INSIGHTS 2015
KATHRYN WOOD MANAGING DIRECTOR, POWERFLO SOLUTIONS
What do you see as the single biggest challenge facing your industry in the year ahead? I believe that our biggest challenge as a wholly Australian-owned company is to remain competitive as a local manufacturer and importer of engineered valve products. The Australian dollar directly affects us as an importer of specialised control valves, regulators and instrumentation - most of which are produced in Europe or North America - but the main concern is the cost of our local design and engineering resources. In many market sectors, the trend towards outsourcing engineering and technical personnel to Asia and the Indian subcontinent is increasing. But for a company that has quite a specialised product portfolio, the challenge is to find the required level of application expertise, which is rapidly disappearing here and overseas.
Will the post-boom resources industry continue to be a primary focus for engineering vendors? Following on from my comments above, it is simply too expensive for major EPC companies in Australia to compete in the world market for resource-based projects. In fact, it is becoming increasingly untenable for Australian EPC companies to sustain an engineering team, to compete for business in any industry in Australia. The global players, with engineering and technical scope beyond our shores yet still with a footprint in Australia, are the most strongly positioned. Moreover, the comparative strength of the Australian dollar also directly affects exports of our natural resources, favouring lower capital-intensive investments available elsewhere.
What are your customers demanding more of you today, than five years ago, and how will you meet these requirements in 2015? In one word: Service. We have seen significant growth in our after-market service business, particularly as most of our customers man-down their maintenance departments, particularly for specialised equipment such as those we manufacture and distribute. Long gone are the days when most of our customers employed technicians familiar with the servicing aspect of process control equipment; so bringing our services to site, utilising mobile facilities with accomplished personnel, is now commonplace. In 2015, we will focus on bringing valve diagnostic programs to our clients, which will crucially provide an overview of the plant’s valve assets, so as to aid in preventive maintenance programs as well as long-term maintenance strategies.
What do you think are the three most important things that a customer looks for in a supplier? Technical product support, order/project management and aftermarket service. In a recent meeting, one of our clients said to me, “You’re not doing your job if I have to ask you regarding the
delivery on my valves, but you are, I never have to ask.” That has to be our differentiator. We care about the fact that our customers are looking for technical support; that’s why we employ experienced application engineers and not just ‘order-takers’. We know that without efficient and accurate order/project management, late project deliverables turn otherwise perfectly straightforward contracts into a logistical nightmare. For this reason, we employ contract management personnel who are disciplined and who are good communicators - and we don’t make promises that we can’t keep. We also believe that after-market service is paramount to maintaining long-term relationships with our clients.
What new and innovative technologies do you see emerging in your field of business in 2015, and how will they help your customers? There is a huge swing in the control valve industry away from over-complication in trim design, particularly for severe applications that generate high noise. In recent years, many European customers and manufacturers alike have moved away from complicated, hard-to-service control valve solutions in favour of ‘source and path treatment solutions’, particularly for noise abatement. More focus is placed on velocity management over a series of stages, not just within the control valve but beyond; rendering the control valve easier and less expensive to service. This is complemented by the introduction of ‘capsule-like’ control valve trims, wherein the whole complement of trims is held together in a cartridge, providing for ease of exchange - particularly in valves that are welded in-line or are difficult to handle. Technically advanced trim materials also provide for extended service life, over more traditional materials.
For more than 30 years, Kathryn Wood has run her own business, specialising in engineered control valve solutions and regulators. She is currently the Managing Director and Chairman of Powerflo Solutions, which commenced operations in 1911. During her working life, she has been involved with the IICA and now dedicates much of her time to the training of young graduate engineers in her field of expertise.
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