Bipin Gangadharan | Pentair
Smart and sustainable water solutions Could you give me a brief history of Pentair and how it has become the water solution giant of today?
SPASA VICTORIA
Pentair was founded in July 1966 in Arden Hills, Minnesota, as a five-person partnership with the purpose of manufacturing highaltitude research balloons. Penta means 5 and that’s how the company was named Pentair. The business slowly evolved into newsprint and then into power tools. Pentair exited the tools business with the sale of its power tools group in October 2004 to Black & Decker for nearly $800 million. The company has evolved and grown through acquisition and continued to acquire and invest in new businesses which were related to water. In 1997, Pentair acquired the General Signals Pump Group and various water related companies, then after the acquisition of Essef in 1999 and Wicor in 2004, Pentair took its first step into the Pool business.
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Pools are only one part of Pentair’s business. Commercial pumps, residential food and beverage filtration also form a large part. Pentair supplies the water filters to McDonald’s, Starbucks and 7 Eleven to name a few. Everpure is now one of Pentair’s leading brands in water filtration. In Australia, we have around 280 employees presently under various business functions and globally, Pentair has 12,000 employees. In Australia our business is mostly related to residential/commercial pumps, filtration and pools. Pentair also owns the iconic Australian commercial pump brand Southern Cross pumps.
When did you enter the pool and spa industry? I started my career in 1998 in the Pool/HVAC industry. I was involved in the sales and construction of swimming pools in Oman in UAE. It was a big commercial pool market rather than residential and mostly high end. That’s where I learnt about commercial pool fountain design and construction. After that in 2001, I joined a global pool equipment manufacturer as their South Asia and Middle East representative. I was based in India, promoting pool filtration equipment and above ground pools in the assigned region.
Then I joined Pentair in 2006 as the Head of South East Asia, Japan and Korea, for the Aquatic division. A lot was happening at Pentair and my job was to establish Pentair in the growing market. I enjoyed many successes in my region. While in the Asian market, I worked on various key projects like the Marina Bay Sands Casino sky pool and Lego Land Malaysia, where we supplied Pentair pool equipment. I’ve had some fun along the way! Especially working across so many cultures. This market taught me a lot. It was time for me to settle down and that’s when Pentair offered me a transfer to Australia in 2012. Initially I was head of the pool division, but my role has expanded and now I manage Residential / Irrigation pumps (Onga) in addition to the Aquatics business. My current title is Head of Sales for ANZ. I have learnt a lot across my career working in various countries. I have met so many types of customers and learnt about different cultures. In the end, it’s all about building trust and delivering on your promise. There are so many different ways to do business but in the end, if you can win the trust of a customer, you’ve got a customer for life, and also a friend.
