German pump major Homa forms JV with Ekki Pumps for waste-water management

First ever Indo-German venture in the pump industry, claims Ekki, which enters the waste-water pump segment with this alliance

German Pump Major Homa has formed a joint venture with India’s Ekki Pumps to form a waste-water pump company. The JV, which will focus on India and the neighbouring markets, marks the Indian partner's entry into the waste-water pump segment. Ekki Pumps claims this is the first ever Indo-German Joint Venture in the pump industry.

The agreement follows extensive talks between Ekki and Homa on forming an alliance to cater to the Indian market.

The objective of this equal JV is to bring to India and neighbouring markets a range of efficient and reliable waste-water pumps and systems based on German technology.

This new partnership will enable Homa to expand its reach to South Asia, while Ekki will gain access to a top European brand, and its waste-water pumping technology. This will enable the Indian partner to offer a wider range of pumps in the domestic and neighbouring markets.

As part of the JV, the two firms are also looking at setting up a new manufacturing facility in India, in a move that is expected  to create 200 employment opportunities over the next few years.

The newly formed alliance will be based in Coimbatore with Dr Klaus Hoffmann as Chairman and Kanishka Arumugam joining as chief executive. They will be supported by Vasileios Petridis and Arumugam Periasamy as directors on the company's board.

Hoffmann said the expansion of its international operations allows Homa to develop an increasingly flexible, agile and efficient global strategy to be future ready. A significant part of the Rs 1.5 billion that the company is investing as part of its global expansion plan will go towards the JV with Ekki.

Arumugam said the strategic partnership with Homa is a step foward in Ekki's march towards best-in-class pump manufacturing in India.

Kanishka Arumugam said Homa has a market presence in more than 100 countries and is among the top five waste-water pump manufacturers globally.

The organised Indian pump market is estimated to reach Rs 134.19 billion by the end of this fiscal. In comparison, the global waste-water pump segment, which forms a fraction of the overall pump market,  alone is worth Rs 450 billion.