Hawkins

What Hawkins does

Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ: HWKN) is a Minnesota-incorporated specialty chemical and ingredients company founded in 1938 that formulates, manufactures, distributes, and blends products across three business segments. The Water Treatment segment supplies chemicals, equipment, and services for municipal drinking water, municipal wastewater, industrial process water, industrial wastewater, and pools/aquatics, and accounted for approximately 50% of fiscal 2026 revenue at $1.0837 billion, growing 22% year-over-year. The Food & Health Sciences segment distributes specialty ingredients (operated through the Stauber subsidiary) for nutrition, pharmaceutical, food ingredient, and agricultural applications, including USP/EP/JP-grade excipients and GMP-manufactured purified water. The Industrial Solutions segment provides toll blending, surface finishing chemicals, oil field solutions, and flue gas desulfurization products to industrial manufacturers.

Hawkins monetizes through three primary revenue streams with predominantly transaction-based and equipment-sale economics: water treatment chemicals and equipment distribution, industrial chemicals and custom toll blending, and specialty ingredient distribution. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; the company bills monthly and ships exclusively to commercial addresses. The company operates approximately 66 facilities across 28 states, distributes through a direct field sales force, and has aggressively expanded via acquisitions, completing six acquisitions in fiscal 2026 alone (including WaterSurplus, StillWaters, Redbird, PhillTech, Amerochem, and Aqua-Chem assets) for $167.1 million. It also completed a flagship deployment of 1,050 proprietary NanoStack coated membranes at the Orange County Water District's Groundwater Replenishment System treating approximately 5 million gallons of water per day.

The technology stack centers on proprietary water treatment equipment acquired via WaterSurplus: NanoStack coated membrane elements (NSF/ANSI/CAN-61 certified), ImpactRO high-recovery reverse osmosis skids (40–900 GPM), OxiPlus catalytic filter media for iron, manganese, arsenic, radium, and hydrogen sulfide removal, and WaterPlus multimedia filtration systems for PFAS and emerging contaminants. The customer base spans municipal water utilities (Orange County Water District), industrial manufacturers, food and dairy producers, research laboratories, and pharmaceutical manufacturers, with stated customer relationships exceeding 20 years for many accounts. CEO Patrick H. Hawkins leads the company alongside CFO Jeffrey P. Oldenkamp, and Hawkins has paid dividends for 41 consecutive years.

Name

Hawkins

Legal name

Hawkins, Inc.

Website

https://hawkinsinc.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1938

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Hawkins, Inc. (NASDAQ: HWKN) is a Minnesota-based specialty chemical and ingredients company founded in 1938 that formulates, manufactures, distributes, and blends water treatment chemicals, food and health ingredients, and industrial chemicals across 66 facilities in 28 U.S. states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Chemicals Manufacturing & Distribution

NAICS

Chemical and Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers (4246), Food Manufacturing (311), Pharmaceutical and Medicine Manufacturing (32541)

SIC

Wholesale-Chemicals & Allied Products (5160), Food And Kindred Products (2000), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Treatment & Process Specialty Chemicals (IMAEABAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Formulation R&D, Scale-Up & Tech Transfer Services (AFABAIAJ), Crop Protection Formulations (EC, SC, WG, WP, SL) (AFABAIAA), Regulatory, Quality & EHS Compliance Services for Toll Manufacturing (QA/QC, SDS, REACH/EPA support) (AFABAIAK)

Keywords

• Specialty chemicals distribution
• Water treatment chemicals
• Industrial chemical blending
• Pharmaceutical ingredients
• Food ingredients supply

Headquarters

HQ city

Rockville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Water Treatment Products and Services: Water treatment chemicals and equipment distribution representing half of total company revenue, growing 22% in fiscal 2026
2. Industrial Solutions: Industrial chemicals, toll blending, surface finishing, oil field solutions, and flue gas desulfurization products
3. Food & Health Sciences: Specialty ingredients for nutrition, pharmaceutical, and food ingredient applications
4. Equipment Sales: Sale of water treatment equipment including reverse osmosis systems, filtration media, and related equipment

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Hawkins formulates, manufactures, blends, distributes, and sells specialty chemicals, ingredients, and water treatment equipment for industrial, municipal, food, pharmaceutical, and research customers across the United States. The company operates three reportable segments—Water Treatment, Food & Health Sciences, and Industrial Solutions—offering more than 1,000 product SKUs supported by custom toll blending and a network of 66 facilities.

Product overview

Hawkins, Inc. is a specialty chemical and ingredients company founded in 1938 that formulates, manufactures, distributes and blends products across three core business segments: Water Treatment (chemicals and equipment for municipal/industrial water and wastewater), Food & Health Sciences (nutrition, pharmaceutical, and food ingredients), and Industrial Solutions (toll blending, surface finishing, oil field chemicals, and flue gas desulfurization). The company operates approximately 66 facilities across 28 states and serves customers throughout the United States. Product portfolio includes water treatment equipment such as ImpactRO reverse osmosis systems, NanoStack coated membranes, OxiPlus filter media, and WaterPlus filtration systems, along with a comprehensive catalog of industrial chemicals, pharmaceutical excipients, and nutritional ingredients. The company has completed multiple acquisitions to expand its footprint, including WaterSurplus, Redbird Chemical, StillWaters Technology, Wofford Water Service, and others.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stauber: Nutrition ingredients subsidiary operating under Hawkins Food & Health Sciences segment
• WaterSurplus

Products and services

• ImpactRO High-recovery reverse osmosis (RO) water treatment system designed to improve permeate recovery and reduce concentrate volume for industrial and municipal water reuse applications.
• NanoStack Coated Membrane Elements Proprietary coated reverse osmosis membrane elements that use a durable, fouling-resistant coating to extend membrane life and reduce cleaning frequency in industrial water systems.
• OxiPlus12 Catalytic filter media engineered to oxidize iron, manganese, and hydrogen sulfide in municipal and industrial water treatment applications.
• OxiPlus75 Higher-grade catalytic filter media designed for more demanding iron, manganese, and hydrogen sulfide removal in larger municipal and industrial water treatment systems.
• WaterPlus Multimedia Filtration System Multi-layer media filtration system designed to remove sediment, turbidity, and particulates from water for industrial process and municipal applications.
• Pharmaceutical Ingredients Specialty excipients, active pharmaceutical ingredients, and ancillary chemicals supplied to pharmaceutical manufacturers and compounding pharmacies.
• Nutrition Ingredients Specialty vitamins, minerals, supplements, and nutrition ingredients supplied to nutraceutical manufacturers, food producers, and contract manufacturers.
• Industrial Toll Blending Services Custom contract blending of customer-owned or supplied liquid and dry chemical formulations, including specialty chemistries tailored to specific process and quality requirements.

Quantifiable outcome

• Water Treatment segment grew 22% in fiscal 2026, now representing 50% of total company revenue
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Orange County Water DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 February 2026Hawkins, through its WaterSurplus acquisition, completed a multi-year pilot of NanoStack coated membranes at the Orange County Water District's Groundwater Replenishment System, resulting in a full deployment of 1,050 membranes treating approximately 5 million gallons of water per day. This reference project demonstrates NanoStack technology's effectiveness at a marquee water reuse facility.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Brenntag: Brenntag is the world's largest chemical distributor serving industrial, water treatment, and life sciences customers across the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, comparable to Hawkins on business model and end-market mix.
• IMCD Group: IMCD is a leading specialty chemicals and ingredients distributor with strong positions in food, nutrition, pharmaceuticals, and industrial markets; its formulation-led, value-add distribution model closely mirrors Hawkins' Food & Health Sciences segment.
• Univar Solutions: Univar Solutions is a major North American chemical and ingredient distributor with overlapping water treatment, industrial, and food ingredient portfolios, making it the most direct comparable to Hawkins' distribution-led model.
• Ecolab (Nalco Water): Ecolab's Nalco Water segment provides water treatment chemicals, equipment, and services to municipal and industrial customers worldwide, directly comparable to Hawkins' Water Treatment segment and the largest scaled competitor in the space.
• Solenis: Solenis is a specialty chemicals provider focused on water treatment and process chemistries for industrial and municipal customers, comparable in product mix to Hawkins' Water Treatment and Industrial Solutions segments.
• Azelis: Azelis is a global specialty chemicals and food ingredients distributor serving personal care, food, pharma, and industrial markets; its value-add distribution and toll blending capabilities are highly comparable to Hawkins' model.
• Barentz: Barentz is a specialty ingredients distributor focused on food, nutrition, personal care, and pharmaceutical applications; it competes directly with Hawkins' Stauber franchise in nutrition and food ingredients distribution.

Broad incumbents

• Quaker Houghton: Quaker Houghton is a global leader in industrial process fluids and specialty chemistries, comparable to Hawkins' Industrial Solutions segment (surface finishing, toll blending) but with a more focused industrial customer base.
• Stepan Company: Stepan is a specialty and intermediate chemicals manufacturer with positions in surfactants, polymers, and food/pharma ingredients; comparable in scale and end markets to Hawkins' Food & Health Sciences and Industrial Solutions segments.
• Kurita Water Industries: Kurita is a Japanese global water treatment chemicals and equipment provider serving industrial and municipal markets; comparable to Hawkins' Water Treatment segment on product portfolio and end customers, but with much larger scale and international reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hawkins1938
• Facebookfacebook.com/hawkinsinc

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A19 records

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Hawkins