“Of course, we must always remain vigilant.”

KSB has set itself ambitious targets to achieve by 2030. Stefan Reutter, Head of Group Strategy, explains in an interview what the Group is concentrating on worldwide.

Stream of Stories: The corporate strategy will see KSB embarking on “Mission TEN30”. What’s the idea behind this?

Stefan Reutter: Our strategy sets out KSB’s long-term focus and alignment. It describes how we want to be successful in our markets and how we will achieve our targets.

What are these targets?

KSB has set itself the target of achieving a sustainable return on sales of over ten percent by 2030 – hence the name Mission TEN30 – with a sales revenue of more than four billion euros. We are expanding our service and spare parts business. Our aim is to be one of the three most successful companies in all of the markets in which we operate.

In addition, under the motto “Strengthening strengths”, we have identified six overarching aspects which will be expanded and focused on in a targeted manner.

Which strengths are these and what do they involve?

KSB is renowned as a Know-how Champion for pump and valve applications. We want to make this even more visible, recognisable and accessible for our customers and employees.

Our goal is to make all the necessary information available worldwide 24/7. Everyone should be able to access training and find out information – whenever they want.

We are currently planning an Experience Center in Frankenthal that will enable people to experience our expertise in a tangible way. Further locations and virtual versions are planned.

Another overarching aspect is the customer experience: we want to make accessing our products much easier – from initial information and selection through to product aftercare, for example maintenance and spare parts replacement. To achieve this, we want to further expand our online presence.

At KSB, we see ourselves as an Aftermarket Champion when it comes to service and spare parts. Our main focus is on the service we offer our customers with the aim of achieving the highest level of customer loyalty.

You are also focusing on three other aspects.

Sustainability runs through all areas of the company. Besides complying with legal requirements and reporting obligations, we also want to contribute to positive change. For example, that is why we are investing in photovoltaics and energy-efficient buildings at our locations worldwide. We buy green electricity wherever we can. Of course, our products also help to enable systems to be operated in an energy-efficient manner and reduce carbon emissions.

We have a reputation as a technology leader that develops high-quality pumps and valves. Our company has a long-standing tradition of being a pioneer when it comes to product innovations. For example, continuously increasing the efficiency of pump hydraulic systems and our smart digitalisation solutions. In order to maintain and expand this position, we are focusing on the intelligent features of our products and are making accordingly high investments in bringing new intelligent products to the market over the next few years.

Quality is an important topic. KSB has stood for quality for more than 150 years. But we want to go much further than this. We want quality to not only relate to our products, but to take a much wider approach. At KSB, quality concerns all areas and processes, from preventing accidents and keeping promises to our customers to seemingly basic matters such as welcoming our guests at our locations or cleanliness.

In which markets is KSB active and what is the respective strategic focus?

We are organised into six Market Areas and two Segments. One of our six markets is the energy sector, in which we are the absolute market leader. We are currently seeing a deep-reaching change here. The share of conventional energy, for example coal-fired power plants, is decreasing. We need to compensate for this. As pumps are not used as intensively in traditional renewable industries such as solar or wind energy, we have to look for alternatives. We are currently testing strategies in the area of heat and storage.  

In addition, we are tapping the market for thermal waste treatment and gas-fired power plants as a transitional technology.

In some countries, we are experiencing a nuclear power renaissance. Here, too, there is enormous growth potential for KSB – our company not only has decades of experience in this area, it is also one of the few remaining suppliers and has a broad product portfolio.

Hydrogen technology will play a key role in the energy supply of the future. The production of hydrogen requires highly specialised pumps and valves. KSB has already established a leading position in this field and naturally we want to develop this further. However, the topic of hydrogen not only affects the energy market, but also industry and petrochemicals/chemicals.
 

KSB also serves customers in the mining industry.

We offer pumps for the mining industry via our US subsidiary. Mining plays a key role in the extraction of raw materials for electrification, for example. Our pump sets for this application are above all characterised by being extremely robust. This is because they are used to pump solids-laden fluids which usually consist of a mixture of rock material and water, resulting in a high level of wear on the pumps.

In the area of mining, KSB is concentrating on its pumps. This enables us to offer our customers a longer service life for our pump sets – a crucial selling point in an industry where long downtimes mean huge costs. In addition to the pumps which are exposed to high levels of wear, we can also offer the other process pumps which are typically used. This combination makes us unique!

Of course, we also offer pumps and valves for mine dewatering. In this way, our products help to support the efficient use of resources.

The service business that is operated under the KSB SupremeServ brand is particularly important for your company. 

Our spare parts service forms the backbone of our business. In 2024, we generated more than one billion euros in sales revenue with it for the first time. A global network of 200 service centres and spare parts departments with qualified and motivated employees provide the basis for our success. When it comes to service, our focus is on spare parts and on supporting monitoring technology that notifies system operators in good time about upcoming maintenance and any deviations from normal operation in their systems. Thanks to these tools, our customers have optimum control over their processes. We are currently working hard to get to know all of our installed pumps worldwide and thus be able to provide better support.

KSB also offers its products to building services customers.

Our focus here is on the European market, for which we offer a complete product range. We want to make it as easy as possible for our customers to find the products, information and tools they need for their building projects. To this end, we are continuously improving our online platforms. Of course, we are not only active in building services in Europe, but are also making our mark worldwide, for example in Brazil, India and China. One of our key focuses is on fire protection in buildings. Through our innovative comprehensive solutions, we help to ensure safety in this area.
 

An important market is industry.

KSB has a wealth of application knowledge that has been developed over the years. We always offer our industry customers the best option. We primarily target OEMs worldwide that produce products or components but do not sell them to end customers themselves, e.g. suppliers to the automotive industry and plant manufacturers. Furthermore, we offer our industry customers standard products tailored to their requirements which they can call off independently and regularly in large quantities. This enables them to purchase our products cost-effectively and quickly. The American market is currently a particular focus and we are intensively preparing logistics and sales structures to ensure that nothing stands in the way of our successful market entry.

Another of your Market Areas is Petrochemicals / Chemicals.

In this Market Area we offer products and solutions for the petrochemical and chemical industries that are used in demanding environments. These systems are commonly operated at high temperatures and involve transporting aggressive and flammable fluids. KSB offers sophisticated and often complex solutions that always function reliably. We have built a new plant in China where we will primarily produce products for the rapidly growing Asian market. In the American market, all the necessary preparations are currently being made to strengthen our presence there in the future.

In addition to pumps, KSB also offers valves that it manufactures itself.

As a result of global population growth, the availability of water is a megatrend. We serve customers all over the world with our project and standard business and have completely overhauled our entire range of products for water and waste water applications. At the present time, we are developing more and more intelligent solutions for our customers, including innovative monitoring technologies, for example for water supply networks. We must never forget that water is a precious resource that should not be wasted.

How do regional and global challenges affect KSB’s strategy?

Our strategy is geared towards the long term. Of course, conflicts and crises as well as protectionist tendencies have an impact on our business, but our business model makes us extremely resilient. As we are building on megatrends which won't change in the short term, we can ensure that our pumps and valves will still be needed in the future. We will not be adjusting our objectives, but if necessary we will naturally adjust an individual measure or two. However, these will always be small corrections. Our fundamental focus is completely valid. Of course, we must always remain vigilant.

What makes KSB so resilient?

Quite simply the fact that we are broadly positioned. We have a diverse product range, strong Regions and dynamic Market Areas and Segments. The role played by employees should also not be underestimated. We have a strong sense of unity at KSB. Our workforce is highly satisfied – you can really see it everywhere. This was also confirmed by our global employee survey which was conducted in 2024.

Our corporate culture is an important prerequisite for success and the achievement of our goals. In an international group like KSB, you can only be successful if you work together. The basis for this is curiously minded individuals who think outside the box, focus on the customer and want to develop themselves further. And we already have a lot of these people. That’s what makes it fun to work here!