on these needs by investing in a large amount of inventory stateside, allowing us to successfully continue our fast build and ship manufacturing process.
9. What’s on your mind/what are you most concerned about?
The pump industry continues to see impressive year-over-year growth. Such growth requires a large, experienced and motivated workforce. We, as pump manufacturers, need to continue focusing on attracting talented young people to join our industry. The need for skilled labor, experienced engineers, hard-charging salespeople and talented back-office support staff is not going away anytime soon. The time to start developing the next generation of pump professionals is now.
10. What are you most looking forward to in 2026?
We are looking forward to 2026 being a year marked by high growth, launching new products and serving our customers better than ever. We have brought some new and young talent into our organization over the past year. I’m excited to watch those individuals grow and prosper as pump professionals. We expect 2026 to be a great year all around!
11. What else should end users know about the year ahead?
2025 began with significant macroeconomic uncertainty for our industry, as well as the entire global economy. I am proud to say that we navigated this period well, continuing to fulfill our commitment to manufacture quality pumps, quickly and at a fair price. I believe that, as we move into 2026, we will return to a period of stability in the marketplace and a more predictable business climate.
For more State of the Industry coverage, visit pumpsandsystems.com/tags/state-of-the-industry-2026.
