Wilo, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of pumps and systems and a world-leading driver of innovation, is set to expand its reach throughout the Gulf region.

The Middle East operations of the German company said it has been experiencing steady growth and gaining more market share over the years in the Gulf, encouraging it to invest in the region and establish its regional hub in Dubai. The idea is  to effectively respond to the growing market requirements of its key markets in the Arab Gulf region, according to Fouad Ahmed, Regional Marketing & Government Affairs Manager Mena Region - Wilo Middle East.

“The pace of our growth within our markets and the demand for ‘Made in the UAE’ products within the region, has led us to consider further expansion of our facility in the UAE,” Ahmed told the Gulf Industry in an exclusive interview.

 “Saudi Arabia and Egypt are key markets as well where we are keen to establish our footprint. Moreover, we are constantly reviewing our investments and will continuously do so as the business and market conditions evolve over the next five years,” Ahmed said while commenting on future aspirations.

Fouad Ahmed

Entrenched in ME

The Wilo Group is a global company known for supplying premium pumps and pump systems for building services, water management and the industrial sector. The company has been present in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) for more than 35 years through its local distributors. In recent years, the Mena market has rapidly grown with very strong demand for high-efficiency pumps, technical support, and other services. This prompted Wilo to establish a direct presence in the Middle East and open its first office in the region in Dubai Techno Park in 2006. In 2008 the company moved to the Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai, where it became the Wilo Group’s headquarters for the whole of the Gulf region as well as for Egypt, Yemen and Iran.

In 2011 the company started assembling booster pumps locally. The move has enabled Wilo to provide customised pumps to the end-users and is also able to achieve lead time and deliver consolidated parts. Wilo also offers pre and post-installation, commissioning and technical support through a dedicated and specialised technical team.

Today, Wilo Middle East has four subsidiaries located in the UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, and Morocco, in addition to seven representative offices exist in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Pakistan, Qatar, Jordan, Tunisia, and Algeria.

The company has been exporting products from its facility in the UAE reaching 15 countries in the Mena region. These products are `made in the UAE’ and have been installed in key governmental and private projects around these markets including Morocco, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain. “We have also started serving some demands from Pakistan and Afghanistan,” Ahmed said.

Commenting on why it is important for Wilo Group to invest in the Middle East, Ahmed said: “Wilo Middle east considers The Middle East is a rapidly advancing region where majority of its cities are spending on infrastructure development to create smart and sustainable urban environment. We believe that Wilo has the capability to deliver the innovative solutions that these cities are looking for, especially for energy-efficient products. Establishing our regional headquarters in Dubai provides us with the key advantages to easily connect to other markets in the region, as it is already offering the strategic location and hub for efficient trade and logistics.”

Wilo’s latest release in the region: Atmos GIGA-N water pump

Ahmed acknowledged that last year was a tough year in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the company has managed to perform at par with last year. “The past year had a lot of challenges and it was a tough year on all businesses. However, considering the situation, we were close to achieving the same sales targets that we reached in 2019, which is a good performance. We are confident that 2021 and the next year offer us greater opportunities and better market performance,” he said when asked to comment on the projections for 2021-22.

While listing its top Gulf markets, Ahmed said that Wilo has been performing well and leading the markets in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. The company has been continuously working on strengthening its distribution channels and this is being done by increasing the pre-sales and after sales support to respective markets.

Wilo follows a two-pronged approach to distribute its products in the Gulf. On some major projects, it directly manages the distribution, while on some areas, they have reliable distributors which support them in delivering sales. “Besides, we have service partners who take care of the after sales support,” Ahmed said.

“Moreover, we try to cater to their needs by offering products that are fitted with ambient intelligence which enable our customers to create or add new functions. Through innovation, we tailor the products and ensure maximum reliability, flexibility, and energy efficiency. This puts our products in a better position to gain market share in various markets across the region,” he added.

Evolving profile

From a component manufacturer to a solutions provider, Wilo has evolved over the years to adapt to the current and future trends, providing innovative pumps and hi-tech solutions.

“Throughout decades of services, we have evolved to become a solutions provider, through our smart products and individual services. The group has become a pioneer in the industry for adopting innovation and digital technologies to provide smart, efficient, and climate-friendly water management services. Wilo Group has a total of 17 production plants worldwide located in leading countries such as Germany,” Ahmed said.

Towards this the company has recently acquired PumpsPro, a well-reputed pump solution service provider under Direct Trade House International LLC (DTHI). The acquisition entails the creation of a new business unit that will maintain the name of PumpsPro but will be managed and operated as a Wilo company.

The move is expected to further reinforce Wilo Middle East’s position as a complete solution provider in the UAE and the Middle East region.

“We consider our recent acquisition drive has been a strategic move that will effectively position Wilo as a leading solutions provider in the UAE and the region. It is a win-win agreement which gives us a major opportunity to support Dubai’s ambitious plan to retrofit about 30,000 buildings by 2030 in line with Dubai’s Demand Side Management Strategy 2030. This target further strengthens our commitment to contribute to global efforts of building sustainable cities, as well as support Dubai in its plan to become the most sustainable city in the world,” Ahmed said.

Furthermore, the agreement supports the trend towards providing integrated solutions which gives us a competitive advantage in the market. Through this acquisition, we can leverage our expertise and innovative solutions to raise the level of efficiency and maximum energy savings that come with our product offerings.

Following PumpsPro acquisition, Wilo is still open to more buys in the region and worldwide. “Wilo is always keen to consider mergers and acquisition as a key factor to success in expanding our reach and product portfolio, especially in the Middle East market. Through this, we can provide new solutions for building services in the residential segment, water management, as well as industry product portfolio,” Ahmed said.

In February this year, the company entered into an agreement to acquire all shares of Abionik Group from BID Equity and other shareholders. “The group would add strong value to our portfolio as specialists in wastewater and discharged air treatment as well as rainwater treatment and flood protection under their wholly owned companies Martin Systems, Likusta Umwelttechnik, and Steinhardt. With 170 employees across the world and 11 production sites and sales locations in Europe and Asia, they are a perfect fit to our growth strategy,” he added.

Rolling out new products

Wilo's fastest-selling products in the Gulf are those which have a high demand in major construction projects in countries such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, especially for cooling products such as chilled water pumps, Wilo-Atmos Giga-N and Wilo’s split case pumps. For water supply, booster systems are the ones most often ordered, while for drainage and sewage, FA and Solid separation systems are in strong demand, Ahmed said. One of the most recent products introduced by Wilo in the region is Wilo-Atmos Giga-N, a normal water pump for universal applications with a long service life. “It is very popular among our clients because of its key features, primarily its overall efficiency through improved hydraulics and the use of IE3 motors,” Ahmed said.

The pump also is ACS and UBA compliant, which makes it suitable for drinking water supply. In addition, it also features cataphoretic coating of all cast components which provides strong corrosion resistance and long service life; however, this is not available for the drinking water version. It has a standardised dimension which makes it universally applicable to all types of construction needs with a range of motor options and impellers to choose from.

Project boost

Government-owned utility companies are amongst Wilo’s major buyers in the Middle East. “One of our key projects include the replacement of certain pumps across Sharjah as part of the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority’s efforts to enhance the efficiency of its water pump and save cost. It targeted to save 30 per cent of energy consumption which our product was able to deliver and exceed the savings rate by up to 46.5 per cent,” revealed Ahmed.

“Our presence in Dubai has been a major leap to our regional expansion and win major contracts across the region in each segment. Recently, we installed water pumps for potable water in one of Egypt’s new cities. We are also taking part in some of the largest projects in the region as our clients recognise the extent of our capabilities,” he added.

Ahmed takes pride in the fact that the company has never stopped the production facilities during the pandemic. “We need to fulfill the needs of our clients across the globe. In fact, during the pandemic, we secured to supply the metro stations of Expo 2020 in Dubai,” he said.

“All buildings, whether residential or commercial require pumps and systems to operate them, as well as hospitals and new community developments, so we remained in operation with precautionary measures in place for our people in the factories,” Ahmed added.