Kirloskar Bros bags orders from US firms

Pune-based Kirloskar Brothers Ltd (KBL), a player in pump manufacturing segment, has won an order worth over $1.92 million to supply two sets of vertical circulating water pumpsets to Bechtel Power Corporation, Maryland, USA.

The pumps will be installed at the 568 Mw Sandow Steam Electric Station, unit 5 of Texas Utilities, USA. KBL director R K Srivastava told Business Standard that the company looks at this order as an opportunity to enter the North American market.

"We have been supplying pumps to various projects in Germany, South America and Malaysia but this is the first order for us from the North American market," he said, adding that it was won against tough global competition.

The pumps, engineered in-house by Kirloskar Brothers, are meant for the critical application of pumping sea water for condenser cooling in power plants, he said.

This would be the company's largest capacity vertical pumps for circulating water application in the international market. "KBL is the first Indian pump manufacturer to get an entry into the market as a vendor of equipment for such a critical application," Srivastava added.

KBL has been asked to supply the pumps in about 18 months, but the company would be able to deliver them in 10 months as the order was being carried out on a 'fast track' basis, he explained.

KBL has bagged another international order from California-based JF Shea Construction Inc, the largest turnkey contractor from USA in the water sector, for supplying four sets of sewage water pumpsets for Beaumont MESA Sewer Lift Station, California, USA. The order is worth $176,000.

Both these orders would have an impact on the revenue of the company in the fiscal 2007-08, Srivastava said.

KBL holds about 80 per cent market share in the vertical circulating water pumps market in India and has supplied such pumps to National Thermal Power Corporation, Nuclear Power Corporation and major state electricity boards, he said.

The US orders have come close on the heels of the company winning two domestic orders recently. It had bagged a supplemental order worth Rs 109.33 crore under Gandikota Lift Irrigation Scheme of Government of Andhra Pradesh.

It also won a letter of intent for design supply, supervision of erection and commissioning of VT pumps and motors for the entire eleven pumping stations under Handri Niva Sujala Sravanthi (HNSS) project, also in Andhra, with a contract value of Rs 139.74 crore.