Italy’s Interpump is the world’s largest producer of pumps used in high-pressure cleaners for surfaces like ships, car washes and tooling machines, and also for cutting asphalt, stone, cement and metal. It is also the world’s largest manufacturer of pumps and cylinders for hydraulic systems in industrial vehicles like dump trucks, cranes and concrete mixers.

High pressure piston pump for water, credit: Interpump

Interpump was founded in 1977 when Fulvio Montipò had an intuition that he could harness the natural power of water by innovating water pumps with a design that was more compact, silent and easy to maintain. He adopted ceramic pistons to improve reliability, and by the 1980s his business had grown to become leader in the category. The firm attributes its strength over the years to its quality standards and total control over the production process, from raw materials to finished product, exporting 75% of total sales out of Italy to other countries. Today the firm makes consumer and professional pressure washers too. Earlier this year, it launched a new “stop & go” ultra-compact piston line that acts to protect itself, instantly stopping the pump in the event of an interruption in the electrical circuit. A 39-second corporate video show Interpump’s products at work and can be seen here.

As of 6/30/21, Interpump was held in the Knowledge Leaders Strategy.