Martin Dana, President and CEO, Hobas Pipe USA

I understand you started the company in 1987, the year I was born. You are obviously one of the leaders in fiberglass-reinforced polymer mortar. Would you please start by giving us a brief introduction to Hobas Pipe USA as of today?

Sure, of course. As you mentioned, we were established in 1987 here in Houston, Texas. Our focus was primarily on any pipe job we could get, whether that was sewer, water or rehabilitation. We really started with zero sales. It took about 20 years for us to grow from zero to what I consider to be a really well-established gravity sewer product. After 20 years of effort, we were seeing an average of $85 million in turnover, but we saw the opportunity to continue to invest in and grow the business. 

That brings us to today, where we are focused on a growth initiative. Having spent about $60 million in investments on capital projects to move into new markets, we’re in the sewer rehabilitation market for noncircular pipes and into the pressure water and pressure sewer markets. Those are two target markets for us here in the US, and we think we can grow this business from what last year was a $200 million plus business to a $400 million business over the course of the next five years.

What would you say have been the keys to Hobas Pipe’s success?

I think, foremost, it’s always about the people who make the products, the people who sell the products and the people who specify the products, all here at Hobas. You couldn’t ask for a more dedicated group of individuals to the mission, which is certainly to ensure that our water and gravity systems are safe, healthy and don’t fail. And so I really look at the foundation that was laid. It was all laid out to reward the people for good hard work.

Then, at the end of the day, we make an incredible product that lasts a very long time. It is corrosion-resistant, and it is why it took us to where we are today in the gravity sewer business. We are the dominant material for the gravity sewer business. For the same reasons we’re dominant on the gravity sewer side, we see ourselves equally as valuable on the pressure side, whether it be for sewer or for water.

Could you elaborate a little bit further on your different areas of expertise? You have the water and wastewater pipelines, chemical processing, salination plants, industrial, effluent and power plants. Will you perhaps give us an overview of the different areas of application?

On the water and wastewater side, we’ve made major headway into the hydropower industry by providing water to that market. The electrical conduit market has been expanding as it is a nonmetallic pipe. We reduce any electrical connections between other pipes that cause corrosion. So we’ve been used a lot in electric conduits to protect two metal pipes that crisscross each other, removing any electrical charges that occur in that market.

We’ve done a little in the air scrubbing business, mostly buried pipes that have been used in wastewater treatment plants for scrubbers and for air pollution control equipment, and a little bit of industrial and chemical treatment and so on. But most of that’s above ground. We don’t do much of that, but we’ve done some work in the below-ground work. Then, on the power side, there are both intakes and outfalls. We’ve been penetrating that market, not as much as the nuclear, but in in the fossil fuel side. We know that markets are going through changes right now. So, that’s where we’ve been spending most of our time, on the industrial sector.

Let’s also discuss sustainability. The best types are the ones you don’t have to replace. Obviously, municipalities now need you to replace systems that are beyond their lifespan. What’s your message to municipalities about the importance of considering you as a supplier?

Our ownership is out of Austria. So we have deep connections to the European market. And, of course, Europe is the leading green economy in the world. As a result of that, being an American-based subsidiary of theirs, there’s a great deal of benefit because of the focus on Europe, which gives us some resources that you may not have if you were just an American-based company building products because the US is becoming a little bit slower to adopt in terms of the green transformation. 

Now, on the municipality front here, there’s clearly a push across all of the big cities to become more sustainable. When we talk about our pipe, the fiberglass solution, we know from our own data that our carbon footprint is the lowest of the materials, including PVC, steel and concrete. We’re going to continue to leverage that within the marketplace because we feel we hit that, or if you will, check that box and provide a solution as they think about reinvesting in the infrastructure. Let’s not continue to do it using the same materials. Let’s replace it with what I like to think as the Tesla pipe.

We are entering these markets with a product that will last for our design life of 150 years. Based on the composition of the material and our regression models, we fully expect it to last thousands of years. We think that’s the smart choice for these municipalities to make as they consider replacing the infrastructure.

You’re already present everywhere in the United States. What are the next market development plans?

We recently acquired the assets of a company called O-tek, Which operates in Mexico, Colombia and Argentina. We have visions of continuing to expand throughout the Americas. We like the opportunity that’s being presented with the nearshoring, bringing some of that manufacturing back here into the Americas, which is going to drive further investment across Latin America, whether it be Mexico, down through the Caribbean, into the Indian region all the way into Argentina and Chile. We’re seeing those investment dollars start to move in that direction and infrastructure is a big opportunity there. That is why we made the investment and why we’re working toward an America’s platform of a brand. 

They’re still called O-tek, and we’re still Hobas, but I believe over the course of the next five years, we should come out of that with a new brand across all of the various industries we both supply to.

Obviously, also with this investment you are making in the next years to expand your facilities, you will also be growing your staff. What is your message to current employees and potential employees who might want to join you soon?

That’s a great question. I always admire the resilience of our current employees. A lot of us in business and industry can reflect back through the COVID years of 2020, 2021 and 2022 and the various challenges we all faced. The one trait that I continue to see day in and day out with this organization is its resiliency in times of challenge and change. If I’m looking at this as a new company to join, what we offer to new employees is a solid base of resilient people who have proven their ability to adapt to changing environments and markets. 

We’re still writing our story, so if you join Hobas today, you will get to play an integral part in writing that story. We’re still very small. So we’re still a very lean organization. And again, your ability to contribute to the writing of the story is tremendous. If you didn’t feel you were valuable at the big industrial conglomerate you’re working at, and you join a company like Hobas, you’re going to have an immediate opportunity to impact us in a positive way.

You’re also expanding in new areas, so I’m sure there is a lot of room for growth and ambition.

A lot of young people love to look at Tesla, SpaceX, and all the innovations that are going on. But truly, if you want to get your hands into an organization and an industry that is evolving, we are on the cutting edge of that evolution. This would be the place to land.

Understood. What would be the key message that you would like to send across through this feature?

If you care about clean water, you care about Hobas. We are the pipe manufacturer that will make a real difference for municipalities across the Americas. So, with a product that is long-lasting, corrosion-free and leak-free, we can solve a lot of problems these municipalities are facing today. You know, anyone in these communities have been impacted by water lines or aging infrastructure that we face today. Being part of Hobas, is being part of the solution. And so, it’s an exciting time ahead of us.

And I have one more question. Is there anything that I haven’t asked you about that you would like to mention?

For me, our core values, mission, and vision are the foundation of our company. I would be very proud to see those elements presented in our company story because they are the foundation. We talk about our mission, and it’s not just to make pipe profitably. We want to stay away from that. That’s not a mission. Our mission is to make a difference in the world, and we do make a difference in the world with our products. 

We know if our municipalities put these products in the ground, they’re really protecting the infrastructure for future generations. To me, that’s valuable. That’s the message that we want to take to not just our employees but to the people that we serve. Because if municipalities choose our product, then they’re helping us with our mission and we’re helping them with their mission. 

We all want that sustainable infrastructure. We want to use the best products today in the market that build for future generations. This guarantees that you’re going to have water and sewage. We like to think of water providing life, and sewage providing dignity. So if you take care of sewage, you provide a dignified living.

Combining those two messages really resonates across the Americas, and then we look at our values. We call it “Own It, Bring Value, Uncover Better, and Be the Spark.” If we live those values, we know we’ll accomplish our mission because we’ll have very satisfied customers at the end of the day because we stand up to questions. We stand up to our mistakes because we’re never going to be a perfect company. We’re always looking for ways to do things better, and we’re going to bring a sense of joy and a sense of focus and a sense of purpose to everything we do. Those four key elements, I think, are really the foundation that will take us to the next step of change and growth.

What is your vision for the next three to five years?

Our mission is to double our business in the next three to five years. We also want to create America’s brand beyond what we currently have with the expansion into other countries, with a branded message that resonates across all of them.

As we think of Spanish and the Spanish-speaking population, and now that Spanish is the number one spoken language in the world, we have this unity of language between English and Spanish. We really can build and bridge the gaps of our countries and create this sustainable product. And with it, I just love the opportunity that we have to really impact our communities.