As many people know I definitely believe in attending pump industry trade shows. I can’t possibly list all of the countless positive experiences I’ve had during my opportunities to attend these events and I know many other industrial company professionals have a long list of reasons why they continue to attend these trade shows and symposiums year after year.

Today’s exciting event I want to mention is the 2014 CONEXPO-CON/AGG (March 4-8) in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a huge construction industry event where approximately 2,400 exhibitors are showing off their new technologies. Among these many exhibitors I know of at least 4 companies in our Empowering Pumps community that have announced they will be attending, Weir Minerals North America at Booth 50713 Godwin Pumps at Booth 64106, Boerger, LLC at Booth 64822, and BJM Pumps at Booth 64906.

The years have brought many thrilling advancements in pumping technologies and pumps for systems used in the construction industry is no exception to that! In fact, Godwin has announced that at the 2014 CONEXPO-CON/AGG they will be demonstrating new enhancements to their dri-prime pumps; which are fully automatic, self-priming, solids handling pumps with designs meant to simplify operations and maintenance in relation to these pumps for hard iron diesel, diesel, and electric usage.

Among the many products and services provided by Weir Minerals, they are well known for their slurry equipment solutions including state-of-the-art hydraulic designs and abrasion resistant materials and are sure to be presenting exciting, innovative solutions at the show!

I’m also looking forward to learning about Boerger’s new technologies. Boerger is the designer and patent holder for Rotary Lobe Pumps and specialists in pumping systems that can deal with thick, sticky liquids and abrasive materials that are found in some construction areas.

Another example of a construction industry pump likely to be at the exhibition are submersible dewatering pumps like BJM LWA Series pump; which is a light-weight, yet durable pump unit used in construction and sump applications that is described as outlasting rubber-lined and cast iron pumps. Of course, BJM has many different dewatering and sump pump models, so it will be interesting to see which new pump technologies they choose to display!

Pumps for Construction Industry Systems

Because the Empowering Pumps mission definitely revolves around an educational focus, this is a good opportunity for me to share some of what I’ve learned about pumps used for the construction industry.

Sump Pumps: Sump pumps and submersible pumps are terms that can be used interchangeably if the sump pump is actually “submersible” meaning that other pump types might also be called submersible. The reason these are commonly needed at construction sites is because of the messy nature of construction where there could be any amount of debris, dirt, or sometimes sewage. Features many pump manufacturers talk a lot about when it comes to their sump pumps for construction sites are durability and portability because they need to be easily moved around and used in a variety of locations, and they really have to be tough and durable because of the conditions they are used in.

Unstallable Pumps: Unstallable pumps are called this because they are supposed to be free from issues that some other pumps might hit when dealing with extreme cold conditions and other tough environmental issues such that they can still work well to remove water on construction sites.

Dewatering Pumps: Dewatering pumps are also called slurry pumps are also used to help drain water from construction sites

Utility Pumps: Dewatering pumps are sometimes called utility pumps.

You’ll find, as I did, that there many different names for different types of pumps that are used in the construction industry. Sometimes what a pump is called depends on who is talking or what label which pump manufacturer has used. However, more often than not what the pump is actually called has a lot to do with the specific environment the pump is best suited for, what types of materials or fluids the pump needs to be able to move through the system, how durable the pump needs to be as a result of the materials involved and the climate and conditions of the construction site, as well as whether the kind of pumping that needs to be done should require a pump that will need to be physically moved around a lot or if it can remain in one location, as well as just how much pumping really needs to be done and for how long.

Because of the rough nature of the construction industry, all the machinery involved and all the activity that goes on during the construction phase of a project, pump companies really have to work hard to meet the unique and changing needs of the construction industry. They have to develop new and better technologies where possible to keep refining the overall process and delivering the best quality industrial pumps to do the job.

This makes the annual CONEXPO event one to look forward to even more since it is all about what is “NEW!” As someone who is openly passionate about pumps, I can’t wait to find out what new surprises the many pump industry companies who will be exhibitors at the 2014 CONEXPO-CON/AGG in Las Vegas, Nevada have in store for us this year!