C O V E R S T O R Y – J O H A N N C H R I S T O F

A N ENERGY V IS ION A R YB R E A K I N G N E W G R O U N D

CROSSING BOUNDARIES AND SETTING STRATEGY AT THE GLOBAL LEVEL: GRAZ-BASED INDUSTRIAL PLANT SPECIALIST CHRISTOF INDUSTRIES MAKES HEADLINES ACROSS THE WORLD WITH ITS SPECTACULAR PROJECTS. ONE PROJECT MAY SOON EVEN HELP TO SOLVE THE WORLD’S FOOD SUPPLY PROBLEMS. VISIONARY CEO JOHANN CHRISTOF SPOKE TO US ABOUT THE STYRIAN POWER TO SUCCEED, NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN IRAN, HIS CONCEPT FOR MELLACH, AND THE NEW, FREE SPIRIT PERVADING HIS COMPANY SINCE IT BECAME A SEPARATE ENTITY.

“OUR SPIRIT? TO CROSS BORDERS,

ALSO TO ENTER MARKETS THAT LOOK CHALLENGING,

BUT WHICH HARBOUR GREAT POTENTIAL.”

J O H A N N C H R I S T O F CEO CHRISTOF INDUSTRIES

The sheer dimensions of the table in Christof

Industries’ conference room in the Plabut­

scherstrasse in Graz are already an indica­

tion that this is the home of a company of a

certain size. Its oval shape is also a sugges­

tion of a global perspective. The view through the full­

length glass windows is of the buildings of the HTL

Bulme, the Styrian technical college with a proud

tradition of training some of Styria’s best engineers,

just a stone’s throw away. A view with significan ce:

CEO Johann Christof himself, just like many of his

employees, attributes his fundamental technical

understanding to the education that he received at

precisely this institute. In the following interview,

the entrepreneur from Graz will make the link time

and again between Christof Industries’ success and

the excellent educational institutes in Styria. Styrian

know­how, international successes: The company,

which specialises in industrial plant const ruction,

makes 90 per cent of its turnover abroad. Johann

Christof has just returned to Austria; appointments

in South Africa and Russia are next on his agenda.

Global spirit from Styria: this is quite literally the

“SPIRIT of Styria”. Tall, equal parts elegant and elo­

quent – the family entrepreneur and family man in

our cover interview.

The first question should come as no surprise: What characterises your spirit and the spirit of your company? It is the intensive urge to continue developing, to

be innovative, and in so doing, to cross bounda ries.

This is a significant driving force that has accom pa­

nied me since my absolute beginnings as an entrepre­

neur – with unwavering Styrian power to this very day.

Styria is an ideal breeding ground for producers of industrial plants and machinery. What is the most important reason for this? Without a doubt, the most important reason is

Styria’s excellent educational institutes – the univer­

CHRISTOF INDUSTRIES

The group’s history goes back more than 50 years. A new phase began with

Johann Christof’s founding of J. Christof GmbH in 1988.

Numerous individual and subsidiary companies are

collected under the Christof Industries umbrella,

including Christof Project, Doubrava Industrieanlagen-bau and FMT Ferro Technik.

T E X T WOLFGANG SCHOBERP H O T O S OLIVER WOLF, CHRISTOF INDUSTRIES

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C O V E R S T O R Y – J O H A N N C H R I S T O FC O V E R S T O R Y – J O H A N N C H R I S T O F

Today, the group is at work across the globe

as a specialist in the development, construction,

and maintenance of plants for industry and

energy producers. Sites in 17 countries spread

all over the world.

3500 projects that have been implemented

successfully in the field of plant construction and

industrial services. 1900 employees.

Turnover goal 2017: 240 million euros.

www.christof.com

sities, polytechnics and technical colleges – which

train the highly qualified experts who are necessary

to kick­start innovation. Industrial plant construc­

tion is characterised by a very high degree of com­

plexity. The heart of each plant is the technology to

implement a specific process, but under the surface,

there is a whole host of apparatus, pumps, motors,

machines, systems for measurement and control, and

so on. This requires technical expertise. There is no

denying that a significant element of our company’s

competitiveness comes from the dedication and hard

work that the people who work for us put in.

It is impossible to overlook the incredibly broad portfolio of services that you provide and the sectors for which you provide these services: the agricultural and food sector, environmental technology, oil and gas, wood and primary materials, all the way through to the paper industry. Are you guilty of trying to be all things to all people? No, the broadness of our portfolio is inherent to

the nature of industrial plant construction. There are

many components that work on a common principle,

regardless of the sector in which they are employed.

Piping, pumping systems, electrical systems, sys­

tems for measurement and control, etc. – these ele­

ments do not change much, whether they are used

in a petrochemical plant or in a plant for the paper

industry. What changes are the specialised compo­

nents and the technology implementing a specific

process. For these elements, sometimes we draw on

our own in­house technologies and know­how, and

sometimes we make use of techniques that our tech­

nology partners have developed. Going forward, we

are focussing more on developing our own techno­

logies in cooperation with universities or other com­

panies, for example in the field of “waste to energy”,

which is a particular strength of our company. We

are currently working intensively on the large­scale

project Agriprotein for example. This project is not

just an incredible opportunity for our company, but

may even be the answer to the question of how our

planet will be able to feed the ever­growing world

population in the future.

What is Agriprotein about? As the name already suggests, it’s about proteins.

The basic idea is the following: Every day, millions

of tons of organic waste are incinerated. From every

possible point of view, this is an insane way to treat

our environment. Agriprotein aims to ensure that

this organic waste is put to better use as the basis for

a culture medium for fly larvae. The larvae are then

processed into high­grade protein feed for use by fish

and chicken breeders, for example. In this way, we

contribute to the protection of the world’s remaining

fish stocks, because our protein replaces fishmeal,

vast quantities of which are currently used in animal

feed. A positive effect for the environment from

multiple perspectives. At the first plant employing

this technique, in South Africa, there are 8.5 billion

flies hard at work as we speak, converting 100 tons of

organic waste into 10 tons of protein­rich feed every

single day.

What potential does this technique have? The potential is incredible. This is why we have

chosen to buy into the company behind Agriprotein.

There are two plants currently operational, but they

do not yet have the capacity for industrial­scale pro­

duction. Prominent entrepreneurial families from

Europe, America, Africa and Australia are all part of

this effort. The Bill Gates Foundation also provided

significant financial support for a plant. Our role is

to develop the technique further and, ultimately, to

make it ready for industrial­scale implementation –

with the goal of erecting plants across the globe that

largely automate the process. This development will

require us to enter technical no man’s land; there

are no ready­made solutions. To this end, we are

collabo rating intensively with the Montan University

in Leoben and the University of Natural Resources and

Life Sciences in Vienna. Starting in mid­2017, we will

move the first plants to the engineering stage. From

2018, plants will start going up all over the world.

“AGRIPROTEIN IS NOT JUST AN INCREDIBLE

OPPORTUNITY FOR OUR COMPANY, BUT

MAY EVEN BE THE ANSWER TO THE

QUESTION OF HOW TO FEED THE WORLD IN

THE FUTURE.”

J O H A N N C H R I S T O F

“EUROPE HAS TO ACT IN UNITY ONCE MORE,

AND DIG ITS HEELS IN. OTHERWISE, WE ARE

GOING TO HAVE A PROBLEM!”

J O H A N N C H R I S T O F

CHRISTOF INDUSTRIES’ COMPANY HEADQUARTERS IN GRAZ GÖSTING.

Agriprotein’s goal is to erect 150 to 200 plants in the

near future, and Christof Industries has been con­

tracted as the exclusive partner for this work. On top

of this, Agriprotein has plans to award licences for

numerous other plants.

Where will these plants be built? Would it be possible to imagine sites in Austria? You only need to look at the quantities of waste

that large canteens, households and supermarket

chains produce, in order to understand that this is

not a topic that concerns developing countries only.

On the contrary: we see demand in all corners of the

globe. Europe is just as much a market for this product

as the USA, Japan, South­east Asia, and other regions.

There have already been concrete discussions with

the mayor of New York.

In your view, which other sectors hold chances for growth for your company? We have important plans for the “waste to energy”

sector. Our innovative waste incineration techni­

ques, some of which we bought from Siemens, and

others which we have gained through investments,

guarantee effective incineration and an optimised

energy balance. In this way, energy can be won in

particular from residues from the paper industry, but

also from slurry. Demand for our technology is high in

particular in South­east Asia and Africa.

Your company has grown thanks to both in-house efforts and targeted acquisitions. Are any additional acquisitions being planned at the moment? R&D is a priority for us. This is what has allowed

us time and again to turn our innovations into

marke table products. In addition, there are ongoing

research projects for which we are an industrial part­

ner – one such project is “Power to Gas”. This is the

name for a technique that makes it possible to con­

vert excess energy from wind parks into gas, and

thus to store it. You only need to consider how often

the wind turbines in the north of Germany have to

be taken off ine because the electric grid’s capacity

li mitations mean that the energy that could be pro­

duced cannot be used or stored, to realise how fan­

tastic this technique is.

Alongside these efforts, of course we are conti­

nually on the lookout for opportunities and chan ces

to achieve strategic added value and growth for our

group of companies by means of possible acqui­

sitions. Integrating FMT into our group in 2015

brought us a wealth of know­how. Christof Industries

is healthy, and we will continue to take the oppor­

tunities that present themselves. At the moment, we

are negotiating the purchase of a majority stake in a

German company in the oil and gas sector, a compa­

ny with around 50 million euros worth of turnover

and a prominent ownership structure.

Which export markets in particular are up and coming? We see great potential in the Southeast Asian,

Russian, and Iranian markets, and we have been

working intensively on our approaches to these mar­

kets for years. We have always said, for example, that

Iran will become the world’s largest construction

site. Last year, we opened an office there, in order to

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C O V E R S T O R Y – J O H A N N C H R I S T O F

REVOLUTIO NARY: THE AGRIPROTEIN PROJECT, PROTEIN FROM LARVAE.

INDUSTRIAL PLANT CONSTRUCTION

IN ROMANIA FOR THE OIL INDUSTRY

Johann Christof and his son Oliver Christof (m.) with Jason Drew (“Agriprotein” founder), President of the Austrian Economic Chambers Christoph Leitl (l.) and Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz (r.).

management of the J. Christof GmbH and the Christof

Group, which arose later, with its various individual

companies, from 1988 onwards. My father and I

held separate stakes in the group and developed the

group in partnership over the years. But then came

the point when this structure – I was the CEO, my

father was the head of the board – started to inhibit

clear decision­making, so we decided to divide the

company. The Christof family retains ownership of

all the individual elements, but the management is

now divided up: I lead Christof Industries, while my

father and brother lead Christof Holding AG. Christof

Industries has a focus on international projects, R&D,

in­house technologies and renewable energy sour­

ces. The two companies can now dedicate themselves

completely to their respective passions! Without a

doubt, this means that our spirit is even more tangib­

le than it was before, because we can take decisions

more freely than we could in a structure with multip­

le shareholders. This year, we are aiming for a jump

in turnover to 240 million euros; in the medium term,

turnover should grow to 500 million euros. That is our

vision for 2020.

Your company headquarters sits in Graz, but your personal headquarters is probably the aeroplane seat as a result of your numerous business trips abroad? Our headquarters is and will remain in Graz. We

like it here in Styria, a wonderful place with excellent­

ly qualified people. But I do indeed spend a lot of my

time abroad. Being open to the world helps me to feel

at home wherever I happen to be. I can also count

myself lucky to have friends in so many countries and

so many different cultures.

How much time do you have for hobbies and your private interests? Very little. I have more or less stopped playing

tennis and golf due to a simple lack of time. My last

remaining hobby is hunting. I dedicate my free time

to my family, which gives me a great deal of joy – I do

have five children of my own and five grandchildren;

the sixth is already on its way. My family is the centre

of my life – they give me strength and inspiration –

spirit for my life and my visions!

C O V E R S T O R Y – J O H A N N C H R I S T O F

“OUR ENERGY PARK PROPOSAL IS

A LASTING, DURABLE, AND INNOVATIVE

CONCEPT FOR THE SITE IN MELLACH.”

J O H A N N C H R I S T O F

start gradually setting up our fields of business. We

want to begin with industrial services for the oil and

gas industry and the petrochemical sector, in order

to bring old plants back into line with environmental

standards and to make them more efficient. Later,

we want to invest together with partners in small,

decentralised energy plants for municipalities and

industrial areas. Iran has a lot of catching up to do

across the board. We are also taking part in the “Job

Creation” program to improve young Iranians’ tech­

nical skills – in line with what happens in Austria.

Pakistan is another exciting new market where we are

already implementing projects. This is a country with

a population of 200 million that, despite some prob­

lems, has high standards that it by and large wants

to achieve. For us, this too falls under the heading of

spirit: to cross borders, also to enter markets that are

not easy, but which harbour great potential.

Christof Industries’ exports are its lifeblood. Are you worried about a new wave of protectionism à la Trump? The USA is an interesting market for us because

the quality of industrial plant construction as well as

of service and maintenance in America are far below

European standards. Seen this way, Trump’s declared

intention of strengthening domestic industry is ac­

tually an opportunity for us as builders of industrial

plants. What this all means for the USA is yet to be

seen. In the short term, the effect might even be posi­

tive, but I am rather doubtful that it will hold in the

long term. In general though, I remain optimistic and

hope that the new President will listen to the advice

of people with an understanding of how the economy

works and will not implement everything that he has

announced. I am a proponent of free trade; Austria

has benefited enormously from it. Concer ning Trump

and Brexit, one thing has however become painfully

clear: Europe’s galling political weakness. Europe

has to act in unity once more, and dig its heels in.

Otherwise, we are going to have a problem.

What is the current state of the bidding for the gas power plant in Mellach, which German electricity producer Steag hopes to take over together with you? Will it be possible to run the power plant for a profit? We are in the last round of bidding and I hope

that a decision will be taken in the first half of the

year. Steag, which is an important partner for us in

the field of incineration plants, is well­versed in the

ener gy trade. We bring our technical expertise and,

by way of FMT, were also involved in the construction

of the power plant in Mellach. Our vision for Mellach

is wide in scope and focuses on the establishment of

an energy park in Styria. Over time, the energy park

will encourage a departure from coal in favour of re­

newable energy sources. We are convinced that we

can operate the power plant at a profit on the basis of

a combination of gas and alternative energy sources

– whether solar, biomass or waste reuse. Our energy

park proposal is a lasting, durable, and innovative

concept for the site in Mellach.

How has the spirit of your company changed since autumn 2015, when the group broke with its past to form two companies: Christof Industries and the Christof Group under the leadership of your father, Johann Christof, sen.? I was personally responsible for the operative

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