Grundfos Pump Co., a global pump manufacturer headquartered in Demark and best known for its circulating pumps, is working toward a goal of becoming a significant player in the market for large-scale wastewater pumps.
The company began offering large wastewater pumps with its acquisition in 2000 of the Sarlin Pump Co. in Finland. The company's goal is to expand its global network to take advantage of marketing opportunities in Eastern Europe and the Far East.
Attractive areas for marketing include Romania and Ukraine, Russia, China and India. The company currently has factories in Denmark, Finland, Switzerland, Germany, France, Brazil and Hungary. Plans are to begin production of pumps in China to target the Asian market.
With an annual production of 10 million pump units, Grundfos is one of the world's leading pump manufacturers. Circulator pumps (UP), submersible pumps (SP), and centrifugal pumps (CR) are its three major product groups. Today, Grundfos is the world's largest manufacturer of circulator pumps, covering approximately 50 percent of the market for these pumps.
In addition to pumps, Grundfos manufactures electric motors for its pumps and has a considerable production of electric motors for separate merchandising. Furthermore, Grundfos develops and sells state-of-the-art electronics for control of pumps and other systems.
The company currently offers heavy-duty submersible sewage pumps with motor sizes ranging from 1.5 to 155 kW. It also offers a variety of Super-heavy-duty axial-flow channel-impeller pumps and propeller pumps with motors up to 520 kW for both sewage and raw water pumping.
The company also offers a variety of mixers and flowmakers designed for use in wastewater systems. They are of a modular design, which makes them easy to maintain and service. The Grundfos mixers are available with either direct driven or planetary gear driven propellers, depending on the model. The stainless steel or polyamide propellers are designed for efficiency even under heavy-duty operating conditions.
Grundfos is privately owned and self-financing. A significant portion of its budget each year goes into research to improve the efficiency of its pumps and lower life-cycle costs.
One key to the efficiency of the company's smaller wastewater pumps, using vortex impellers, is the SuperVortex impeller design, which is designed to smooth flow through the pump, improving efficiency.
In a Super Vortex-impeller pump, the flow is entirely outside the impeller. The design of the impeller ensures that long fibers, rags, etc., pass freely through the pumps without getting caught and without causing clogging or jamming. The design also prevents the common problem of jamming between wear rings. In fact, the pump needs no wear rings.
The company's channel-impeller pumps feature a semi-axial long-vane impeller design that is less susceptible to clogging. Tested under real-world conditions, this special double-channel design enables the pumps to handle unscreened sewage in heavy-duty applications.
Grundfos sewage pumps, whether for submerged or dry installation, are equipped with a unique SmartTrim impeller-clearance adjustment system. The system allows users to restore factory-set impeller clearance and maintain peak pumping efficiency without having to disassemble the pump.
To set the clearance, users need only tighten adjustment screws on the exterior of the impeller housing. This can be done on site, without dismantling the pump and without using special tools.
For more information about Grundfos and its products, visit http://www.grundfos.com.
