After working with toymaker Lego for 23 years, Mads Nipper made a surprise move to Danish pump manufacturer Grundfos two years ago, taking over as its Group President and CEO. In an interview with BusinessLine , Nipper spoke about making Grundfos a leading provider of green solutions in the water and waste management space.

What is the growth you see in emerging markets, five years from now?

I don’t dare to come with any predictions that stretch that far. The world economy is moving way too fast for that. Some years ago, there were high expectations on emerging markets, but in the wake of the global economic crisis, combined with local difficulties, most markets have not lived up to them. At the moment, we see high growth in some South American, African and Asian countries — but without high volume.

Can you describe three ways in which India is more attractive than China, and three the other way round?

I really don’t believe any of the great nations India and China – representing two of the most vibrant and important markets in world – is more attractive than the other.

They are different in culture, political system as well as stage of development. China’s market size is six times bigger than India’s, the infrastructure in terms of roads, rail and energy is more developed. I would say both China and India are very similar in terms of market behaviour, competition and population.

China is known as the factory to the world, and India, the office to the world. However, India’s manufacturing base is rapidly increasing. The financial systems and the stock markets are more organised and perhaps transparent compared to China.

China is better at mass production with large batch sizes and lower complexity, whereas India is better at niche products, small batch sizes and customisation. The market potential in China is very much larger than in India.

Have things changed with the Modi government? What do you think of ease of doing business in India?

Even getting a visa to India is complex. But, the government is working on it. The Modi government is finding the path harder than what they originally thought. They need to be stubborn and stay with the agenda.

Can you describe some of the future technologies that Grundfos is working on?

I would like to highlight more intelligent products with a high degree of connectivity, water management and water treatment, and new materials that prolong the lifetime of our products and increase performance at the same time.

You seem much focused on energy conservation…

The UN has set 17 global sustainable development goals. We are not GE or Siemens, so we are focused on just two of those goals – water and sanitisation, and climate actions. Electrical pumps account for 10 per cent of global electricity consumption. We are aiming to bring it down to five per cent.

What was it like to move from Lego to head a pump manufacturer?

I was simply tempted by the chance and the challenges. I was happy working for LEGO for 23 years and didn’t even consider moving. But the chance to work with the largest and most important pump producer in the world, I simply couldn’t resist. And the chance to work with three of the largest threats the world is facing in our time – energy consumption, water scarcity and climate change – made the choice easy for me.

While being a closely-held company does have its advantages, it also has its flip side — the primary one being funding constraints. Will Grundfos ever consider going public, or opting for joint ventures, if need be?

There is one quick and simple answer to that – No. Grundfos is primarily owned by the Poul Due Jensen Foundation that was created by the founder to ensure a long, strategic and sound development, where a large part of the revenue is reinvested in the company, its future growth and development. We have always strived to be a strong and independent company with a very solid financial backbone and not being dependent on external funding.

The writer was in Bjerringbro, Denmark at the invitation of Grundfos

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