“Three pillars and a clear plan”: Interview with CEO Thomas Christiansen

This interview was conducted by Artur zu Eulenburg and was first published in German on the website of B_I umweltbau on April 28, 2025: https://bi-medien.de/fachzeitschriften/umweltbau/kanalsanierung/interview-bei-bkp-drei-standbeine-und-ein-klarer-plan-u19543

Satisfied with current developments and full of positive expectations regarding the future of the pipe liner manufacturer, Thomas Christiansen, Managing Director of BKP Berolina Polyester GmbH, spoke at the beginning of the year in Oldenburg. We followed up with an interview.

B_I umweltbau: At the Oldenburg Pipeline Forum, you expressed your satisfaction with BKP’s performance over the past business year. What is this satisfaction based on?

Thomas Christiansen: I have to look back a little. In 2021, the entire industry faced major challenges on the procurement side. For us, that was a wake-up call to put our internal processes to the test. With a major investment in a new ERP software system, we managed to establish a unified data basis across the company, making our processes more transparent and efficient.

After going through a “valley of tears,” we returned to profitability in 2022, had a successful year in 2023, and were able to continue this success in 2024. This success is rooted in the investments we made and in the successful development of international markets in particular. We were able to reap what our team had sown during the difficult times.

Can you quantify this satisfaction?

We have grown organically over the past three years, increasing our revenue by 10% annually. In the past year, 2024, our total revenue slightly exceeded 25 million euros. Our target for the current year is 29 million euros.

What’s important to understand: Because of our shareholder structure, we are not aiming to become the biggest player. Our focus is on profit after tax. We aim for a double-digit profit margin — and we’ve achieved that over the past two years.

How has BKP managed to hold its own nationally and internationally against other pipe liner manufacturers?

There are five market players in Germany. Three of them are significantly larger than we are, with roughly three times our revenue. One is about the same size as us. Our market share in Germany is likely declining slightly because we prioritize profit over revenue.

Internationally, it varies by region. We’re very strong in the Middle East, and in some countries of the former Soviet Union, I see us as market leaders. In North America, we are certainly smaller compared to domestic producers, but still, 10 to 12 percent of our revenue comes from there. That makes it an important market for us, and we consider ourselves competitive there.

On the other side of the globe, in Australia, 8 to 10 percent of our revenue is generated. The Spanish market is currently developing very promisingly for us. So yes, I’d say our niche-oriented strategy is successful.

How has the rehabilitation market for sewer systems developed from your perspective?

Looking at the market volume in German-speaking countries, I currently see a certain stagnation. There’s a backlog of needed rehabilitation, and the gap between what’s needed and what’s actually done is widening — largely due to shrinking budgets in public authorities.

Elsewhere in Europe, markets are developing. As I mentioned, Spain is on the rise. In Scandinavia, we see solid growth, along with higher environmental requirements. For example, if I’m correctly informed, Sweden will require styrene-free liners starting in 2027. Norway wants to mandate the electrification of construction machinery and equipment by 2027.

New developments are clearly emerging that we must address. In the U.S., a traditional felt liner market, we’re observing a shift away from felt toward glass fiber, following negative experiences reported by some utility operators. With annual installation lengths of 10,000 to 12,000 kilometers, this market holds huge growth potential. We’re also hearing that China plans to invest heavily and systematically in rehabilitating its wastewater infrastructure over the next 30 years. That too represents future potential.

In Oldenburg, you announced the development of a new generation of liners. How will this new product differ from the current one? What will it do better?

The market currently offers a variety of liner designs — some are folded, others are wound, and they differ in layer composition. We receive customer feedback on the performance of our products, and various factors are being discussed.

For example: Can we expand the use of our product from seasonal to year-round? That’s important for colder regions like Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Handling, flexibility, and installation safety are other key factors. Currently, our maximum diameter is DN 1700. From the market, especially utility companies and installers, there is increasing demand for sizes up to DN 2000.
We’re also seeing regulatory changes — for example, concerning residual styrene levels.
All of this adds up. Our current products — the Berolina-Liner and the “HF” and “LP” variants — are the result of continuous development. That’s also reflected in our production lines.
At some point, though, it makes sense to draw a line and start over with a blank slate. That offers a real opportunity to rethink everything — market factors, user demands — without being constrained by legacy designs. Our shareholder supports us in taking that step — and we’re ready to do it.

Will this new liner complement or replace the existing product?

The new product is meant to replace the current one. And that will impact our production process as well. Right now, we’re extremely efficient with smaller diameters and less efficient with larger ones — and we want to address that imbalance. With the export markets in mind, such as the U.S., we’re also looking at concepts to increase flexibility in production, logistics, and storage.

How does the current pricing pressure in the market factor into your considerations?

Of course, we have to think about how we can produce more efficiently — without compromising on quality. Around 50 percent of liner production costs are raw materials. Energy and labor costs are relatively minor. We operate our production lines — dry fabrication and impregnation — with three people per shift. Compared to competitors, that’s a good setup. But the machines we use today don’t have to be the same ones we use tomorrow. Future investments and developments must continue to prioritize efficiency.

What time horizon are you working with for these plans?

We have an ambitious plan: We want to introduce the new product in 2026. We began thinking about this back in 2023 and originally aimed to present a new development at Ro-Ka-Tech 2025. But once it became clear we could bring in additional technical expertise, we decided to integrate that knowledge into the new product. That’s why we’re now targeting 2026. The biggest challenge will be acquiring the necessary equipment in time to begin production.

You’re referring to Daniel Will, the former Technical Director at Impreg, who will join your company in July. What do you expect from this appointment?

When I joined BKP, one of my goals was to strengthen our technical expertise. We’ve already succeeded in bringing back Lars Quernheim, co-developer of the Berolina-Liner. Now, with Daniel Will — the driving force behind the Impreg product, whom I know from my previous role at Impreg — we’ve gained another major asset. This gives us the chance to combine two strong technical perspectives in our new liner product. Both gentlemen will hold equal positions on the management board. Our goal is not to replace one product with another but to complement each other fully. I believe our customers — and BKP as a company — will benefit greatly from this. It’s a real privilege to soon have two of the few people who played a pivotal role in developing pipe liners on our team.

In the pipe liner industry, there’s increasing discussion — driven by major network operators like Hamburg, Kassel, and Nuremberg — around incompletely cured UV-cured GFRP liners and how to reliably avoid such quality issues. What’s BKP’s position on this issue?

We’re in ongoing dialogue with other market players on this topic. Of course, our goal is to manufacture products that meet utility operators’ expectations and our own quality and durability promises.
It’s important to me that, as an industry, we take existing concerns seriously — and respond with technically sound, constructive solutions. With CarboSeal, BKP has opened up a completely new application field for liners: district heating pipe rehabilitation. How has this product entered the market?

After the first installations in Sweden in 2021 and in Germany in 2022 as part of a research project, we’ve now completed over 40 installations worldwide. In Frankfurt am Main, for example, we built two sections of DN 175 pipe — one around 100 meters, the other around 200 meters in a single shot — directly along the Main River for Mainova in 2024. That’s our biggest reference project in Germany to date.

How has CarboSeal established itself in the market?

Not as successfully as we’d like. We’re now doing three projects in Scandinavia and one in Austria — where network operators already have more experience and recognize the system’s advantages.
What we’re missing in Germany — and internationally — is a technical standard. There is market demand, but we need a framework to make implementation possible. Creating a formal standard takes years, not months. However, we’re in close contact with AGFW and are working on a practical guideline as an interim step. That guide should be available soon and will allow us to enter the market more actively with CarboSeal.

So you see a strong future for CarboSeal – and that’s reflected in the change of ownership structure, with BKP now solely responsible for the product?

Our partner is a Swedish composite manufacturer, Oxeon, which developed a special carbon fiber variant for high-tech applications like aerospace. Oxeon was involved in the production and distribution company PPR Sweden, alongside BKP. For strategic reasons, Oxeon wanted to divest and focus purely on material manufacturing. Because we see enormous potential in the product — also for BKP’s future development — we decided to take over those shares and are now majority owners. Oxeon continues to supply us with the material.

How do you view the future of BKP Berolina as a company?

I see our future very positively. As a small, agile company with short decision paths, we can respond quickly to change. We constantly see new markets emerging and believe we are well positioned to tap into them. With our three pillars – GRP pipe lining, CarboSeal, and GRP pipe coatings — and our international focus, we’re able to offset weaknesses in one segment with strengths in another.
I expect short- and medium-term growth especially in the pipe coating sector. Our GRP-based protective layer for trenchless installation of steel pipes offers great growth potential – particularly since Germany’s Federal Network Agency is planning nearly 10,000 kilometers of hydrogen pipeline infrastructure.

In the liner market, we must be careful not to become a niche relic — but we also don’t need to pursue outsized growth. We have the freedom and backing of our shareholder to think beyond the beaten path.

And how is BKP preparing for the future?

Our site here in Velten, just outside Berlin, has been our property since 2023, and we have purchased an adjacent plot of land. We plan to build a new hall there to temporarily store pipes to be coated, create additional storage space, and further expand our plant technology. If even a fraction of what’s currently in the pipeline for CarboSeal becomes reality, we’ll need more space. And if we want to achieve our goals, we’ll need “human capital.” We’re currently in the recruitment phase. And last but not least, we’re in the process of expanding our production to international locations. So you could say: We are moving forward with great momentum!