October 2, 1914 732 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. _________________________________________________________________________ GERMANY’S MARKETS. V.-MACHINERY, IMPLEMENTS, Pumps and Pumping Machinery.—The following statement shows for a recent year the value of the undermentioned descriptions of pumps and pumping machinery exported from Germany, Austria-Hungary, and tlie Unitt-d Kingdom to the principal colonial and neutral markets. In the case of Germany and Austria- Hungary their exports to the United Kingdom are also stated. Country to which exported. United Kingdom......... British South Africa .. .. Norway ............... France ............... Spain ................. Italy ..... . ......... Bulgaria. .....'....... Roumania............... ■Russia f Northern ports Kussia (Southern ...... Turkey ................ Egypt.............................. Dutch East Indies_____ Japan ................. Brazil ............. Argentina ............ Chile ................. Cuba __................. Mexico................. Germany (1912).’ Austria- Hungary United Kingdom (1913). (1913). Pumps, Pumping water- Pumps. machinery pumping and parts machines. thereof. £ £ £ ... 18,450 ... 190 . — ... 5,700 — " 26,000 3,700 . 490 .’. 1,400 ... 52,300 . .. 190 .. . 28,000 ... 15,900 180 .. . 18,400 ... 31,050 . 720 .. . 20,200 800 . 570 .. — ... 14,600 . .. 2,470 .. — • ] 91,850 ... 1,030 . ‘ < 46,500 • (16,300 ... 7,900 . 109 .. 7JOO 6,750 — .. 33,300 ... 10,30'» . L‘.‘ 290 .‘ .. 4,300 ... 9,550 — .. 79,500 ... 12.650 . — .. 9,500 ... 29,300 . L’.’ 180 .\ .. 64,400 8,850 . — .. 13,000 — 400 ... 9,950 . ... 337,250 ... 6,410 . 7,100 .. 376,700 ... 533,900 ...15,740 .. .. 677,800 Total to above markets Total to all markets... It will be seen that Austrian exports of pumps, Ac., are negligible. German exports of pumps and pumping machinery are nearly as large as those of the United Kingdom, but the principal interests of the two countries lie in different markets. Thus British exports predominate in British South Africa, Egypt, Japan, and Argentina, whereas German exports exceed those of this country in France, Italy, Roumania, Russia, Dutch East Indies, Brazil, Cuba, and Mexico. German competition is severe in Spain, Turkey, and Mexico. The aggregate value of the German and Austrian trade in pumps and pumping machinery which might conceivably be secuivd by British makers would be as follows:—(a) In the United Kingdom market, £32,040f; (b) in the colonial and neutral markets, £446,870f; or a grand total of £478,910. The principal openings for British pumps, Ac., would appear ultimately to be in France, Roumania, Russia, and Dutch East Indies. The above particulars, so far as they refer to German trade, are exclusive of those for pumps in combination with steam and gas turbines or in combination with combustion and explosion motors. These articles are dealt with sepaiately. The following particulars are available as to tne special requirements of various markets :— In South Africa, Germany still has a by no means inconsiderable share of the total trade, although her imports in 1913 failed to reach the level of those of 1911. According to a special report drawn up by H.M. Trade Commissioner in 1909, dealing with the position of British machinery, Ac., in the mines of the Transvaal, there is a steady increase in the demand for high-lift pumps for underground use. Multi-stage centrifugal pumps have been adopted by a number of mines, and Continental makers have secured almost all the orders placed by mines of this lyj e. For surface work centri- fugal pumps (of non mul'i -tige type) practically monopolise the market, and are at present mostly of British manufacture. Competition in centrifugal pumps generally is severe. Reciprocating pumps, for underground work, are about equally divided between America and Great Britain, though a few orders go to the Continent. Steam pumps of British manufacture are very much in the background. The percentages for the period between 1904 to 1908 were as follow:— British. American. Continental. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent Steam ....... 33 ... 63 ... 4 Centrifugal... 4d ... 54 ... 3 There is little evidence of Continental competition in pumps, but it is noticeable that many of the motors used for driving three-throw pumps are of Continental make. Electrically-driven pumps are very much in favour. In boiler-feed pumps the preference is most decidedly in favour of well-known British makers. The future dem nd will be for electrically-driven three- throw pumps capable of working economically against considerable heads and arranged for stage pumping. There is a large field in the near future for makers of this class of pumps. Centrifugal pumps are chiefly in use for work in slimes plants, extractor houses, cyanide plants, and as solution pumps. A decided preference is shown for American pumps for this class of duty, but the majority of renewals to these pumps—new blades, liners. Ac.—are made locally. The remarks made under the heading steam pumps apply equally to centrifugal pumps. High-lift centrifugal pumps have * We have already drawn attention to the bulletins issued by the Board of Trade with the object of assisting British manufacturers and traders to secure trade with British and foreign countries, formerly in the hands of their German and Austrian or Hungarian competitors. In this and the following articles we give some brief extracts from certain of these bulletins, which are to be obtained, it may be added, from the Commercial Intelligence Branch, 73, Basinghall-street, E.C. t The German figures for 1912 and the Austro-Hungarian figures for 1913 have been added to show the magnitude of this trade in a normal year. been tried for mine pumping with satisfactory results, and it is probable that universal electrical power supply will open up a field for these pumps. Greater efficiencies are sought from these pumps, surpassing the best Continental practice of to-day. Given these, the demand should be very large indeed. Considerable interest has recently been taken in the development of irrigation in Australia. Certain of the State Governments have undertaken extensive investiga- tions with a view of utilising the water supply of rivers for agricultural purposes, and exhaustive reports have been issued showing the nature of the works that will be necessary. Copies of certain of these reports are available for inspection at the offices of the Commercial Intelligence Branch of the Board of Trade, 73, Basing- hall-street, London, E.C. In view of the possible execution of these works and of the general interest now taken in “ dry farming ” in Australia, manufac- turers of pumping machinery would be well advised to keep a watch on this market. The British Vice-Consul at Ekaterinburg, in his report on the trade of that district for 1913, states :— The channels in which British interests have hitherto run in the Ekaterinburg district may be stated to have been almost entirely mining. In this the British may be said to have played, and do still play, the biggest part, especially as several large mining concessions have recently been obtained by United Kingdom capitalists. Firms of British nationality have done little in the trade of the district, and what they have done has been chiefly through middlemen. (German agents). . . . That there is a great future for the sale of goods of Uhited Kingdom manufacture (which for the present must be chiefly confined to machinery of many different descriptions) may be gathered from the fact—at any rate as far as mining is concerned—that in almost every branch new machinery is required. . . . The surface, as far as primitive methods are con- cerned, is becoming worked out, and working by mechanical means as well as deep mining on ore bodies is being carried out, which entails considerable outlay in machinery, such as dredgers, pumps, ore hoisting or winding engines, ore-crushing plant, Ac. As mentioned above, articles of United Kingdom manufacture have found their way into the Ural district through foreign intermediaries. Amongst the articles in which such trade is at present done on a small scale (which trade could, however, be greatly increased by careful representation and trouble) are pumps, in the supply of which German firms have already obtained a firm footing. This, however, is no reason why goods of United Kingdom manufacture should not find markets, as the demand is large. What is chiefly wanted is proper and thoroughly competent representation—z.e., a staff of people who carefully study the wants of the purchasers, and are accordingly in a position to supply the right article.” A report by the German Consul-General at Odessa states that there is a large business to be done in his district in all kinds of pumps which are imported largely from the United States. Rotary pumps are not made in Sweden, but in all other lines of pumps the field seems to be pretty generally covered by the home manufacturers. In such specialities as ordinary suction pumps and hand-force pumps it is thought that the local manufacturers enjoy decided advantages, owing to the freight and customs charges. A report by the Austrian Consul-General at Barcelona for 1912 mentions that in that year the importation of pumps increased considerably. The princip al competing countries were Germany, the United Kingdom, and France. According to reports by Austrian consular officers in Servia, the imports of pumps are chiefly from tie United States and Germany, the former country supplying the chea er kinds and the latter better quality pumps. It is stated in reports by Austrian consular officers in Bulgaria that pumps for various agricultural and industrial purposes find a large sale; the principal country from which imports are drawn is Germany, followed by the United States. The German consul at Bucharest states that , the sales of the well- known makes of German pumps continue to increase each year. Even in cases where for various reasons pumps other than those of German origin are specified, it is found that the orders still go to German manu- facturers “ when quality is the most important consideration.” The Acting British Vice-Consul at Jaffa in a recent despatch wrote:—“ I have found out that rotary pumps proved a failure in this country owing to the rotary brass inside getting worn out, so that in a short time the pump could draw no more water. Centrifugal pumps require too much power in order to give a satis- factory result, which means that they involve greater expense. ... As regards large size pumps, horizontal double-plunger acting pumps are used here for shallow wells, also three-throw deep well pumps; both kinds are manufactured locally, the pumps being made in various sizes and drawing from 6,000 to 20,000 gallons of water per hour. Sometimes some of the fittings in connection with such pumps are imported from abroad. The reason why these large-size pumps are made locally is the high price asked for such pumps of British make. A German firm at Jaffa is manufacturing the greater number of such pumps.” A recent American consular report states that Bolivia should be a large field for pumps, both of a general and mining description. German factories compete with British; they provide cheaper qualities and are always willing to give greater facilities for payment, Ac. If manufacturers wish to compete for Bolivia’s share of pump purchases, it would be necessary for them to send either an expert to look up and push sales or give their representation to some wide-awake firm that would attend to their business on a commission basis. According to a report by the German Consul-General at Shanghai, small steam pumping plants are imported from Germany. It is evident that there is ample scope for United Kingdom manufacturers to secuie a firmer footing in the Japanese market at the expense of German competitors. The German Consul at Shimonoseki states in his report for 1910 that a large number of pumps was employed in mines in his district. In the year under review the demand for centrifugal pumps with electric motors was specially brisk, in view of the fact that water is present in considerable quantities in most Japanese mines. Germany has stood at the head of the list of competing countries during the last two years. Recently the Mitubishi Dockyard at Nagasaki commenced the manufacture of centrifugal pumps, but the cost of production is said to have been so high that the prospects of their competing successfully with the imported article are very slight. Rail Locomotives.—The value of ra 1 locomotives exported from Germany in 1913 was £2,712,100. Austria-Hungary exported locomotives to the value of £4,210. The exports from the United Kingdom of rail locomotives were valued at £2,781,911. The exports of rail locomotives from both Get many and the United Kingdom showed a very considerable increase in 1913 as compared with 1912, the increase in the case of the former being considerably greater than in the case of the latter. The United Kingdom holds an overwhelmingly strong position in India and Argentina. British manu- facturers have also been doing fairly well in the Netherlands, but in the remaining markets there would appear to be numerous opportunities for obtaining new and valuable business hitherto done by Germany, especially in view of the recent cancellations of contracts held by Germans which, under present conditions, they are unable to fulfil. It is stated that Germany is a very keen rival of the United Kingdom in the building of locomotives, and has made considerable progress in the last few years. In public contracts abroad, German firms are enabled by reason of cheaper labour and lower cost of materials to quote in many cases prices appreciably lower than those of their British competitors. Internal Combustion and Explosion Motors, Gas Turbines, &c.—The following statement shows for a recent year the value of certain descriptions of internal combustion and explosion motors, gas motors, Ac., exported from Germany and Austria-Hungary to all destinations :— Exports from Germany (1912) :—Stationary com- bustion and explosion motors; blastfurnace-gas motors, £1,472,000; steam and gas turbines in combination with dynamos, pumps, hammers, blowing machines, freezing machines, hoisting machines, £617,000; com- bustion and explosion motors, blastfurnace-gas motors in combination with dynamos, pumps, hammers, blowing machines, freezing machines, hoisting machines, £81,000; individual parts for steam engines, steam and gas turbines, water power engines, stationary combustion and explosion motors, blastfurnace-gas motors, hot air and compressed air motors, cranes, Ac., £656,000 ; total of above, £2,826,000. Exports from Austria-Hungary (1913):—Motors not specially mentioned (including combustion and explosion motors, but excluding motors for automobiles, steam motoi s and electric motors), £37,000. Similar particulars for the United. Kingdom are not available. The principal German markets for stationary com- bustion and explosion motors and blastfurnace-gas motors were Russia, France, Argentina, Roumania, Egypt and the United Kingdom. Steam and gas turbines combined with dynamos, pumps, hammers. Ac., were sent mainly to Russia, the United Kingdom, Spain, British South Africa, Italy and France. Combustion and explosion motors, combined with dynamos, pumps, Ac., were exported mainly to Russia. The exportation of parts of steam engines, steam and gas turbines, combustion and explosion motors, has attained con- siderable dimensions. The principal markets for such parts were naturally much the same as for complete motors, especially Russia, France, Argentina, and the United Kingdom. Considerable exports also took place to the Netherlands, possibly foi ultimate re-export elsewhere. H.M. Trade Commissioner in Canada, in a recent communication, points out that the British manufac- turer does not seem to grasp the fact that the Canadian or colonial buyer is not an expert engineer. He is an amateur, therefore a technical description does not appeal to him as a plain racy description would do. The “ fool proof ” engine of the simplest construction, which the amateur in a few minutes gets the bang of and is able to run, is the demand the American manufacturer sets himself to supply. The difficulty the British manufacturer has to meet is not only that the low- priced article is accompanied by skilful salesmanship, but that his chief competitors have a number of other lines on which they have a considerable profit to cover the necessary high cost of selling in this huge territory. In his report for 1913. H.M. Commissioner says imports of equipment (including electrical) for work- shops, factories, Ac.—e.g., boilers, cranes, steam and oil engines, and electrical transmission apparatus— amounted in value to over £7,000,000. The British share was about £800,000, or 111 per cent. The difficulty in dealing with this sub-heading is the enormous value entered under one item, £4,000.000, which includes, besides parts of electrical equipment, any or all machinery, not otherwise specified, composed wholly or in part of iron or steel, or iron or steel integral parts of all machinery. H.M. Trade Commissioner for South Africa, in a