As Australia became more industrialised, many other pump companies sprung up in our capital cities, including Kelly & Lewis, Ajax Pump, Mono Australia and Industrial Engineering Ltd. In 1963, under the umbrella of the Federal Government initiative headed by Dr. Bruce Sharp, local pump companies were invited to form an association to represent them and provide a basis for consolidation of the Industry. As a result, the Australian Pump Manufacturers Association (APMA) was formed. This organisation represented the interests of the companies with the capacity to build pumps from raw materials upwards and provide equipment for the needs of a growing nation for ever expanding and improved public utilities, as well as the continuing Industrialisation of country. With Government preferences and import duty as protection, the industry thrived until the mid 1980s, when changes in the industry began to occur.

It should be recognised that, in global terms, Australia represented a small potential market and the cost of ongoing Research and Development for new technologies and improved products was disproportionately high, such that manufacturing of pumps has declined. Many of those leading Australian companies are now foreign owned, but this has also meant that Australian consumers have access to the latest world pump technology. There is still a significant investment in Australia to support local manufacture, although it is clear from ABS import statistics that there is an increased level of pump importation over time.

The trend has been for multi-national investors, who set up businesses in Australia, particularly in the resources sector, to demand the very latest technology for their operations. This has meant that Australian pump suppliers have been obliged to stay ahead of the game in meeting these needs. We have seen the emergence of a number of specialist suppliers of pumping equipment to provide effective solutions to pumping problems. As a result, pump business continues to grow and the sophistication of the industry has improved to match this growth. Many PIA members have developed skills and capabilities to match customer demands and perform to world benchmarks in quality and reliability.

To reflect this change in the structure of the industry, the name of the Association was changed in 1997 to Pump Industry Australia (PIA) and PIA continues to promote the interests of its members with Government Authorities to ensure that the industry remains viable.

It is important that the consumer can have confidence that the pumping equipment installed in major infrastructure projects can be effectively serviced throughout its operational life and this can only be assured if the equipment is expertly maintained and genuine spare parts are always available. This requires a strong representation of equipment manufacturers at all levels within the industry.

The PIA website pumps.asn.au is a very effective means of keeping the business community in touch with the Association and learning about our members, their products and their services.

Batescrew Pumps, located at Tocumwal, are specialist manufacturers of high flow, low head tubular casing pumps. They were asked to supply automatically controlled variable speed equipment in the Robinvale area for pumping from the Murray River up to the Almond farms 4km away. The discharge needed to be variable to allow users to match the farm needs and available water in the river at different times of the year. The pumps had to be able to operated first time, every time, unmanned and at water supply levels that were sometimes less than desirable for good submergence during summer low river levels. The larger 36HC pumps have a peak duty of 1078 l/s each @ 42m TDH drawing 520kw from the Toshiba 8 pole, electric motors. The smaller pumps are 14MC mixed flow with top duty of 285 l/s @ 33m TDH drawing 116kw from CMG electric motors.

Despite the obvious flooding that has occurred recently, Toowoomba has traditionally suffered from inadequate water supply. This has led to the manufacture of a test bore pump by Tyco Pumping Systems for new bores drilled in the area. The unit supplied consisted of a 180mm diameter 30 stage “Everflow” vertical multistage pump direct coupled to a 230kW, submersible electric motor.

Many of the World’s leading pump companies are represented in the PIA, with head offices based in Europe, USA and Japan. As a result, Australian infrastructure developments can have access to the very latest technology, with full local support in terms of customisation, installation and commissioning and routine maintenance by firms familiar with all the Australian requirements for Government regulations, Building Codes and OH&S. PIA actively encourages developers and project managers to work with our members to obtain the best long term solution for their pumping needs.

PIA has run a seminar in Melbourne recently to outline how our industry is coping with the need to conserve both water and energy, which was extremely well received. A further seminar is planned for July 2011 in Sydney to continue the interaction with major pump users and to promote the concept of “life cycle costs”, where companies look at the combined cost of the capital equipment, the power consumed over the installation life time and the cost of parts and maintenance until the equipment needs to be replaced. In a world where the effects of global warming can be catastrophic, any initiative to reduce power consumption is helpful. It is estimated that 10-15 per cent of power is consumed in driving electric motors coupled to pumping equipment, so an efficient, reliable pump can be a major contributor to energy efficiency targets.

So, what has the Australian Pump Industry achieved in recent years? We take this opportunity to give you a snapshot of the projects undertaken by our members. Pumps are not very often talked about; they are no status symbol, like the latest Mercedes! However, without them, our daily lives would be a lot less comfortable. No more early morning showers, no flushing toilets, no air conditioning and fire protection in highrise buildings. These are just a few of the services that we take for granted which depend on pumping equipment in unseen plant rooms across Australia.

Australian consumers can take comfort in the fact that Australian pump suppliers continue to operate successfully. However, it is important to recognise that there are relatively high costs of doing business in Australia and some equipment is being procured by international contractors based on preferred trading arrangements with companies who do not have representation in this country. The Governments Enhanced Project By-law Scheme (EPBS) is intended to give Australian suppliers a full and fair opportunity to engage with investment projects undertaken in Australia. However, there is considerable anecdotal evidence to suggest that this is not as effective as many Australian suppliers had hoped. While PIA continues to liaise with the Department of Innovation and Industry and the Industry Capability Network to promote the capability of PIA members, we need to emphasise the need for project business to be secured by Australian companies who have adequate infrastructure to maintain plant operation into the future. It requires tangible support from Federal and State Governments as well as international investors to ensure that a strong local Pump Industry survives against lower cost competition for suppliers who may not have the capability to support these products in the field.

Caveat Emptor - Let the buyer beware!

BKB Envirotech, part of the BKB Group, successfully undertook a number of turnkey pump and water storage projects in Australia. Purpose built packages were provided by BKB Envirotech to Mitchell Water for 29 pumping stations for the Wimmera Mallee Pipeline Project for stages 1,2,3,4, and 6. The packages were manufactured in-house and tested in a NATA accredited facility located in Hallam prior to installation and commissioning on site. The old, open channel system was unsustainable - more than 80 per cent of water was wasted through seepage and evaporation. Of up to 120 billion litres of water released from storages in the Grampians each year, only 17 billion litres of water reached customers on farms and in towns.

KSB Australia Pty Ltd supplied four large water pumps to a new pumping station at Ravenswood inn West Australia. The pumps will be used to feed a storage reservoir with up to 265 million litres of drinking water a day via a pipeline from a desalination plant under construction. These axially split casing pumps are driven by 2400 kW electric motors and have very high operating efficiency and minimise power consumption on this important project. Water Corporation is one of Australia’s largest water supply companies. It caters for the approximately 2.5 million inhabitants of Western Australia.