This success has not happened for SGB overnight, who began working on the design of the pumps back in the 1980s. Around this time, imported pumps, and their authorised manufacturer in China, held the lion’s share of the market. Prior to this, in 1983, the only slurry pumps that were manufactured under the Ministry of Machinery, were sand pumps introduced from the FSU. These sand pumps had an average operating efficiency of less than 40% and a short shelf life, SGB reports.

Imported pumps were seen to be the solution albeit manufactured in China, so by the mid 1980s imported pumps were accepted as the norm in the Chinese mining industry and, in particular, the coal and mineral processing sectors. By 1990, the market share of imported pumps reached about 90%. The Coal Preparation Branch of China Coal Research Institute, by this time had been carrying out a range of market surveys and highlighted the dissatisfaction by users of the imported pump, SGB continues.

“Almost all domestic pumps were known for their low efficiency and short service life. Some slurry pumps had a service life of only one week, which had a severe impact on the operation of the entire system. Imported pumps were expensive, had poor universality and were not supplied in time, leading to their rejection by users.

“Addressing this challenge, the Hydraulic Coal Mining Institute of Coal Preparation Branch, specifically set up a pump research and development team. Within three years and through extensive efforts, the team developed a series of highly efficient wear-resistant slurry pumps. Even then there was still the resistance to change, with customers equipping their systems with two pumps, the imported one and the SGB Chinese product. However, it quickly became apparent that the SGB pump, with its easy maintenance, low noise and stable operation, far outshone the performance of the imported pump. By 2006, SGB slurry pumps substantially replaced the imports, with 75% of the market share in the coal sector and 50% overall market share in slurry plants across China.”