Centrifugal pumps are one of the least glamorous pieces of equipment in any process plant, and also one of the most essential. Whatever the process — crude transfer, water injection, cooling water circulation, chemical dosing — there's almost always a centrifugal pump moving the fluid that makes it possible. That's why the market around them keeps growing: industry analysts currently size the global centrifugal pump market at somewhere around US$40–42 billion in 2026, with most forecasts putting it in the US$70 billion range by the mid-2030s, growing at roughly 5–6% a year. Oil and gas remains one of the biggest end markets for that growth, with centrifugal designs typically accounting for more than half of all pumps used across upstream, midstream, and downstream operations.

Growth on that scale means constant turnover of physical equipment — new projects being built, older units being decommissioned, plants upgrading or standardizing their pump fleets, and skids being redeployed from one job to the next. That turnover is exactly where a specialized brokerage like EXW Machines adds value, and it's worth looking at why each corner of this market — centrifugal pumps generally, oil & gas process pumps, hydrocarbon process pumps, and skid-mounted packages specifically — creates real opportunity for buyers and sellers who kno

w how to navigate it.

The Secondary Market for Process Pumps Is Booming — Here's Where EXW Machines Fits In

Centrifugal Pumps: the workhorse asset class

Centrifugal pumps are built to last, and that's precisely what makes the used and surplus market for them so active. A well-maintained unit can run reliably for decades, which means a huge installed base of pumps eventually becomes available secondhand — through plant closures, capacity reductions, technology upgrades, or simple fleet standardization. For a buyer, that secondary market can mean getting a proven, well-built pump at a fraction of new-build cost and lead time; new pump packages, especially anything built to API specifications, can carry lead times of many months once you account for engineering, manufacturing, and testing. For a seller, it means idle equipment sitting on a balance sheet can be converted into cash rather than scrap value — but only if it reaches the right buyer.



Oil & Gas Process Pumps: where reliability and timing both matter

In upstream, midstream, and downstream operations, pumps aren't a convenience — they're often on the critical path of the entire process. That makes buyers in this space unusually demanding about documentation, condition history, and compliance (most process pumps in oil & gas service are built and tested to API 610 or equivalent standards). It also makes timing critical: a refinery turnaround or an unplanned outage doesn't wait for a twelve-month lead time on a new pump. This is a market where a broker's job isn't just finding a pump — it's finding the right pump, with the right certification and condition records, fast enough to matter.

Hydrocarbon Process Pumps: specialized service, specialized sourcing

Hydrocarbon processing — refining, petrochemicals, gas processing — pushes pumps into genuinely harsh service: high temperatures, corrosive or flammable media, tight tolerances, and strict safety requirements. The petrochemical pump segment alone is forecast to grow from roughly US$5.85 billion in 2025 to over US$8 billion by 2032. Equipment built for this kind of duty tends to be expensive, engineered to exact specifications, and not easily substituted with a generic alternative — which is exactly why buyers need a source they can trust to represent condition and specifications accurately, rather than a generic listings site with no technical vetting behind it.

Skid-Mounted Centrifugal Pump Packages: value that travels

Skid-mounted pump packages exist to solve a logistics problem: get a fully integrated, tested pumping system onto a site and running as fast as possible, without a lengthy on-site build. That same design — self-contained, pre-piped, pre-wired, built for transport — is what makes these packages such good candidates for redeployment once a project winds down. A skid that was commissioned for a temporary water transfer job, a well pad, or a modular processing unit often still has years of useful life left in it when the project ends, and relocating a working skid is almost always cheaper and faster than engineering a new one from scratch. The catch is that finding a buyer for a specific, non-standard skid configuration takes real industry knowledge — you need to understand what the package actually does before you can find who needs it.

Where EXW Machines comes in

This is the exact gap EXW Machines is built to close. We work as a dedicated brokerage for industrial and process equipment, connecting companies that have centrifugal, process, or skid-mounted pumping equipment to sell with the buyers around the world who are actively looking for it — whether that's a refinery covering an urgent turnaround need, an EPC contractor sourcing for a new build, or an operator standardizing a fleet.

What that looks like in practice:

  • Technical vetting, not just listings. We take the time to understand what a pump or skid actually is — duty, materials, certifications, condition, documentation — so buyers can trust what they're evaluating and sellers get represented accurately.
  • A global buyer network. Process equipment doesn't respect borders, and neither do we — we market equipment across our international network, industry channels, and platforms buyers already use to search for exactly this kind of asset.
  • No unnecessary friction for sellers. Whether you're clearing out a decommissioned site, redeploying surplus skids, or simply upgrading your pump fleet, we handle the sales process end-to-end — valuation, marketing, buyer qualification, negotiation, and logistics — so idle equipment doesn't just sit there losing value.
  • A model built for both sides of the transaction. We work with sellers looking to place surplus equipment and with buyers looking for a specific pump or package, matching supply and demand rather than just pushing generic inventory.

If your business has centrifugal pumps, oil & gas process pumps, hydrocarbon process pumps, or skid-mounted pump packages to sell — or if you're sourcing this kind of equipment and tired of long lead times on new builds — get in touch. We'd be glad to talk through what you have or what you need.

EXW Machines sales@exwmachines.com | +39 02 9475 0001 www.exwmachines.com