2020.07.30
Custom Pumps manufacturing floor in Vietnam
EBARA Bombas América do Sul Ltda. (EBAS), an overseas group company of EBARA CORPORATION (EBARA) received an order for a vertical pump from Companhia Siderurgica Nacional. This makes the first order received for a vertical pump in almost 50 years in Brazil.
1. Background
EBARA’s custom pumps business history in South America goes way back and our first delivery was made in the early 1970’s. Before Ebara Industrias Mecânicas e Comercio Ltda. (predecessor of EBAS), which was our first offshore production base that manufactures deep well pumps, was founded in 1975, EBARA had been providing custom pumps manufactured in Japan as well as service & support. Since then, we were delivering custom pumps to various industries such as water and sewage, steel, electric power, fertilizer plants not only in Brazil but all over South America including Argentine, Chile, Venezuela, Columbia, etc.
Then in the 1980’s, as the hyper-inflation advanced accompanying the downturn of the Brazilian economy, and products made in Brazil became the main stream instead of imported pumps, networks with custom pumps customers came to an end in South America.
2. Custom Pumps business overview at EBAS
EBAS, since its founding, has been manufacturing standard pumps with deep well pumps being the main products. As for design, manufacturing, testing of custom pump bodies, Futtsu Plant, EBARA’s world’s largest class custom pump factory, leads the way of our global production system in cooperation with plants in China and Vietnam for backing up the needs for custom pumps in South America.
In order to regain custom pumps customers, EBAS has been enhancing its Service & Support department. Specifically, they have been promoting the following through hearings at customers’ maintenance, plant operations, and process design departments:
• Technical support to customers (pump system design, etc.)
• Long-term maintenance service and overhaul of pumps
• Provision of spare parts that can be procured locally with short lead time
• Routine maintenance support, abnormality diagnostic service
• On-site pump performance testing at customer’s site
Through these services, orders from customers increased gradually; in 2017 a custom pump order was received from a customer in Uruguay and in 2018 we won an order from Columbia; and finally in 2020, for the first time in nearly 50 years, an order came in for a vertical pump in Brazil. The custom pump for which the order was received will be manufactured at a plant of Ebara Vietnam Pump Company Limited, and is scheduled to be shipped in March 2021.
３．Future plan
EBARA’s medium-term management plan “E-Plan2022” posts its targets in which, in order to improve profitability of Custom Pumps business, we capture the needs of different markets and increase profitability and enhance service & support. EBAS, as a best solution provider of custom pumps, intends to win confidence of customers and expand market shares in South America through product installation, commissioning, modification/make-over, and proposing product lifecycle elongation.
EBARA Group aims at Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through tackling ESG materiality issues based on its long-term vision and mid-term management plan and makes efforts to further increase its corporate value.