CB Tech

What CB Tech does

Carbon Block Technology, Inc. (CB Tech) is a privately held Las Vegas, Nevada-based manufacturer founded in 1970 that specializes in solid carbon block drinking water filters and complete point-of-use drinking water systems. The company operates as a contract manufacturer, producing both branded products (CB-VOC, CB-As, WaterSource, HTR500, Military Grade WaterBox, Water Guardian) and custom/private-label carbon block filters for OEM customers that sell under their own brand names. Its underlying technology combines coconut shell-based powdered activated carbon with a proprietary compression molding process, supplemented by Nanomesh filtration media that enables certified microbiological purification (bacteria and viruses) without external power or chemical additives. Multi-factor filtration integrates electrokinetic adsorption, physical adsorption, and mechanical filtration within submicron (0.5 micron) carbon block structures, supporting NSF/ANSI certifications under Standards 42, 53, 58, 61, 372, and 401 and NSF Protocols P231, P248, and P477; the company is the only manufacturer with an NSF-certified filter for Arsenic V reduction.

CB Tech sells through three channels: (1) OEM/private-label contract manufacturing with OTLM, ANF, and private label NSF listing options for consumer product companies; (2) direct enterprise sales to commercial dealers and wholesale customers who purchase in substantial quantities at wholesale pricing; and (3) replacement filter cartridges sold through authorized dealers. Pricing is unit-based for individual products (e.g., CBTVOC cartridge at $70 MSRP with 750-gallon capacity at roughly 9 cents per gallon; CB-As at roughly 13 cents per gallon) and multi-year/wholesale contract-based for commercial accounts. Manufacturing is anchored at the Las Vegas headquarters, which also houses R&D and a dedicated microbiology laboratory, with additional production capacity in Shanghai, China, and a newly acquired PCB manufacturing facility in Phoenix, Arizona via the April 2025 acquisition of Reliable Circuits, Inc. The company is led by President Zachary Rice, COO Alvin Rice, VP of Technical Services Dr. Andrew Fenwick (recipient of the inaugural WQA Next Gen Award in 2017), and Lead Microbiologist Kate Hupp. CB Tech has been manufacturing carbon water purifiers since 1975, achieved its first NSF certification in 1991, acquired the Nanomesh technology from Seldon Technologies in December 2015, and has remained privately held without disclosed external funding.

Name

CB Tech

Legal name

Carbon Block Technology, Inc.

Website

https://carbonblocktech.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

CB Tech is a privately held Las Vegas-based contract manufacturer (founded 1970) that designs and produces custom carbon block drinking water filters and complete point-of-use systems for OEM/private-label partners, commercial dealers, and replacement filter markets, with proprietary compression molding and Nanomesh microbiological purification technology.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Filtration Equipment

NAICS

Chemical Manufacturing (325)

SIC

Miscellaneous Chemical Products (2890)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Treatment Adsorbents (GAC/PAC/Media) (IMAEAIAK)

Keywords

• Carbon block filters
• Water filtration systems
• OEM contract manufacturing
• Drinking water treatment
• Point-of-use filters

Headquarters

HQ city

Las Vegas

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contract Manufacturing / OEM: CB Tech manufactures custom carbon block filters for OEMs and consumer product companies to be sold under their own brand names. They offer 'Other Than Listed Manufacturer' (OTLM), 'Another Name For' (ANF), and private label listing options.
2. Direct Product Sales: Sale of branded CB Tech drinking water systems (CB-VOC, CB-As series) and replacement filter cartridges directly to commercial dealers and wholesale customers
3. Custom Filter Manufacturing: Custom manufacturing capability for filters from hundreds to millions, serving specific customer requirements for residential and commercial applications

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CB Tech is a contract manufacturer that designs and produces custom carbon block water filters and complete drinking water systems for OEM partners, private-label brands, and commercial dealers. Its proprietary carbon block and Nanomesh technologies deliver certified contaminant reduction (chlorine, chloramine, lead, arsenic V, VOCs, cysts, bacteria, viruses) under NSF Standards 42, 53, 401 and Protocol P231. The company produces runs from hundreds to millions of units at its Las Vegas headquarters and Shanghai, China facility.

Product overview

CB Tech is a contract manufacturer specializing in custom drinking water systems and carbon block filters. The product portfolio centers on proprietary solid carbon block filtration technology combined with advanced Nanomesh media for microbiological purification. Core product lines include the CB-VOC (VOC removal) and CB-As (arsenic removal) drinking water system series, along with Standard Filters, Custom Carbon Block Filters, and Custom Hybrid Filters. Nanomesh technology enables bacteria and virus certification under NSF Protocol P231. Products are offered as both standard configurations and fully customized solutions, with capabilities ranging from basic aesthetic filtration to comprehensive health contaminant and microbiological purification. Manufacturing is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada with additional capacity in Shanghai, China.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Nanomesh: Proprietary filtration media technology for bacteria and virus reduction
• Military Grade WaterBox
• CB Tech WaterSource
• CB Tech HTR500
• CB-VOC
• CB-As
• Water Guardian

Products and services

• Custom Carbon Block Filters Custom-manufactured carbon block filters produced to customer specifications including size, filtration performance and contaminant targets. Combines electrokinetic adsorption, physical adsorption and mechanical filtration methods and supports hybrid filtration technology integration. Sold to OEM partners and consumer product companies.
• Nanomesh Filtration Technology Proprietary carbon mesh filtration media that provides certified treatment of bacteria and viruses, enabling carbon block filters to achieve NSF Protocol P231 microbiological water purifier certification without external power or chemical additives.
• CB-VOC Drinking Water System Point-of-use VOC carbon water filter system offering submicron (0.5 micron) solid carbon block filtration with approximately 750-gallon filter capacity, available in countertop and below-sink configurations. Certified under NSF/ANSI Standards 42, 53 and 401. Sold to commercial dealers and wholesale customers.
• CB-As Arsenic Treatment System Arsenic water filter system with stainless steel housing that uses solid carbon block technology to reduce Arsenic V in drinking water. Provides submicron (0.5 micron) filtration with approximately 600-gallon filter capacity (~1 year of normal use) at ~13 cents per gallon. Certified under NSF/ANSI Standards 42 and 53.
• Military Grade WaterBox Heavy-duty portable water filtration system designed for military applications and crisis/emergency response, featuring durable construction and high-performance carbon block filtration.
• CB Tech WaterSource Drinking Water System Branded point-of-use drinking water system product line providing carbon block filtration for residential and commercial applications.
• CB Tech HTR500 High-Temperature Resistant Filter High-temperature resistant carbon block water filtration system designed for applications requiring hot-water or elevated-temperature operation.
• Standard Carbon Block Filters Pre-configured carbon block water filters meeting standard specifications for common residential and commercial filtration applications.
• Custom Hybrid Filters Advanced hybrid filtration solutions combining multiple filtration technologies (carbon block, Nanomesh, ceramic, hollow fiber) to address complex water contamination challenges; can incorporate customer-supplied materials and media for exclusive customer products.
• Under-Sink Water Filter Systems Point-of-use carbon block water filtration systems installed beneath sinks, providing convenient access to filtered drinking water with discreet installation.
• Whole-House Carbon Filter Systems Whole-house carbon filtration systems providing filtered water throughout an entire residential or commercial structure at the point of entry.
• Replacement Filter Cartridges Replacement filter cartridges for CB Tech drinking water systems (CBTVOC, CBTAs and equivalents), maintaining the same quality as the original custom filters.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99%+ reduction of chlorine and chloramine
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Reliable Circuits, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 April 2025CB Tech acquired Reliable Circuits, a PCB manufacturing and assembly company. This acquisition aims to enhance CB Tech's water filtration capabilities and drive innovation, with Reliable Circuits operating from a new facility in Phoenix.
• Seldon TechnologiescoreTechnology or Integration · 22 December 2015CB Tech acquired Nanomesh water filtration technology and assets from Seldon Technologies. This acquisition added powerful microbiological purification capability to CB Tech's portfolio without requiring external power or chemical additives.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Multi-Pure International: Multi-Pure manufactures NSF-certified solid carbon block drinking water filters with private-label and OEM capabilities. Closest direct peer to CB Tech in technology (carbon block), certification scope, and OEM/private-label go-to-market.
• Kinetico: Kinetico is a privately held manufacturer of residential and commercial water treatment systems, including carbon filtration and specialty media. Comparable to CB Tech in custom water-treatment equipment manufacturing and dealer/wholesale distribution model.
• Pelican Water Systems: Pelican manufactures and distributes carbon-based drinking water filtration systems and replacement filters via dealer and direct channels. Overlaps with CB Tech in carbon block point-of-use filtration and wholesale/reseller GTM motion.

Broad incumbents

• Culligan International: Culligan is a global leader in residential, commercial, and industrial water treatment, including point-of-use carbon filtration. A broad incumbent operating across a much wider portfolio than CB Tech, but overlaps meaningfully in drinking-water filtration products and dealer distribution.
• Pentair: Pentair (NYSE: PNR) is a large global water treatment company offering residential and commercial filtration products including carbon-based systems. Broad incumbent with overlapping product categories but operates at far greater scale and broader portfolio than CB Tech.
• 3M Purification: 3M's Separation and Purification Sciences division manufactures carbon block and specialty filtration products for residential, commercial, and industrial applications. Broad incumbent with significant OEM/private-label overlap with CB Tech's business model.
• Watts Water Technologies: Watts Water (NYSE: WTS) manufactures water quality and conservation products, including point-of-use filtration and carbon filtration systems. Broad incumbent with overlap in residential and commercial filtration, though serving a wider portfolio of water products.
• A. O. Smith Corporation: A. O. Smith (NYSE: AOS) manufactures water heaters and water treatment products including filtration systems. A broad incumbent that has expanded into residential water filtration (notably via Aquasana), overlapping with CB Tech's residential drinking water product lines.
• Aquasana: Aquasana (owned by A. O. Smith) manufactures under-sink and whole-house carbon-based filtration systems sold through retail and dealer channels. Comparable to CB Tech in carbon filtration technology and residential drinking water applications, though integrated into a much larger parent.

Emerging players

• Clearly Filtered: Clearly Filtered is a privately held, growing manufacturer of high-performance water filters with strong third-party certifications and direct-to-consumer focus. Emerging player overlapping with CB Tech in carbon-based contaminant reduction but differentiated by its consumer-brand-led GTM motion.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carbon-block-technology

Compliance10 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A1 record

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about CB Tech