Interview with BPC Instruments CEO Jing Liu

For those who have not heard of BPC Instruments, can you tell us more about your business, what you do, and what market you address?

BPC Instruments has been a leader in development and provision of analytical instruments for 17 years. Specializing in the biogas sector, we offer efficient, reliable, and high-quality analytical instruments that enable us to constantly develop our core business. Alongside our primary focus on renewable energy, we also offer instruments for environmental bioanalysis such as biodegradability evaluation for new materials and animal nutrition for farming productivity. Our instruments increase efficiency and significantly reduce customer costs, as it is a labor-intensive process without our devices. With the standardization of the process and the automatic analytical procedure, the risk of human error is significantly reduced. Our products have been sold in near 70 countries worldwide, with Europe being our main market. We have also established a strong distribution network in the East and South Asian markets, as well as sales partners in Latin America and Africa regions.

What trends and drivers in society do you see benefiting your company in the future?

There is a higher demand than ever for sustainability, not only by the environmental perspective but also due to the current geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine, we see the world looking to self-sustainability to a greater extent. The EU set up the “REPowerEU” plan, where the essential idea is to increase the utilization and production of biomethane to 35 billion cubic meters annually by 2030, ten times our current utilization and production. The intention is that the biomethane production is to be self-reliant for replacing imported nature gas. This creates a vast opportunity as our flagship product AMPTS^® is the top choice in the industry for producers, service providers, and research institutes worldwide to optimize the biogas production process and enable a stable operation. The trend of self-sufficiency and renewability is not only limited to Europe as there is a similar development and push for self-sustainability in Japan, India, Brazil and the United States to give a few examples, with biogas being the most viable approach.

There has been an increased awareness of biodegradability as the world seeks to eliminate plastic pollution. We offer a unique solution that evaluates the biodegradability of new packaging material in different environments, which has created a new business opportunity for us, and we’re seeing increased sales in our Gas Endeavour^® product used to conduct these tests.

Our products do not only capitalize on the environmental transition, but our products help solve this challenge and contribute to the actual transition itself.

You have had an eventful spring with the launch of your latest generation of AMPTS® III, a joint venture firm and demonstrated impressive growth in Q1-2023. How do you view your growth potential moving forward? 

The recent growth has certainly been very exciting, but it has also set a high reference for future growth. The trend is certainly there, and as for BPC, I believe we’re only at the beginning of our journey to explore our market and business potential. We have years of cumulated experience and expertise and a good momentum with favorable macro environments. In addition, we’re working on a three-dimensional growth strategy where we aim to:

1. Grow existing businesses as we have exhibited in the biogas sector.
2. Enter new business sectors, as we’ve done with the biodegradability and animal nutrition sectors, thereby broadening the company from a niche player in a single market to a niche player in multiple markets.
3. Broaden our product portfolio for both niche analytical instruments and selected laboratory apparatuses that appeal to mainstream users.

The growth potential is undoubtedly present, and we will keep working to outperform expectations and build trust between us, our customers, and our investors.  

BPC Instruments recently established a new joint venture firm, Nordic Assembly, do you see this as a one-time event to ensure production, or is it a strategy that you intend to continue with in the future?

The joint venture firm was established with intention to outsource the core detection units and standardized parts there while maintaining our active contribution on managing inventory of all key components for the stable and efficient production. We have partnered with a long-term collaborator who has previously assembled our products. As a small company, this joint venture enables us to improve product quality while effectively managing the complexity of our product packages by keeping product configuration and adaptation in-house – aspects that require the most extensive expertise. This approach allows us to focus on our core business of innovation, marketing, sales, and knowledge transfer to clients. Our joint venture maximizes efficiency and quality, making it the best possible solution for our growth journey.

What are BPC Instruments goals in the short and medium term, and what are the most significant challenges going forward?

Our first objective is to shift from a niche player in a single sector to a niche player in multiple sectors, as described in the second dimension of our three-dimensional growth strategy. The second objective is to maintain a high market share in the expanding biogas sector. In the long term, we aspire to remain market leaders in relevant sectors, which will require us to maintain a high level of innovation, quality, and customer service. These three goals present significant challenges, but as a team, BPC is more than capable of addressing them and progressing forward.

Can you name three reasons as to why BPC Instruments is a good investment today? 

1. BPC Instruments is a stable and solid green-tech company with a strong market position and a proven track record of delivering sustainable growth and profitability. Evidence of this is our ten-year history of being cash positive, 27% sales growth in 2022, and triple-digit growth Q1-2023 resulting in an all-time high quarterly result, which historically has been a low season quarter.

2. We’re an innovative company with a competent and experienced team, board, and management. Our team is dedicated to ensuring credibility and trust through action and results, rather than empty promises.

3. BPC Instruments’ business model is centered around developing renewable energy, sustainable practices, and environmentally friendly solutions. Our focus on clean-tech aligns well with the global trend towards self-sustainability, renewable energy and resources, and the environmental aspects of sustainability. By investing in BPC Instruments, you are contributing to the climate and sustainable development, making it a wise and ethical investment choice.