A recent industry survey suggests maintenance budgets are
not being maximised as some engineers are not considering
non-OEM replacement parts for their progressing cavity
(PC) pumps. Mark Viner, European sales manager at Mono,
argues the case for non-branded parts

The European Water Framework
Directive (WFD) and the
forthcoming AMP 5 spending round
are on the horizon and as such, treatment
works are being encouraged to focus on
lifetime costs and their improvement
through more efficient management of
maintenance budgets.

As key elements of the treatment process,
the performance of pumps has a
considerable bearing on how energy and cost
efficient a treatment works is, as well as its
quality of discharge. Even with the use of
screens and grinders, PC pumps can still
suffer from ragging and maintenance issues.

Therefore it is important that treatment
works pay attention to on-going
maintenance costs and their improvement
through better specification and assessment
of equipment and parts.

Bearing this in mind, it is surprising that a
recent industry survey commissioned by
Mono has revealed that over a third of
process and maintenance engineers do not
realise that it is possible to purchase high
performance, cost effective non-OEM
replacement parts for their PC pumps.

According to the survey, which set out to
explore attitudes and approaches to
maintenance within the water and
wastewater industry, over half of engineers
always purchase ‘genuine’ parts from the
OEM when maintaining their PC pumps,
while a third are unaware that it is even
possible to buy non-OEM parts.

These results are not what you would
expect, particularly when you consider that
half the survey respondents indicated that
rising equipment maintenance costs are a
growing concern. It is clear that process and
maintenance engineers need to be made
aware that there are practical solutions to
help bring costs under control. The fact is
that there are ranges of high performance,
durable spare parts available that offer cost
effective alternatives to OEM PC pump parts.

They include rotors, stators, coupling rods,
shafts, pins/bushes, seals and drive train
assemblies and are designed to be compatible
with all major PC pump brands. The leading
ranges also manufacture parts in the UK so
can offer same day delivery on stock items
and have dedicated aftermarket teams. This
makes them an attractive offering for
engineers in the UK looking to control
pump maintenance costs without sacrificing
high quality service and parts.

Not surprisingly, the survey showed that
performance is a key issue, with 80% of
respondents rating it among the top three
important attributes when purchasing spare
parts. However 39% thought non-OEM
parts would be lower in quality than the
OEM equivalents.Whole life cost was also an
important issue for engineers with 60%
rating it among the top three.

Guarantees
The key is to look for manufacturers who
offer a range of parts that embodies the
quality, heritage and integrity that come with
a trusted brand. The latest generation of PC
pump parts have been designed to offer the
same or better warranties and guarantees as
OEM parts. High performance parts are put
through rigorous multiple matrix testing to
ensure that performance is equal to, or
higher than that of the OEM equivalent.

With this kind of reassurance, engineers can
confidently switch to non-OEM parts and
very quickly make a significant saving on
their maintenance budgets.

As well as providing good whole life costs,
non-OEM parts are cost competitive
compared to ‘genuine’ parts.With an
increasing focus on operational and
maintenance cost control, leading
manufacturers understand that the price and
availability of spare parts is high on the
agenda and using their global manufacturing
facilities and engineering know-how, they are
able to produce parts at competitive prices.

Looking ahead
Maintenance costs are likely to continue to
be a real issue for the industry, but to ensure
plants continually improve their processes
and control costs, engineers must be fully up
to speed with the latest product
developments so they can consider all the
options that are open to them. In these
challenging times, the right pump part,
which offers engineers a reliable and cost
effective solution, can play a key role in a
plant considerably improving maintenance
downtime and whole life costs.

Moreover, it enables them to meet the
requirements of the forthcoming AMP 5
spending round and the WFD, helping them
to safeguard funding moving forward.

It is clear that manufacturers of high
performance non-OEM PC pump parts need
to do more to educate the industry on their
cost effective alternatives that deliver high
performance, reliable results that will enable
engineers to make immediate savings on
their maintenance budgets.