Item 1. BUSINESS

GENERAL

Pentair plc is a focused diversified industrial manufacturing company comprising four reporting segments: Valves & Controls, Process Technologies, Flow Technologies and Technical Solutions. Valves & Controls designs, manufactures, markets and services valves, fittings, automation and controls and actuators. Process Technologies designs, manufactures, markets and services innovative water system products and solutions to meet filtration, separation and fluid process management challenges in food and beverage, water, wastewater, swimming pools and aquaculture applications. Flow Technologies designs, manufactures and markets products and services designed for the transfer and flow of clean water, wastewater and a variety of industrial applications. Technical Solutions designs, manufactures, markets and services products that guard and protect some of the world’s most sensitive electronics and electronic equipment, as well as heat management solutions designed to provide thermal protection to temperature sensitive fluid applications.

Pentair Strategy

Our strategy is to drive sustainable, profitable growth and return on invested capital improvements through:

•	building operational excellence through the Pentair Integrated Management System ("PIMS") consisting of lean enterprise, growth and talent management;

•	driving long-term growth in sales, operating income and cash flows, through growth and productivity initiatives along with acquisitions;

•	developing new products and enhancing existing products;

•	penetrating attractive growth markets, particularly outside of the United States;

•	expanding multi-channel distribution; and

•	proactively managing our business portfolio for optimal value creation, including consideration of new business platforms.

Unless the context otherwise indicates, references herein to “Pentair,” the “Company,” and such words as “we,” “us,” and “our” include Pentair plc and its consolidated subsidiaries. We are an Irish corporation limited by shares that was formed in 2014. We are the successor to Pentair Ltd., a Swiss corporation formed in 2012, and Pentair, Inc., a Minnesota corporation formed in 1966 and our wholly-owned subsidiary, under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).

HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT

In December 2013, the Company's Board of Directors approved changing the Company's jurisdiction of organization from Switzerland to Ireland. At an extraordinary meeting of shareholders on May 20, 2014, Pentair Ltd. shareholders voted in favor of a reorganization proposal pursuant to which Pentair Ltd. would merge into Pentair plc and all Pentair Ltd. common shares would be cancelled and all holders of such shares would receive ordinary shares of Pentair plc on a one-to-one basis. The reorganization transaction was completed on June 3, 2014, at which time Pentair plc replaced Pentair Ltd. as the ultimate parent company (the "Redomicile"). Shares of Pentair plc began trading on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") on June 3, 2014 under the symbol "PNR," the same symbol under which Pentair Ltd. shares were previously traded.

Although our jurisdiction of organization is Ireland, we manage our affairs so that we are centrally managed and controlled in the United Kingdom (the "U.K.") and therefore have our tax residency in the U.K. We expect that having our publicly-traded parent company incorporated in Ireland and tax resident in the U.K. will provide us the following benefits:

•	Incorporation of our publicly-traded parent company in Ireland enables us to benefit by being subject to a legal and regulatory structure in a jurisdiction with a well-developed legal system and corporate law with established standards of corporate governance.

•	The U.K. has a developed, stable and internationally competitive tax system.

•

The legal requirements we are now subject to as a company incorporated in Ireland, listed on the NYSE and subject to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") disclosure and shareholder voting requirements strike the right balance between robust external governance oversight and regulation of our executive and director pay practices and the ability of our compensation committee consisting of independent directors to determine executive compensation to provide incentives to our executive management and to offer competitive salaries and benefits.

Our former parent company, Pentair Ltd., took its form on September 28, 2012 as a result of a reverse acquisition (the "Merger") involving Pentair, Inc. and an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Flow Control (defined below), with Pentair, Inc. surviving as an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of ours. "Flow Control" refers to Pentair Ltd. prior the Merger. Prior to the Merger, Tyco International Ltd. ("Tyco") engaged in an internal restructuring whereby it transferred to Flow Control certain assets related to the flow control business of Tyco, and Flow Control assumed from Tyco certain liabilities related to the flow control business of Tyco. On September 28, 2012 prior to the Merger, Tyco effected a spin-off of Flow Control through the pro-rata distribution of 100% of the outstanding ordinary shares of Flow Control to Tyco’s shareholders (the “Distribution”), resulting in the distribution of approximately 110.9 million of our ordinary shares to Tyco’s shareholders. The Merger was accounted for as a reverse acquisition under the purchase method of accounting with Pentair, Inc. treated as the acquirer.

Our registered principal office is located at P.O. Box 471, Sharp Street, Walkden, Manchester, M28 8BU United Kingdom. Our management office in the United States ("U.S.") is located at 5500 Wayzata Boulevard, Suite 800, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

BUSINESS AND PRODUCTS

Reporting segment and geographical financial information is contained in ITEM 8, Note 16 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, included in this Form 10-K. On July 28, 2014, our Board of Directors approved a decision to exit our Water Transport business in Australia, previously part of our Flow Technologies reporting segment. We expect to dispose of the Water Transport business by mid-2015. The following is a brief description of each of the Company’s reportable segments and business activities.

VALVES & CONTROLS

The Valves & Controls segment designs, manufactures, markets and services valves, fittings, automation and controls and actuators for the energy and industrial verticals and operates as a stand-alone Global Business Unit ("GBU").

Valve products include a broad range of industrial valves, including on-off valves, safety relief valves and other specialty valves. Actuation products include pneumatic, hydraulic and electric actuators. Control products include limit switches, valve positioners, network systems and accessories.

Valves & Controls products are used in many applications including chemical, petrochemical, oil and gas, power generation, mining, food and beverage, pulp and paper and wastewater. Valves & Controls also provides engineering, design, inspection, maintenance and repair services for its valves and related products. The product line is sold under many trade names, including Biffi, Keystone, Vanessa, Anderson Greenwood and Crosby, globally via its internal sales force and in some cases through independent distributors.

Customers

Valves & Controls customers include businesses engaged in a wide range of applications within the energy and industrial verticals. Customers include end-users as well as engineering, procurement and construction companies, contractors, original equipment manufacturers and distributors.

Seasonality

Valves & Controls is not significantly affected by seasonal demand fluctuations.

Competition

The flow control industry is highly fragmented, consisting of many local and regional companies and a few global competitors. We compete against a number of international, national and local manufacturers of industrial valves, as well as against specialized manufacturers on the basis of product capability, product quality, breadth of product line, delivery, service capability and price. Our major competitors vary by region and by industry.

PROCESS TECHNOLOGIES

The Process Technologies segment designs, manufactures, markets and services innovative water system products and solutions to meet filtration, separation and fluid process management challenges in food and beverage, water, wastewater, swimming pools and aquaculture applications. The Filtration & Process and Water Quality Systems GBUs comprise this segment.

Process Technologies offers a comprehensive product suite that ranges from energy-efficient pumps and point-of-use filtration to automated controls and CO2 recovery systems. Process Technologies primarily sells water systems, consisting of pumps, valves and filters used in the manufacturing of water softeners, filtration and deionization systems and commercial and residential water filtration applications. Process Technologies also produces a broad line of leading edge equipment, accessories and water technology solutions, including pumps, filtration equipment, thermal products, automated controls, lights, automatic cleaners, water purification and treatment technology and water features.

Applications for Process Technologies’ products include oil and gas, residential, power generation, chemical, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, foodservice, medical and municipal and industrial desalination, water and wastewater treatment. Brand names for Process Technologies include Pentair, Everpure, Sta-Rite, X-Flow, Haffmans and Südmo.

Customers

Process Technologies customers include businesses engaged in wholesale and retail distribution in the residential & commercial, food & beverage, industrial, infrastructure and energy verticals. Customers in the residential & commercial vertical also include end-users and consumers.

Seasonality

We experience seasonal demand with several end customers and end-users within Process Technologies. End-user demand for pool equipment follows warm weather trends and is at seasonal highs from April to August. The magnitude of the sales increase is partially mitigated by employing some advance sale “early buy” programs (generally including extended payment terms and/or additional discounts).

Competition

Process Technologies faces numerous domestic and international competitors, some of which have substantially greater resources directed to the verticals in which we compete. Competition in our Filtration & Process GBU focuses on product performance and design, quality, delivery and price. For our Water Quality Systems GBU, competition focuses on brand names, product performance (including energy-efficient offerings), quality and price. We compete by offering a wide variety of innovative and high-quality products, which are competitively priced. We believe our distribution channels and reputation for quality also provide us a competitive advantage.

FLOW TECHNOLOGIES

The Flow Technologies segment designs, manufactures and markets products and services designed for the transfer and flow of clean water, wastewater and a variety of industrial applications. The Flow Technologies segment operates as a stand-alone GBU.

Flow Technologies is involved in the entire fluid system from transmission and distribution, process and control, to pumps, fittings and couplings. From product selection to installation, maintenance and servicing, Flow Technologies supports a broad range of products and services specifically tailored to address customers' needs for reliable and efficient movement and control of fluids.

Applications for Flow Technologies’ products include agriculture, along with pumps for residential and municipal wells, flood control, water treatment, wastewater solids handling, pressure boosting, engine cooling, fluid delivery, circulation and transfer and energy. Brand names for Flow Technologies products include Aurora, Berkeley, Fairbanks-Nijhuis, Hydromatic Hypro and Sta-Rite.

Customers

Flow Technologies customers include businesses engaged in wholesale and retail distribution in the residential & commercial, infrastructure, food & beverage, industrial and energy verticals. Customers also include end-users and consumers in the residential & commercial vertical.

Seasonality

We experience demand for residential water supply products, infrastructure and agricultural products following warm weather trends, which are at seasonal highs from April to August. The magnitude of the sales increase is partially mitigated by employing some advance sale “early buy” programs (generally including extended payment terms and/or additional discounts). Seasonal effects may vary from year to year and are impacted by weather patterns, particularly by temperatures, heavy flooding and droughts.

Competition

Flow Technologies faces numerous domestic and international competitors, some of which have substantially greater resources directed to the verticals in which we compete. Competition in Flow Technologies focuses on brand names, product performance (including energy-efficient offerings and required specifications), quality, service and price. We compete by offering a wide variety of innovative and high-quality products, which are competitively priced.

TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS

The Technical Solutions segment designs, manufactures, markets and services products that guard and protect some of the world’s most sensitive electronics and electronic equipment, as well as heat management solutions designed to provide thermal protection to temperature sensitive fluid applications. The Technical Solutions segment operates as a stand-alone GBU.

Technical Solutions products include mild steel, stainless steel, aluminum and non-metallic enclosures, cabinets, cases, subracks, backplanes and thermal management systems including heat tracing, snow melting/de-icing and temperature management equipment. Technical Solutions products are produced globally.

The portfolio of products serves a range of industries, including use in industrial, energy, residential & commercial and infrastructure verticals. Brand names for Technical Solutions offerings include Hoffman, Schroff, Raychem and Tracer. Technical Solutions products are highly engineered and are sold largely through independent distributors and on a project basis, via a network of sales and service professionals.

Customers

Technical Solutions customers include electrical distributors, data center contractors, original equipment manufacturers, contractors mainly of greenfield developments and maintenance contractors. Technical Solutions has a global installed base of customers.

Seasonality

Technical Solutions generally experiences increased demand for thermal protection products and services during the fall and winter months in the Northern Hemisphere.

Competition

Within Technical Solutions, the equipment protection business faces significant competition in the verticals it serves, particularly within the communications industry, where product design, prototyping, global supply, price competition and customer service are significant factors. The industries and verticals served by the thermal management business are highly fragmented, comprising local markets and niches.

NEW SEGMENTATION

During the first quarter of 2015, we reorganized our business segments to reflect a new operating structure and management of our GBUs, resulting in a change to our reporting segments in 2015. As part of this reorganization, the legacy Filtration & Process GBU was combined with the legacy Flow Technologies GBU to form the Flow & Filtration Solutions reporting segment and now operates as a stand-alone GBU and the Water Quality Systems reporting segment now operates as a stand-alone GBU. All segment information presented throughout this Annual Report on Form 10-K, with the exception of the table below, was prepared based on the reporting segments in place during 2014.

The below table presents sales and segment income under the revised reporting segments (Valves & Controls, Technical Solutions, Flow & Filtration Solutions and Water Quality Systems) for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012.

	December 31
In millions	2014			2013			2012
Net sales
Valves & Controls	$	2,377.3		$	2,451.7		$	540.3
Flow & Filtration Solutions	1,603.1			1,651.8			1,451.5
Water Quality Systems	1,356.4			1,269.3			1,108.1
Technical Solutions	1,728.1			1,663.4			1,233.9
Other	(25.9		)	(36.5		)	(27.0		)
Consolidated	$	7,039.0		$	6,999.7		$	4,306.8
Segment income (loss)
Valves & Controls	$	345.1		$	297.5		$	40.7
Flow & Filtration Solutions	169.2			170.7			113.4
Water Quality Systems	242.9			220.1			174.8
Technical Solutions	358.2			322.4			232.2
Other	(93.7		)	(108.4		)	(77.6		)
Consolidated	$	1,021.7		$	902.3		$	483.5

INFORMATION REGARDING ALL REPORTABLE SEGMENTS

Backlog of orders by segment

	December 31
In millions	2014			2013			$ change			% change
Valves & Controls	$	1,234.4		$	1,353.2		$	(118.8	)	(8.8	)%
Process Technologies	315.2			298.7			16.5			5.5
Flow Technologies	166.3			170.2			(3.9		)	(2.3	)
Technical Solutions	281.0			218.7			62.3			28.5
Total	$	1,996.9		$	2,040.8		$	(43.9	)	(2.2	)%

Backlog from Valves & Controls consists of business in the energy and industrial verticals. Generally, backlog from Valves & Controls has a longer manufacturing cycle and products typically ship within six to twelve months of the date on which a customer places an order. Backlog from Process Technologies, Flow Technologies and Technical Solutions typically has a shorter manufacturing cycle and products generally ship within 90 days of the date on which a customer places an order. A substantial portion of our revenues, however, result from orders received and product delivered in the same month. We record as part of our backlog all orders from external customers, which represent firm commitments, and are supported by a purchase order or other legitimate contract. We expect the majority of our backlog from all segments at December 31, 2014 will be filled in 2015.

Research and development

We conduct research and development activities primarily in our own facilities. These efforts consist primarily of the development of new products, product applications and manufacturing processes. Research and development expenditures during 2014, 2013 and 2012 were $117.3 million, $122.8 million and $92.3 million, respectively.

Environmental

Environmental matters are discussed in ITEM 3, ITEM 7 and ITEM 8, Note 17 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements, included in this Form 10-K.

Raw materials

The principal materials we use in manufacturing our products are electric motors, mild steel, stainless steel, electronic components, plastics (resins, fiberglass, epoxies), copper and paint (powder and liquid). In addition to the purchase of raw materials, we purchase some finished goods for distribution through our sales channels.

We purchase the materials we use in various manufacturing processes on the open market and the majority is available through multiple sources which are in adequate supply. We have not experienced any significant work stoppages to date due to shortages of materials. We have certain long-term commitments, principally price commitments, for the purchase of various component parts and raw materials and believe that it is unlikely that any of these agreements would be terminated prematurely. Alternate sources of supply at competitive prices are available for most materials for which long-term commitments exist and we believe that the termination of any of these commitments would not have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Certain commodities, such as metals and resin, are subject to market and duty-driven price fluctuations. We manage these fluctuations through several mechanisms, including long-term agreements with price adjustment clauses for significant commodity market movements in certain circumstances. Prices for raw materials, such as metals and resins, may trend higher in the future.

Intellectual property

Patents, non-compete agreements, proprietary technologies, customer relationships, trademarks, trade names and brand names are important to our business. However, we do not regard our business as being materially dependent upon any single patent, non-compete agreement, proprietary technology, customer relationship, trademark, trade name or brand name.

Patents, patent applications and license agreements will expire or terminate over time by operation of law, in accordance with their terms or otherwise. We do not expect the termination of patents, patent applications or license agreements to have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

Employees

As of December 31, 2014, we employed 28,400 people worldwide, of which 9,200 were in the U.S. and 10,000 were covered by collective bargaining agreements or works councils. We believe that our relations with the labor unions have generally been good.

Captive insurance subsidiary

We insure certain general and product liability, property, workers’ compensation and automobile liability risks through our regulated wholly-owned captive insurance subsidiary, Penwald Insurance Company (“Penwald”). Reserves for policy claims are established based on actuarial projections of ultimate losses. Accruals with respect to liabilities insured by third parties, such as liabilities arising from acquired businesses, pre-Penwald liabilities and those of certain non-U.S. operations are established.

Matters pertaining to Penwald are discussed in ITEM 3 and ITEM 8, Note 1 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements – Insurance Subsidiary, included in this Form 10-K.

Available information

We make available free of charge (other than an investor’s own Internet access charges) through our Internet website (http://www.pentair.com) our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and if applicable, amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Reports of beneficial ownership filed by our directors and executive officers pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act are also available on our website. We are not including the information contained on our website as part of or incorporating it by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.