Page 184 - CW E-Magazine (19-9-2023)

Special Report

valves, actuators and compressed air is to take the bull by the horns: sup- Faltering supply chain: electronic com-
components will continue to be needed pliers want to become less dependent ponents continue to cause problems
in the future. Industrial pumps alone on the chemical industry by offering While in previous years incoming
have a global turnover of around $70-bn a diversifi ed range of products. But orders exceeded actual sales – a typi-
a year – a fi gure equivalent to twice this will also require innovation and cal indicator of supply bottlenecks –
the GDP of Estonia. But whether ideas that go beyond fl uidics, which these are beginning to fade into the
they will be as reliable and safe in the is already highly developed. This in- background. Standard parts such as
future as they are today is by no means cludes digital services as well as cus- lids or sheet metal are largely back on
a foregone conclusion – at least in tomised solutions to meet market and the market, but electronic components
Europe: the EU’s planned ban on so- regulatory requirements close to the such as chips or semiconductors are
called persistent chemicals or PFAs customer. still a cause for concern. This is not
(perfl uorinated and polyfl uorinated so much the case for ball and butterfl y
chemicals) covers much more than Caught between order backlog, supply valve manufacturers, but certainly for
outdoor clothing, cosmetics, Tefl on bottlenecks and energy shock actuator suppliers – especially as the
pans or pesticides. ECHA’s proposed Energy price shock, stalled sup- trend towards digitalisation, connec-
ban covers all substances containing at ply chains and the war in Ukraine: tivity and modularisation continues
least one CF or CF group. FKM and things are not going well for the unabated.
2
3
other fl uorinated elastomeric plastics European industry. So it comes as
such as PTFE, FFKM, FEPM, PFA or something of a minor miracle that Companies such as Samson, for
FEP are also PFAS by defi nition and the VDMA says 2022 has been example, are taking advantage of the
are therefore likely to be banned from “much better than expected” for extension of the Ethernet standard to
2026. manufacturers of pumps, valves and include the Advanced Physical Layer
fluid technology. (Ethernet-APL) to equip positioners
Industrial pumps alone with Ethernet-based Profi bus commu-
have a global turnover of But that can mean a lot: The raw nication with integrated valve diagnos-
around $70-bn a year – a fi gures in the VDMA report ‘Pumps tics.
and Compressors for the World Market
fi gure equivalent to twice 2023’ show that, despite the optimism, However, this kind of added intel-
the GDP of Estonia orders (-3%) and sales (-2%) were ligence will only work if the sought-
down on the previous year. At the same after electronic components, especially
As a result, some of the most impor- time, the order backlog built up during semiconductors, are available in time.
tant materials for seals could disappear the Corona years is slowly disappearing – Experts do not expect this to happen
from the market. If this ban goes ahead an advantage for operators, but one that before the end of 2023, which poses
as planned, the consequences would be leaves suppliers dependent on new or- a challenge for pump manufacturers
dramatic: there are currently no alterna- ders. in particular, who have high hopes of
tive materials that could replace PFAS integrating their equipment into cyber-
seals. The impact on industry and society But business as usual is becoming physical systems.
would be signifi cant: it is estimated less and less an option: even hitherto
that around 80% of industrial produc- reliable markets such as China seem There is little doubt that the fl ui-
tion would be affected. Not only that, unable to keep up with the tremen- dics of the future will evolve beyond
but water and energy supplies, as well dous pace. While the Chinese are mere components such as pumps or
as the health sector, would also suffer once again demanding more pumps compressors to digitally-enabled sys-
massive problems. As a result, insiders (+8%), more and more suppliers tem solutions. Whether it is AI helping
expect the law to be watered down, if at from the country are entering the to design pumps, algorithms enabling
all. However, it is virtually impossible German and European markets with condition-based maintenance, or ‘pump
that ECHA will back down completely. high-quality products. As a result, as a service’ subscriptions complement-
Regardless of how the PFAS issue pump imports to Germany increased ing current business models, a future
develops, the fluid handling industry by a respectable 12%. The picture is without pumps, valves or compressors
cannot ignore it. similar for compressed air technol- is unthinkable.
ogy, with exports to China up 17%
The only option for manufacturers and imports up 14%. [Source: ACHEMA]

184 Chemical Weekly September 19, 2023

Contents Index to Advertisers Index to Products Advertised