Franklin Electric Australia celebrates 60 years

The year 2022 marks the 60^th anniversary of Franklin Electric Australia, a water management company synonymous with excellence and reliability. Not long after the establishment of Franklin Electric in 1944 in the USA, Franklin Electric Australia commenced operations in Dandenong, Victoria and since that day in 1962, it has been playing a pioneering role in this country. Today, it continues to offer pumping and associated products and services with application across agricultural, residential, industrial, commercial, mining and municipal water systems.

In the early 2000s, Franklin Electric Australia manoeuvred its focus to solely cater services and technical skill to the water pump industry, leading to the launch of the FPS range of submersible and above-ground pumps, motors, controls, and drives to great success in 2007. Continuing to lead in this field of expertise, the company has been using cutting-edge technology to design and launch pumping systems that are consistently more dynamic. The company’s extensive range of products aims to offer solutions for all water management and movement-related processes, particularly significant for the agricultural industry where effective and innovative irrigation equipment and practices for enhanced water efficiency is crucial.

“As a global company, Franklin Electric reaps the benefits of having manufacturing facilities worldwide,” says Malcolm Eyre, the Managing Director of Franklin Electric Australia. “Considerable effort and investment are being made at overseas operations in product development, leading to enhanced efficiency, reliability and sustainability of existing offerings, as well as launching brand new solutions.”

Streamlining the performance of its water management systems is at the core of Franklin Electric’s product development and this applies to all the company’s merchandise.

A comprehensive selection of submersible water pumps is on offer, wherein key components of specially designed mechanical seals prevent water from entering the pump motor and causing a short-circuit. A new range of 4” submersible bore pumps is to be launched in the near future, adding to the current selection of 6”, 8”, 10”, 12”, 14” and 16” pump ends. These bore pumps have been re-designed to increase productivity. Though the range of applications is broad, a typical application is to pump water from a specific source (e.g., water well) to a desired destination.

The company’s line of submersible motors, used for groundwater and other submerged pressure pumping applications, have been developed to be extremely durable and reliable. “In the case of submersible electric motors, we have developed permanent magnet motors from 1.1 kW to 150kW, which are far more efficient than conventional motors. Comparable higher efficiencies of up to 20 per cent are attained”, Malcolm confirms. More specifically, the Franklin Electric 4” submersible motor will feature the widest range of voltage and frequency ratings in both single- and three-phase models in the industry.

Submersible control boxes complement this full range of motors and pumps, specifically designed for Franklin Electric products to provide long-lasting, accurate operation for optimum pump system performance. To accommodate the burden of regulating water levels to suit the country’s unstable rainfall patterns, “Franklin Electric has integrated variable speed drives with its pumping equipment to allow Australian farmers to better utilise their water allocations,” Malcolm says. Ultimately, this is saving the farmer time and money, while also providing peace of mind.

An emerging forerunner of solar-powered pump systems

Since Franklin Electric’s launch of its solar pumping systems over a decade ago, solar power has gained in popularity as not only a climate-friendly alternative to diesel or electricity, but additionally as a more economic energy resource. To meet the growing demand for solar-powered systems, the company will soon be launching a new range of solar pump products.

“The development of higher powered and more efficient solar panels over the past several years enables us to provide much larger systems than our current Fhoton and SubDrive SolarPAK offerings,” states Malcolm, “and we foresee solar pumping to be the range where the most development will take place in the coming years.”

The current features of the Fhoton SolarPAK include a high-flow system ensuring faster tank-fill and significant water output; multi-colour LED operating status; soft-start feature to prevent water hammer and increase system life; built-in diagnostics; DC solar array; and most importantly, long-term reliability with simple installation and no required maintenance. The C-tick and UL-approved SubDrive SolarPAK system similarly features a high-flow system and soft start feature, and comes equipped with a seven-segment controller display as well as MPPT (max power point tracking) to maximise input power efficiency. It also offers remote telemetry, simultaneously providing off-site owners and operators full access to the Franklin Electric solar water pumping system.

Reliability and continued innovation

As a global leader in the manufacturing and distribution of innovative products and systems for water and fuel management and movement, Franklin Electric continues to provide solutions to Australian farmers all too familiar with managing frequent drastic climate changes and land conditions.

The vision remains for the company to continue its strong growth trajectory, with Franklin Electric retaining its place as the leading bore pump company in Australia, while maintaining its renowned level of service. Malcolm reiterates that one of the biggest benefits Australian farmers get from choosing Franklin Electric is the technical support from locally based technicians. He attributes the company’s success over the past 60 years to not just their innovative products and competent staff, but also reliability and performance – undoubtedly essential to Australian farmers.

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Franklin Electric’s decades’ worth of technical experience has seen the company thrive as a leader in developing efficient water management systems. Their range of products is comprehensive, encompassing Motors, Controls & Protection; Above Ground Pumps; Bore Hole Pumps; Solar Systems; Constant Pressure-Subdrives; Sump Pumps; VFD-VSD Drives; Water Truck Pumps; Transfer Pumps; Pioneer Pumps and Accessories. Whatever the need, Franklin Electric has the optimised solution for any water-management and movement issue. New Paragraph