Tsurumi celebrate 40 years in Europe
European managing director attributes growth and success to robust pumps and excellent service
JAPANESE dewatering and sewage pump manufacturers Tsurumi came to Europe exactly four decades ago this year. What started small in Düsseldorf, Germany, became big from North Cape to Cyprus, and today Tsurumi are at the forefront of the global market leaders.
Daniel Weippert, managing director of Tsurumi Europe, attributes the company’s success to two factors: robust pumps and excellent service. ‘Stronger for longer’ is the slogan of the company, which exclusively builds dewatering and sewage pumps, whilst the brand is easily recognisable by the blue water swirl or vortex in its logo.
Almost all Tsurumi pumps are of a modular design with many identical parts and can be serviced by the customer using standard tools. In addition to this obvious benefit are various technical refinements such as forced lubrication of the shaft, the double internal mechanical seal, and the use of ultra-hard materials such as silicon carbide (only diamond is harder).
Moreover, Tsurumi say they are probably the only major player in the industry that does not manufacture to order, but instead delivers from stock: most of the 700 or so EU pump models can be on their way to the customer within 24h, including powerhouses weighing several tonnes with outputs of up to 30m3/min or 216m head.
‘Anyone who deals with water can rely on Tsurumi,’ said Mr Weippert. ‘In fact, there are hardly any challenging projects that don’t feature Tsurumi pumps. Their quality has often been pushed to its limits. Recently, a pump was serviced for the first time – it had previously run for a total of 20,000h without any maintenance.’
Meanwhile, responding in part to changes in global supply chains that have occurred since the Covid pandemic, characterized by fluctuations in parts availability and costs, Tsurumi are investing around €70 million in the construction of a new plant at the company’s headquarters in Kyoto, Japan.
Here, production will initially concentrate on electric motors – the key element of every pump. Tsurumi already manufacture around 110,000 motors per year, but the focus of the new plant, which is scheduled to go into operation in autumn 2024, will be on powerful and sophisticated drives for the GPN series, a robust sand pump with flow rates of up to 9,000 litres/min.
