SENSIBLY SPEAKING Cummin's strategy to break into the pump segment is to reassure its customers that it can supply fit-for-market solutions that make a lot more sense in terms of the harsh operating conditions in Africa
Solutions provider Cummins held a highly successful seminar in October, in both Dubai and South Africa, to introduce end-users and original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to its range of high-quality engines for the pumps segment.
Cummins’ engines are ideal for the pumps segment, focusing mainly on mechanical engines from 50 hp to 2 700 hp. Cummins sales and earthmoving segment leader Bo Fu explains that the company’s scope of supply also extends to ancillary equipment such as radiators, variable or fixed speed drives, different pump certifications and diverse engine ratings.“Our ultimate goal was to showcase to customers the full range of products we can support. In this instance, we focused on the packaged engine, which is a complete power solution with a mechanical or electronic engine sourced from plants in India and China to be able to offer customers competitive pricing and lead times,” he adds.
At both events, the company intended to emphasise the total support that it can offer to its end-users, stresses Cummins pump engines segment leader Mohamed Othman.
“While our engines took centre stage, our value proposition extends to the possibility of our customers becoming reference points and business partners in their respective areas. Cummins’ extensive footprint in the Africa and Middle East region, including regional distribution centres in South Africa and Ghana, means we are able to offer full aftermarket support anywhere in the region.”
While many competitors are offering more advanced electronic engines for the pumps segment, Othman points out that Cummins has decided to provide mechanical engines, owing to their robustness, user-friendliness, ease of maintenance and improved uptime. In addition, the mechanical control panel gives operators leverage in operating the engines much more efficiently.
“The main advantage of mechanical engines is that they do not incur any downtime as a result. In addition, operators are trained either by us or the pump OEMs themselves,” he adds.
Such was the success of the seminars that the Dubai event, in particular, attracted enquiries from existing OEM customers, some of whom were interested in volume orders. The packaged engines on display ranged from 120 hp to 360 hp as an illustration of the diversity of Cummins’ product range.
“Our strategy to break into the pumps segment is not to introduce innovation in the sense of new product developments, but to reassure our customers that we can supply fit-for-market solutions that make a lot more sense in terms of the harsh operating conditions in Africa,” concludes Othman.