WE JOIN FORCES TO CREATE A LEADING PLATFORM IN THE TRENCHLESS PIPE REHABILITATION SECTOR

WE JOIN FORCES TO CREATE A LEADING PLATFORM IN THE TRENCHLESS PIPE REHABILITATION SECTOR

 

Press release

We, the founders and entrepreneurs of IMS Group, resinnovation, Polypipe, Amex Sanivar, Hurricane Trenchless Technologie, Kardiam as well as 11 further affiliated companies, have joined forces to launch an integrated company in the pipe rehabilitation sector. By combining our complementary strengths, we are creating a leading platform for high-quality, holistic and innovative product solutions. This collaboration enables us to serve our global customer base more effectively and with a stronger local presence.

As long-standing leaders in our respective product categories, we share a strong commitment to engineering excellence, deep technical expertise and continuous innovation. By bringing our capabilities together, we can more efficiently match-up machines and materials. Under a united management structure, led by us as entrepreneurs and supported by Jürgen Baumgartner as CFO, we are well positioned to unlock meaningful synergies and offer our customers comprehensive system solutions that set a new benchmark in the industry.

Our joint product portfolio spans a broad range of equipment and materials for the trenchless industry, including robotic systems, curing technologies, spray coating systems, resins, liners, seals, inversion equipment and accessories, as well as turnkey solutions such as fully equipped vehicle systems. We are actively evaluating several additional add-on opportunities to further expand our product scope.

Looking ahead, we intend to accelerate our global growth, expand our local service footprint through additional local service points, continue to add value-add products to our portfolio range and harmonise product offerings across our platform. Sustainability will be a core pillar of our strategy, underpinned by our product portfolio that helps prevent water loss and significantly reduces emissions compared to conventional pipe replacement methods. We are confident that by working together as entrepreneurs, sharing our expertise and maintaining a strong customer focus, we are creating a robust and future-proof platform for trenchless pipe rehabilitation.

Apheon, a pan-European private equity investor, facilitated the partnership and will support the Group with its capital and knowledge going forward.

Ljubisa Zlatkovic, founder of IMS, commented: "I am confident that this partnership will secure a stable, long-term future for our business and allow us to place even greater emphasis on product development and on strengthening our core IMS values of outstanding quality, service, and customer focus. I am also delighted to entrust the leadership of all IMS group companies to my daughter, Jelena Heinrich, and my son-in-law, Andreas Heinrich, under the roof of the IMS Trenchless, ensuring that the future of IMS is carried forward into the next generation."

Mirko and Dino Heuser, co-founders of resinnovation and Innoquip, commented: “As one of the initiators of this partnership, we have established an innovative group of manufacturers specialising in trenchless rehabilitation. resinnovation has been a recognised player in the synthetic resin sector for over 20 years. Through our initial collaboration with Polypipe, Innoquip, and Amex Sanivar, and now also IMS Trenchless, we are strengthening all our positions in the market and securing the future of all companies involved.”

Jens Becker, founder of Polypipe, commented: “This combination makes us unique in the market and strengthens our position as a system provider in the trenchless pipe and sewer rehabilitation industry, with focus on small and medium pipe diameters. Our customers now benefit from in-house manufactured milling robots, high-pressure water robots, UV systems, reactive resins, CIPP liner systems, custom machine engineering, as well as our own coating systems. Furthermore, we are in discussions to further expand our product portfolio through selected acquisitions. Together, we will work to further enhance the quality of our products and to share our expertise with our customers. We look forward to a strong and sustainable collaboration.”

 

About the member companies

IMS Group, founded by Ljubisa Zlatkovic, is a technology-leading developer and manufacturer of advanced robotic systems and light-curing equipment for trenchless pipe rehabilitation. With its global network and local affiliated offices, IMS brings strong market expertise around the world. IMS's customer focus is characterized by worldwide service locations, including a modern and practical service concept, and more than 300 rental park devices. Diversified production sites and a team of more than 30 developers ensure the highest levels of quality and flexibility.

resinnovation, co-founded by Mirko and Dino Heuser, specialises in developing and manufacturing high-performance synthetic resins for durable pipe repair applications.

Polypipe, founded by Jens Becker, is the leading distributor of its proprietary spray coating system – the RabbitCoater – specifically designed for in-house pipe rehabilitation.

Amex Sanivar, led by Dr. Oliver Terhoeven, is a specialist provider of liners for pressure pipe rehabilitation as well as repair seals for both pressure and non-pressure pipes.

Hurricane Trenchless Technologie provides turnkey solutions for liner curing systems and designs and manufactures customized vehicle fit outs and specialized products for trenchless sewer rehabilitation, such as steam units, inversion equipment and impregnation equipment, tailored to the specific needs of our customers.

Kardiam produces high-quality diamond milling and cutting tools.

For more information, please visit www.ims-robotics.de, www.resinnovation.com, www.polypipe.de, and www.amex-sanivar.com.

 

About Apheon

Apheon is a pan-European mid-market private equity investment company managing ~€4.5 billion of assets from select global institutional investors and families. Apheon is characterized by its partnership approach, providing “patient and friendly capital” and industrial know-how to entrepreneurs and management teams, preparing their companies for the future. Through its pan-European footprint, the firm acts as a gateway into Europe for companies in the mid-market. Since its founding in 2005, Apheon has raised more than €5.0 billion in capital, invested in ~40 companies across Europe and completed ~200 add-on acquisitions for a total aggregate transaction value in excess of €7 billion. Apheon’s current portfolio consists of 23 companies across its target sectors, representing ~€3 billion sales and more than 20,000 employees. Apheon is advised by Apheon Advisors, which has offices in Brussels, Milan, Madrid, Paris, Munich and Amsterdam.

For more information, please visit www.apheon.com.

 

January 16, 2026