An international scale-up, Bcomp develops natural fiber composites for a wide range of mobility sectors, including automotive and aerospace.

From its humble beginnings in a garage 15 years ago, Bcomp now boasts 80 employees, including a team based in China. Currently, it is busy fitting out a new production facility in Romania and partnering with BMW on the German automaker’s latest line-up.

The sustainable composites specialist, which started life in 2011 making lightweight skis from natural fibers, has become one of Fribourg’s most successful scale-ups, counting major industry players like Volvo Cars Tech Fund, Porsche Ventures, Airbus Ventures and, of course, BMW among its shareholders. Yet, despite its phenomenal growth, the cleantech firm remains true to its founding mission of decarbonizing the world.

Bcomp may have a resolutely international portfolio, but its roots remain firmly embedded in Fribourg. As well as overseeing its automotive, sports and aerospace operations from its headquarters in the bluefactory innovation district, which is also home to its administrative and R&D teams, Bcomp maintains a production facility at a nearby site. It is here that the company develops and manufactures its solutions on in-house pilot lines. As co-founder and managing director Christian Fischer explains, “This is a strategic choice because proximity is key to successful technology transfers.”

From people to processes

Bcomp has transitioned from a start-up focused on the laid-back freeride skiing market to a fully-fledged SME working with the tightly structured automotive industry. But can it keep the creative spark of its early days alive? “That is definitely a big ask!”, Fischer concedes. “You have to constantly recalibrate if you’re to strike the right balance between agility and adapting to inevitably more cumbersome processes.” Full-scale production is very different from prototyping. “It demands not only the implementation of standardized quality management systems but also structural adjustments. In 2023, an external audit found that some of our in-house skills were no longer fully aligned with our growth trajectory. We therefore had several tough decisions to make. It is so important at moments like these to keep the company’s mission at the forefront of your mind.”

According to Fischer, “Maybe the main difference between the startup mindset and the scale-up mindset is that the former is people-dependent, while the latter is process-dependent.” But, as he notes with a smile, “Growing the company is a challenge, but it also has its upsides. Although the stakes are higher, my stress levels are lower. When I am on vacation with my family, someone now stands in for me.”

What is the point in sustaining the startup mindset? For Bcomp’s managing director, the company’s strength lies in several qualities that it has had from day one, specifically “Our resilience, strong corporate culture, ability to deal with failure, and trusting our gut instincts when making decisions.”