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Kolmeks Pumps and Sustainability

Pumps UK Ltd

Leaders in moving water Engineering and developers of the WRAS approved PUK VARI COM and other cold-water booster sets.

发布日期: 2022年7月29日

Pumps are one of the most widely manufactured engineering products in the world, with global sales estimated at around USD30b in 2021 [1].

It is a gigantic market, predicted to grow by between 3.4% and 5% a year, and the resources required to manufacture are equally impressive, with materials such as cast iron, stainless steel, cast steel, bronze, composite materials, carbon structural steel, alloy steel and non-metallic materials used in the process.

It is not a surprise, therefore, that manufacturers (and indeed their customers) are beginning to think more deeply about sustainability, about the preservation of resources, recycling of materials and manufacturing (and sourcing) robust pump solutions that will last longer and require fewer resources to maintain them over time, and other legacy considerations.

One could argue that the increase in costs of products designed with this kind of sustainable methodology are likely to be prohibitive or are built with engineering compromises that limit their performance; the counter to that argument is preserving resources, using fewer spares and so on in the long run. The argument is probably as old as human endeavour. Medieval guildsmen were assuring quality and arguing over the costs associated with creating lasting edifices in the 13th Century, and berating irresponsible cost-cutting demands by their patrons. Fast forward 700 years to our environmentally aware modern Information Age, and around 80% of the most valuable companies have a sustainability policy [2]; the market is definitely open to products that really last, have a smaller environmental footprint and better fit the sustainability models.

This brings me, rather neatly, to Kolmeks Group , the Finnish pump manufacturer. With an enviable reputation for robustness, reliability and longevity, Kolmeks also deliver some important messages, central to their ideas of ethical sustainability. According to them: ‘It is our duty to build the business sustainably for the next generations – we are here for the long game [3]’. They mean it. Kolmeks have been manufacturing pumps for 75 year and recycling them for 45 of those, somewhat ahead of the curve, one might say. Kolmeks refer to this as being part of their ‘circular economy’ – I can see why, with 95% of the materials in their pumps coming from recycled sources.

According to their literature, the average life expectancy of their pumps is 25 years. My arithmetical mastery only stretches so far, but the average life span means half of Kolmeks’ pumps last longer than 25 years and it is hard to not be impressed; as Kolmeks state: ‘Planet, people and continuity are the cornerstones of our sustainability strategy’.

Legacy is an important word to consider in the context of moving-water engineering and we, at Pumps UK Ltd , enthusiastically endorse Kolmeks for their ‘maximum efficiency’ products and commitment to manufacturing top-quality, sustainable pumps.