Fabrice Billard, the fiscal year 2024 marks a significant milestone in the company’s history with sales above CHF 1 bn. What explains the uninterrupted company growth of more than 10% per year since 2018 despite Covid-19 disruptions, geopolitical turmoil and a high Swiss Franc?
We are indeed proud of this new financial record, and of the delivery of almost 800 compressors in a single year. Our ongoing success lies in our continuous investments in applications supporting the world’s megatrends: population growth, energy security and energy transition. These applications grow in the mid- to long-term and tend to be resilient in the shortterm.
As the world’s population grows and becomes richer, the demand for materials like plastics and for energy is increasing. This supports the demand for new compressors, for instance Laby® compressors for petrochemical plants. In addition, uncertainties and tensions in geopolitics drive the urge for energy security. For example, when the usage of gas pipelines is restricted, countries import liquefied natural gas (LNG) delivered by LNG carriers – that is where our Laby®-GI plays an important role in the gas handling. Finally, the energy transition continues, and we keep on receiving orders for hyper compressors to produce ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) films for photovoltaic cells as countries intensify the installation of solar panels.
Additionally, I would like to mention that we are an employer of choice in the industry and the engagement of our teams keeps going up, as demonstrated in our latest survey. By continuously nurturing our talent and encouraging a growth mindset, we set our teams to achieve success for themselves, for our customers and for Burckhardt Compression.
How is the company progressing towards its 2027 Mid-Range Plan?
The ongoing global uncertainties may have a short-term negative impact on our markets, but so far we are on track: strengthening our core business, transforming and building new growth avenues, operational excellence, and enhancing our business foundations.
For instance, the launch of a new compressor for low-pressure LNG tankers supports our strategic ambitions to strengthen our core business. By launching UP! Detect in March 2025, a cloud-based compressor diagnostics system, we build new growth avenues. In terms of operational excellence, we have maximized the use of our factory assets to boost sales in the Systems Division by over 18%, all without major capital investments. Furthermore, the newly initiated ERP rollout in the Services Division strengthens our business foundations.
Looking at our own operations, we installed new solar panels for renewable energy production in our facilities in China, South Korea and Switzerland. This contributed to a reduction of our greenhouse gas emission intensity (Scope 1 and 2) by 40.0%. This is a significant step towards reaching net-zero by 2035.
Does the global energy transition remain part of the company’s strategy?
Absolutely. The articles in this publication provide tangible examples of global megatrends supporting our order intake. The need for more secure and sustainable energy is not winding down.
For instance, our experts explain how the demand for Hyper Compressors used in the production of EVA films for solar panels remains high, despite current overcapacity. We also describe the role of our Horizontal Piston Compressors in hydrogen pipeline injections and how Europe and China seek to decarbonize their marine industry and production processes by using hydrogen as an energy carrier. It is true that the Hydrogen Mobility and Energy (HME) market is experiencing a temporary slowdown, but we expect a market recovery in the coming years as hydrogen plays a key role in the transition towards more secure and sustainable energies.
Biogas and sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) are also scaling up. With our enhanced R&D and customer partnerships, we are a leading player and expect to capture significant market share.
We are now building a new compressor platform for high-pressure LNG tankers.
How did Burckhardt Compression perform in the marine market last year, and what is the future outlook?
Marine applications were a significant driver of growth for us last year. The demand for compressor solutions for new LNG carriers is growing again after a clear drop in 2023. We received a considerable number of orders for LNG-fueled ship applications, and LPG tanker applications reached a new record. Connecting back to the world megatrends, this record is linked to the rising global energy demand and the need for more secure and sustainable energy sources.
In a related market, experts anticipate an increase in green ammonia transportation by ships. This opens new business opportunities for us, already supported by the fact that we won orders for compressors for very large ammonia carriers last year. I expect the marine market to remain dynamic as new applications appear due to the growing global energy trade as well as new regulations promoting sustainable shipping fuels.
After the launch of UP! Insight in summer 2024, Burckhardt Compression launched UP! Detect in March 2025. What role do digital solutions play in the company’s overall strategy?
Digital solutions are at the heart of Burckhardt Compression’s transformation. By developing them, we are bringing new value to customers and are shaping a new market – predictive maintenance. By using UP! Insight, customers collect pivotal data about the behavior of their compressor, while UP! Detect processes that data and predicts future malfunctions. Both advanced monitoring tools are cloud-based and developed by our in-house digital experts.
Such easily accessible and real-time predictive maintenance tools will be a game changer for our customers, and new advanced services are in the pipeline. Traditionally, maintenance was scheduled too early or performed after failures. With Artificial Intelligence, we can predict potential failures well in advance. This will allow customers to address issues earlier, reducing compressor downtime and saving costs.
What are your priorities for the next 12 months? Can you give us an outlook?
The current geopolitical situation creates uncertainties, but our strategy remains valid. We will adapt our course as required, based on facts, rather than announcements. I am particularly excited about the roll-out of new products and services which support the global megatrends. We are now building a new compressor platform for high-pressure LNG tankers to further enlarge our portfolio and satisfy the expected market demand. We will also continue to expand our digital offering with additional services for predictive maintenance. With the further roll-out of our service solution BC ACTIVATE, we will modernize a significant number of old compressors and with this, reduce their CO₂ emissions and generate additional activities in our Services Division. All this is very exciting.
Before closing, I would like to thank our employees for their new ideas and hard work. Their drive and commitment have been crucial to our success.