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Customised mass production – not a contradiction with KSB

Individual customer requirements are not always easy to fulfil – this is the case almost everywhere in business and of course also in the area of fluid handling. Customers want individually configured pumps. Ideally, they should correspond 100 percent to the customer’s requirements with regard to size, material selection and other variables. 

However, the pumps should also be as “standard” as possible, i.e. fast delivery, simple to install, easy to maintain with spare parts quickly supplied, and, last but not least, inexpensive.

At first glance, this is a complete dilemma – either you go for highly individualised custom manufacturing, which usually entails very high costs, or you opt for mass production of your products – with economies of scale, a high level of automation and correspondingly low prices. But couldn’t both work at the same time?
 
 

How can seemingly incompatible things be combined?

The magic word is mass customisation, i.e. customised mass production – an approach which is already being used successfully by many companies today, from car manufacturers offering mass-produced vehicles in countless different variants through to computer manufacturers and online mail order companies supplying customised muesli mixes.

Intelligent mass customisation combines the advantages of mass production (automation, economies of scale, low unit costs, etc.) with the benefits of custom manufacturing (i.e. highly customised).

KSB employee in an assembly hall assembling Eta pumps

But how can companies master this balancing act?

The secret lies in the production process. Modern production lines are increasingly able to flexibly react to individual requirements. Smart processes, digitally controlled production and intelligent warehousing and logistics provide the necessary basis. There’s a good reason why mass customisation is also a key objective of Industry 4.0.

In this process, the work is often carried out in two stages. First, a base unit that is always identical is manufactured according to the rules of mass production – for example, a laptop shell with a screen and non-configurable standard components. The base unit can also be produced for stock to ensure that the products can be quickly completed on demand. This then takes place during the second stage when the base unit is tailored to the customer’s requirements with individually selected components – in our example, perhaps a faster processor, more memory and a larger hard disk.

At KSB, the answer to the question of the highest possible degree of customisation combined with a high level of product standardisation is very simple: Eta!

A standardised pump – but available in over 5 million possible designs

Eta close up

First of all, what is a standardised pump? And how can it be standardised if it’s available in so many different variants? It’s actually very simple: the pumps from the Etanorm and Etabloc ranges comply with the EN 733 standard – guaranteeing clearly defined parameters such as nominal power, main dimensions and the designation system. This offers users many advantages in terms of service, spare parts supply and maintenance. The standard specifies the performance range and main dimensions in such a way that the pumps can be replaced with standardised pumps of other makes without additional modification to the piping and baseplate. Standardised pumps are now the classic choice and preferred “workhorses” in the process industry.

KSB alone sells over 100,000 pumps from the Eta family every year. This makes it the world’s best-selling standardised water pump! The majority are manufactured in Frankenthal and the remainder are produced at KSB’s plants in South Africa, China, Pakistan and India. The pumps are suitable for use in water supply systems, in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning applications and for fluid transport in industry. In addition to the Etanorm pump, this type series also comprises Etabloc, Etachrom, Etaprime, Etanorm V and Etaline as well as the heat transfer fluid pumps from the SYT ranges. They are available in grey cast iron, stainless steel, nodular cast iron or bronze, as well as in countless other combinations and designs. In total, these KSB pumps are available in an incredible 5.2 million variants!

A standardised pump that can be supplied to customers in millions of variants within a very short time and at a low cost – KSB created the prototype for successful mass customisation years ago.

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