Huge growth is envisaged for the pumps and valves industry. The industry is demand driven and will grow with the economy. India is poised to become a superpower of the world and has envisaged overall development to achieve GDP growth rate of 8 per cent and to sustain it. Mega projects are being planned and under execution across the country. "Engineering and services industries have tremendous growth potential," says Shashi Shankar Naik, Business Director, Grundfos Pumps India Pvt. Ltd.

"World demand for valves is 15 billion and growth rate is 5 per cent per annum," says Sadanand A. Shetty, Chairman, Fouress Group. The local market size for valves is Rs 5,000 crore and is growing at the rate of 10 to 12 per cent per annum. Maximum demand for valves is from the petroleum, oil and gas, steel and defence sector.

 "India can become the pump manufacturer of the world," says Harshad M. Joshi, Executive Director Shroffs Engineering Limited. India is uniquely placed to meet pump requirement of the world. The country is equipped with the best technology in pump manufacturing, and offers quality products at the most competitive rates.

 The pump industry is growing at the rate of 15 per cent per year. The organized sector size is around Rs 2,500 crore and the unorganised is around Rs 2,500 crore. For pumps the maximum demand will be from infrastructure and commercial building segment and also from the agriculture sector.

For the pump and valve sector there is huge export potential. India is able to meet export demand in both the sectors. The country offers quality products at most competitive rates, well equipped with the latest technologies and offers in-time delivery.

 However, there is a big Chinese threat. China can take over India in terms of meeting world requirements of pumps and valves. China can eat into India's export share. In China there is world-class infrastructure and the Chinese government supports manufacturers.

Other hurdles for the growth of both the industries are the rising fuel prices, infrastructure bottlenecks and duties. "If we are quoting tenders keeping in mind X price, due to rising fuel prices and other factors, within a month's time price becomes X+10," says Shetty. Moreover, the valve industry is polluted with a lot of labour laws and also mobility of people across the states is rigid. People are not ready to move from one state to state another easily, adds Shetty. However, there is mixed response with respect to the availability of trained manpower in the pump sector.

The market is well-equipped with trained manpower and the latest technologies, says Naik. Joshi states that there is lack of trained manpower in the market. Another factor is the KITS, which is a bad mark on the pump industry. KITS, pump manufacturers from unorganized sectors, evades taxes, use low quality pumps which consume a lot of power. KIT pump gets assembled only at farmer's bore-well. Also, rising raw material price is a deterrent to the growth of both the industries.

Source- Project Vendor.
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