What 3M does

3M (3M Ltd. / 3 M d.o.o.) is a Croatian water treatment engineering company founded in March 1991 in Novo Čiče, near Velika Gorica, by Dana and Milan Vuković. The company designs, manufactures, installs, and services an integrated portfolio of water treatment systems including reverse osmosis (seawater, brackish, and drinking water desalination), ultrafiltration, sand filtration, ion-exchange water softeners (single, duplex, gastro, and household variants), and a full range of disinfection technologies (chlorine, chlorine dioxide, UV, ozone, and electrolysis). It also supplies dosing systems, sensors, and process automation instrumentation, primarily sourced or integrated through long-standing partnerships with ProMinent, Grundfos, Pentair/Fleck, ABB, and Endress+Hauser. With a headquarters in Velika Gorica featuring 1,100 m² of production/storage space, 3M operates a regional install base that includes 170+ chlorine dioxide devices across Croatia and projects spanning municipal water supply, healthcare, tourism/hospitality, energy/oil & gas, agriculture, food & beverage, and port infrastructure.

The company generates revenue through project-based equipment sales, turnkey installation services, and ongoing maintenance contracts for its industrial, municipal, and hospitality clients (e.g., INA, Pliva, Podravka, Hrvatsko Primorje Waterworks, Verudela Resort). It also operates a direct-to-consumer channel through the Aqua3m brand and aqua3m.com e-commerce webshop for household water softeners, launched in 2021. GTM is consultative, enterprise-field-sales-led for B2B and e-commerce for households. Geographically, 3M is headquartered in Croatia with active project presence in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving the broader Southeast European region. The company remains privately held under founder ownership, with no disclosed external funding, parent company, or subsidiaries.

Name

3M

Legal name

3M Ltd.

Website

https://3-m.hr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

3M is a privately-held Croatian water treatment engineering company, founded in 1991, that designs, manufactures, and services reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, softening, and disinfection systems for municipal, industrial, hospitality, and household customers across Southeast Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Treatment Equipment

NAICS

Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (333310)

SIC

Misc Industrial & Commercial Machinery & Equipment (3590)

akta.pro primary industry

Water & Wastewater Treatment Plant Equipment (Clarifiers, Aeration, Membrane Systems) (IMAHAEAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water Softener, Filtration & Treatment System Installation (HSAOAAAH), Monitoring & Control (Dosing Systems, Remote Monitoring, Sensors) (BPABAJAK), Water Heating & Treatment Appliance Retail (Water Heaters, Water Softeners, Filtration Systems) (CRACACAF), Water Systems & Treatment (Pumps/Boilers/Water Heaters/Filtration) (IMAIABAK)

Keywords

• Water treatment systems
• Reverse osmosis desalination
• Water softening equipment
• Industrial disinfection systems
• Membrane filtration solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Velika Gorica

HQ country

Croatia

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Water Treatment Equipment Sales: Design, production, and sale of water treatment systems including reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, sand filtration, water softeners, and disinfection equipment. Systems are customized to customer specifications and sold as complete solutions.
2. Installation Services: Professional installation of water treatment equipment at customer facilities. The company provides turnkey solutions including delivery and assembly of tanks, hydro stations, and complete treatment systems.
3. Maintenance and Service: Ongoing service and maintenance support for installed water treatment systems. The company provides technical support and expert insights to improve plant productivity and reduce operating costs.
4. Aqua3m Consumer Products: E-commerce sales of household water treatment products through the aqua3m.com webstore, targeting domestic consumers for water softeners and home treatment devices.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

3M designs, manufactures, installs and services water treatment systems for industrial, municipal and household customers in Croatia and the surrounding region. Its core offerings include reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration membrane systems, ion exchange water softeners, sand and mechanical filtration, and disinfection systems (chlorine, chlorine dioxide, UV, ozone, electrolysis), sold as engineered solutions and supported with on-site installation and maintenance services. The company also operates the aqua3m consumer webshop for household water treatment devices.

Product overview

3M is a Croatian water treatment company offering an integrated portfolio of physical water treatment systems and solutions. The product lineup centers on membrane filtration technologies (reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration), ion exchange water softening (single/duplex systems under the aqua3m brand), various disinfection methods (chlorine, chlorine dioxide, UV, ozone, electrolysis), and ancillary equipment including sand filtration, dosing systems, sensors, and pool technologies. The company provides both standard product lines (aqua3m S/D series softeners, 3MRO ENTER/MEDIUM/PREMIUM reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration models UF1-UF100) and custom-engineered solutions. Services include system design, manufacturing, installation, and ongoing maintenance. Products serve municipal water supply, industrial (food, beverage, pharmaceutical, energy), hospitality (hotels, campsites), and household applications.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• aqua3m: Sub-brand for household water treatment products sold through webshop at aqua3m.com, including water softeners and water treatment devices for domestic use.

Products and services

• Reverse Osmosis Systems Membrane filtration systems for desalination and purification of drinking water, brackish water and seawater, equipped with low-pressure membranes and energy-recovery designs that can reduce electricity consumption by up to 60% on seawater units. Used by municipal water utilities, industrial and energy plants, food and beverage producers, and offshore platforms.
• Ultrafiltration Systems Capillary membrane filtration systems using dead-end operation for removing suspended solids, bacteria, viruses and parasites from raw water, with 99.999% bacteria retention and 99.99% virus retention and PLC-integrated automated control. Used for surface and groundwater treatment in municipal and industrial applications.
• Single Water Softeners (aqua3m S series) Ion exchange single-tank water softeners with capacities from 1 to 6 m3/h for discontinuous softening in hotels, restaurants, laundries and light industrial applications.
• Duplex Water Softeners (aqua3m D series) Continuous-duty double-tank ion exchange water softeners with interchangeable columns and automatic service-flow switching for uninterrupted softened water supply in steam boilers, cooling towers, reverse osmosis pretreatment and industrial processes. Uses Fleck 3900 control valves.
• Household Water Softeners (aqua3m) Compact ion exchange water softening units for domestic use, protecting plumbing and appliances and improving water quality for bathing, cooking and laundry.
• Gastro Water Softeners Water softening systems tailored for gastronomy, hotel, bakery and butcher industries to protect dishwashers, combi-ovens and washing machines from limescale damage.
• Sand Filtration Systems Physical water filtration systems combining oxidation and mechanical sand filtration to remove suspended solids, iron, manganese and ammonia from groundwater and surface water in municipal and industrial water treatment.
• Water Disinfection Systems Complete range of disinfection solutions including chlorine, chlorine dioxide, UV radiation, ozone and electrolysis systems for pathogen elimination across municipal, industrial, food and beverage, and household water treatment.
• Chlorine Disinfection Systems Water chlorination systems using sodium hypochlorite for disinfection of public water supplies, providing residual protection and preventing the spread of waterborne diseases.
• Chlorine Dioxide Disinfection Systems On-site chlorine dioxide generation systems (e.g. Bello Zon CDVd) offering stable, pH-independent disinfection with biofilm removal and no harmful chlorinated hydrocarbon byproducts. Used across municipal waterworks, food and beverage, brewing and healthcare applications.
• UV Disinfection Systems UV-C radiation water disinfection systems (240-280nm) that damage pathogen DNA without chemicals, effective against bacteria, viruses and parasites including Cryptosporidia and Giardia. Includes Dulcodes UV units from ProMinent partnership.
• Ozone Disinfection Systems Ozone generation systems for oxidation and disinfection of potable water, wastewater, pool water and food and beverage process water, decomposing environmentally to oxygen without chemical residuals.
• Electrolysis Disinfection Systems On-site sodium hypochlorite generation by electrolysis of salt solution, producing 0.5%-2.5% chlorine solutions and eliminating the need to store and handle commercial chlorine chemicals.
• Sensors and Analytics Process control instrumentation for measuring chlorine, pH, redox potential, conductivity, turbidity, pressure, flow and level parameters in water treatment applications, including Endress+Hauser sensors.
• Dosing Systems Chemical metering and dosing stations (3MPM1, 3MPM2, 3MPM3, 3MPM4) with proportional and volume-based control for controlled introduction of treatment chemicals into water treatment processes.
• Pool Techniques Complete swimming pool water treatment solutions including filtration, disinfection and automated control systems using PERAQUA and PERAQUA VPC technologies, targeted at hotels, resorts, campsites and public pools.
• Measurement and Regulation Systems Smart measuring instruments and control systems for water quality monitoring, process automation and regulatory compliance in utilities and industrial applications, including remote monitoring via Grundfos iRO pump integration.
• Water Treatment Service and Maintenance Professional field service team providing installation, commissioning, maintenance, troubleshooting and optimization of water treatment systems at customer facilities, available across Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.
• Aqua3m Webshop (Consumer D2C Storefront) Online e-commerce storefront for household aqua3m water softeners and home water treatment devices, enabling direct-to-consumer purchase in the Croatian domestic market.

Quantifiable outcome

• Energy savings up to 60% through energy-efficient reverse osmosis systems for seawater desalination
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ProMinentcoreTechnology or IntegrationLong-standing partnership for dosing and measuring-regulation technology. 3M was a ProMinent distributor and installed first chlorine dioxide dosing systems using ProMinent equipment in 1992. Products include Bello Zon CDVd chlorine dioxide systems, Dulcodes UV systems, and Chlorisitu electrolysis systems.
• GrundfoscoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for pump solutions integrated into water treatment systems. Grundfos iRO pumps allow remote supervision of entire systems with alerts and remote osmosis process control.
• Pentair (Fleck/Siata)coreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for water softening control valves and systems. 3M uses Fleck 3900 control valves in duplex water softeners and other industrial softening solutions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Culligan International: Global water treatment company specializing in water softeners, filtration, and reverse osmosis for both residential and commercial/industrial customers — directly overlapping with 3M's household aqua3m line and industrial softening/disinfection portfolio.
• Pentair: Major manufacturer of water treatment equipment including softening valves (Fleck), RO, and filtration — overlapping directly with 3M's product range and already a partner supplying 3M's Fleck 3900 control valves.
• ProMinent: German dosing, disinfection, and water-treatment technology manufacturer — directly comparable to 3M's ClO2, electrolysis, and dosing systems, and a long-standing 3M partner since 1992.

Broad incumbents

• Xylem (incl. Evoqua): Global water technology company offering pumps, treatment, and metering solutions across municipal and industrial markets — a broader incumbent whose product portfolio overlaps with 3M's RO, filtration, and disinfection offerings.
• Veolia Water Technologies: Global water and wastewater solutions provider serving municipal and industrial clients with large-scale treatment plants — competes for the same Croatian and SEE municipal contracts that anchor 3M's reference base.
• SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions: Global water technology and services company (now part of Veolia) providing treatment systems, chemicals, and digital services — a broad incumbent competing for industrial process-water and municipal tenders across Europe.
• Watts Water Technologies: Global manufacturer of water products including treatment, plumbing, and flow-control systems — broad incumbent with overlapping softener, RO, and filtration product lines and similar residential/industrial go-to-market.

Others

• Grundfos: Global pump manufacturer and 3M's partner for pump and iRO remote-supervision solutions — not a direct competitor, but adjacent infrastructure that 3M integrates and that competes in the broader system sale.
• WILO: European pump technology provider and 3M technology partner — relevant adjacent supplier in the integrated water-treatment solutions 3M delivers to municipal and industrial customers.
• Endress+Hauser: Global leader in industrial process measurement and sensors — 3M's partner for analytics/sensors and a comparable specialist in measurement & regulation for water and process industries.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/3M-doo-100063478180018
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/3m_2

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about 3M