HOBAS: GRP pipe portfolio and EPD coverage
HOBAS is the long‑running glass‑reinforced polymer pipe brand now under Amiblu. If you touch water, wastewater, storm, or trenchless work, they’re on your radar. The question specifiers ask today is simple: how completely are those GRP products covered by Environmental Product Declarations, and where could that coverage be sharper to win more bids without price‑only battles?
Who HOBAS is today
HOBAS is a heritage GRP pipe line within Amiblu, alongside Flowtite. It is a pure play in composite piping for municipal and industrial infrastructure rather than a generalist across many materials. The brand shows up on gravity sewer, pressure water, stormwater, hydropower and microtunneling projects.
What they sell
HOBAS focuses on centrifugally cast GRP pipes and matching components for three big use cases: gravity sewer and storm, pressure mains, and jacking or microtunneling. SKUs are easily in the hundreds once you account for diameters, pressure and stiffness classes, couplings, and lengths. Amiblu also lists GRP fittings and manholes in its range, plus Flowtite filament‑wound variants that cover similar duty profiles.
EPD coverage at a glance
Amiblu publishes a broad slate of product‑specific EPDs for HOBAS and Flowtite pipes. Most are registered with EPD Norway and run through mid‑2026 and 2027 across gravity, pressure and jacking families (EPD Norway, 2025). The company also maintains an EPD landing page that maps product lines to available declarations (Amiblu EPDs, 2025). In short, coverage is solid for core pipe SKUs across common diameters and classes.
What’s likely missing
We did not find standalone EPDs for several accessory items that frequently ride the bill of materials: GRP fittings, manholes, special couplings and repair parts. In many cases, a pipe EPD does not automatically cover separate prefabricated components unless the declaration’s scope explicitly includes them. That is a small paperwork gap that can become a big procurement blocker on public jobs when every installed item needs a declared footprint.
Why it matters on bids
On projects aiming for LEED v5‑aligned procurement or corporate carbon targets, products without product‑specific EPDs can be penalized in calculations or deprioritized during submittal reviews. Teams prefer items with verified, comparable numbers so they do not have to plug in conservative defaults. One missing EPD for a commonly used fitting can slow, or even stall, approvals.
The competitive field HOBAS meets
Direct material competitors in large diameters include GRP peers and substitute materials that specifiers compare in value engineering: PVC, HDPE, ductile iron and reinforced concrete. Several of those categories have easy‑to‑download baselines today. PVC water and sewer pipe has a current industry‑wide EPD verified by NSF, updated in 2023 (Uni‑Bell, 2023). Premise‑plumbing plastics are now covered by a portfolio of industry‑averaged EPDs listed in the ICC‑ES directory (ICC‑ES EPD Directory, 2025). While those are not one‑to‑one substitutes for large GRP pressure or jacking pipes, they shape expectations among owners who now assume “EPD on file” as the norm.
A fast win: cover the high‑runner accessories
If coverage for pipes is strong but accessories are thin, start with the three most specified fittings, the standard manhole design, and any frequently bundled reducer. These items usually share resin systems and lay‑ups with neighboring pipe SKUs, so data collection is straightforward. A tight scope, one reference year of plant data, and clear PCR alignment makes the publishing queue move fast. It’s defintely low‑hanging fruit that protects entire GRP packages from last‑minute swaps.
What good looks like for HOBAS
Aim for end‑to‑end coverage of the typical package on a sewer, storm, or pressure main: pipe series by diameter class, a representative coupling, two to three fittings, and the standard manhole. Keep declarations product‑specific where possible rather than leaning on sector averages. Choose a program operator that matches your key markets, and keep an eye on PCR versions so renewals do not bunch up against expiries.
Where to learn more
Amiblu publishes sustainability materials and an overview of its EPD work on its site (Sustainability at Amiblu). For buyers and specifiers, the headline is simple. HOBAS has credible coverage on core pipes today, and rounding out accessories will reduce friction and keep GRP squarely in play on projects where verified numbers decide the short list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is HOBAS a standalone company or part of a larger group?
HOBAS is a brand within Amiblu that focuses on GRP piping for water, wastewater, storm and trenchless applications.
Do HOBAS pipes have product-specific EPDs?
Yes. Amiblu publishes dozens of product-specific EPDs for HOBAS and Flowtite pipe families, many registered with EPD Norway and valid through 2026–2027 (EPD Norway, 2025).
Which product areas look undercovered by EPDs?
Standalone EPDs for GRP fittings, manholes and some couplings are less visible. Prioritizing these closes common submittal gaps.
Which competing materials typically show up with EPDs on file?
PVC pipe has a 2023 industry‑wide EPD verified by NSF (Uni‑Bell, 2023), and ICC‑ES lists new industry‑averaged EPDs for common premise‑plumbing plastics (ICC‑ES EPD Directory, 2025).
About the Author
John brings a clear, research-driven perspective on the EPD, LCA and HPD space and keeps a close pulse on environmental trends and standards in North America, helping clients understand where the industry is heading and how to get there.
