Pumps & Systems, January 2008

Critical Issues Facing Businesses That Cater to Municipal Needs

Municipal revenue and budgets have fluctuated over the past year due to changes in the housing market. Housing prices in most high growth states increased rapidly in the first half of this decade. Rising housing prices resulted in a rapidly increased real estate tax base and significant increase in municipal revenue and budgets. These same states are now experiencing sharp declines in housing prices, exacerbated by the well-publicized crisis in subprime mortgages.

Pumps & Systems, January 2008

Critical Issues

Public and private organizations that rely heavily upon pumps and rotating equipment for their operations face similar critical issues which demand solutions. One issue - the need for improved plant reliability and availability - is key to both public utilities providing water, wastewater, gas or electric services to local constituencies, and publicly traded corporations with processing and distribution operations around the world.

Pumps & Systems, January 2008

Critical Issues

We participate in both the municipal and industrial market segments. Each market group has its own distinct issues. From the municipal side, the real estate slowdown in the U.S. market is forcing foreclosures and/or property devaluation. As a result, local governments are faced with a double-edged sword-the tax base is reduced while the demand for services increases. The infrastructure of the sewer and water departments is being squeezed by lower budgets for routine maintenance and for upgrading of existing services.

Pumps & Systems, January 2008

Critical Issues

The first critical issue facing the industry is a shortage of people. To combat this challenge, we continue to recruit talent wherever we can find it, and we have embarked on a mission to bring new people into the industry and train them.

Pumps & Systems, January 2008

Critical Issues

SERO PumpSystems GmbH is a well recognized manufacturer of side channel pumps that has been in operation for more than 100 years, but SERO PumpSystems, Inc. (a Texas based subsidiary of SERO GmbH) just opened for business in January 2007. Different histories, different markets, but similar views on the current issues facing the pump industry.

Pumps & Systems, January 2008

Critical Issues

Our current expectation is for global growth in emerging markets to continue, driven by the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) as well as the Middle East, Eastern Europe and segments of Latin America. Infrastructure expansion in these emerging markets is likely to drive growth in our core market segments over the planning horizon.

Pumps & Systems, January 2008

Critical Issues

Emissions regulations continue to have the largest impact on the portable pump rental industry. In response to the effects of global warming, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has tightened regulations on engine emissions, diesel lube oil and sulfur content in off-road diesel fuel. 

Pumps & Systems, January 2008

Critical Issues

The three critical issues facing our industry over the next 12-18 months are the increased competition from globalization, cost inflation for raw materials and an increasing scarcity of qualified technical talent.

Pumps & Systems, November 2007

I was pleased to receive a letter from one of our readers concerning my two-part article "Affinity Laws for Pumping Systems (ALPS)" (Beyond the Flanges, July-August 2007). To satisfactorily address all of this reader's queries, this month's column addresses them in detail for the benefit of our entire audience.

Pumps & Systems, January 2008

Critical Issues

In North America, the water and wastewater industry has quietly provided the clean water and the wastewater treatment desired by the consuming public-consistently and without fanfare, for decades. More significantly, the water and wastewater industry has accomplished this at a minimum of costs to the individual user. (Low-cost water supplies and wastewater treatment have been considered to be virtually an entitlement or have simply been taken for granted.)