What PHCPPros does

PHCPPros is a private B2B media company headquartered in Niles, Illinois, that has served the plumbing, heating, cooling, and piping (PHCP) industry since 1993. It combines three flagship trade publications — The Wholesaler, Plumbing Engineer, and PHC News — with the wellness-oriented RUGGED Mind and Body title, reaching a claimed audience of 100,000 professional engineers, distributors, contractors, and wholesalers. The platform distributes content through phcppros.com, topic-specific email newsletters (Women in PHCP, Hydronics, PVF, Plumbing, Generation PHCP, HVAC), two podcast programs (Stories from the Mechanical Room, Off the Cuff), an Instant Insight video series, social channels, and on-site coverage of industry events such as the AHR Expo.

The company's product portfolio is anchored on editorial content and audience monetization rather than proprietary technology. The main technical addition is ASK PHCPPROS AI, a text-based natural-language search interface that queries the publication's article database. The company also operates PROS REPS, a brand-ambassador rep agency connecting manufacturers with trades-professional influencers who promote products through their own social audiences. No APIs, SDKs, or developer-facing integrations are documented.

PHCPPros monetizes through a multi-stream model: directory listings for manufacturers and service providers at Free, $995 Basic, and $3,995 Premium annual tiers; digital subscriptions to the four publications; advertising across the website, newsletters, podcasts, and videos; and service revenue from PROS REPS. Pricing is publicly disclosed and supports a horizontally segmented, SMB-to-mid-market advertiser customer base rather than a concentrated enterprise anchor model.

Name

PHCPPros

Legal name

PHCPPros

Website

https://phcppros.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PHCPPros is a private B2B media company serving the plumbing, heating, cooling, and piping industry with trade publications, newsletters, podcasts, video, and an AI search tool, reaching 100,000 engineers, distributors, and contractors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Media and Publishing

NAICS

Other Publishers (51319), Directory and Mailing List Publishers (51314)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty & Niche Channel Distribution (Religious, Comic Shops, Specialty Retail) (MPAJAKAH)

Keywords

• Plumbing trade publishing
• HVAC industry media
• PHCP B2B publications
• Trade directory advertising
• Industry newsletter content

Headquarters

HQ city

Niles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

PHCPPros publishes and distributes B2B trade media content for the plumbing, heating, cooling, and piping industry, reaching 100,000 engineers, distributors, and contractors through its flagship publications (Plumbing Engineer, The Wholesaler, PHC News, RUGGED Mind and Body). The company sells advertising, paid subscriptions to publications and newsletters, and tiered business directory listings (Free, Basic at $995, Premium at $3,995) to PHCP manufacturers and service providers, and supplements editorial with podcasts, videos, and an AI-powered natural-language search tool.

Product overview

PHCPPros is a B2B media publication platform serving the plumbing, heating, cooling, and piping (PHCP) industry, reaching 100,000 professional engineers, distributors, and contractors. The company combines three flagship publications—The Wholesaler, Plumbing Engineer, and PHC News—alongside the RUGGED Mind and Body wellness publication, into a unified editorial and distribution platform. The portfolio includes digital content delivery via topic-specific newsletters (Women in PHCP, Hydronics, PVF, Plumbing, Generation PHCP, HVAC), video content through the Instant Insight series, and two podcast programs (Stories from the Mechanical Room and Off the Cuff). The platform features an AI-powered search tool called ASK PHCPPROS AI for knowledge retrieval, and offers a brand ambassador service called PROS REPS connecting manufacturers with trades professionals. The company operates digital editions of its publications and maintains industry-specific directory listings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PROS REPS: A rep agency specifically for brand ambassadors in the trades. PROS REPS clients include highly skilled and influential professionals who showcase their profession, love of the trades, and the products they use and install to their thousands of social media followers.

Products and services

• The Wholesaler A trade publication covering news, products, and trends in the plumbing, heating, and cooling wholesale distribution industry, distributed to industry professionals.
• Plumbing Engineer A publication focused on plumbing engineering, design, and technical content for professional engineers and specifiers in the building industry.
• PHC News Industry news publication covering plumbing, heating, and cooling sector developments, distributed to trade professionals.
• RUGGED Mind and Body Health and wellness publication focused on supporting the well-being, mental health, and physical fitness of trades professionals in the plumbing, heating, and cooling industry.
• ASK PHCPPROS AI An AI-powered search and knowledge retrieval tool accessible from the website navigation that allows users to query the PHCPPros content database using natural language to find relevant industry articles and information.
• Stories from the Mechanical Room Podcast A podcast series featuring industry professionals Dan Foley and Steve Smith discussing topics relevant to the mechanical and trades industry.
• Off the Cuff Podcast An on-demand podcast featuring industry discussions and interviews with trades professionals.
• Industry Videos (Instant Insight Series) Video series featuring industry insights on products and technologies, including 'Instant Insight' videos on topics such as smart water heating and AI applications for contractors.
• PROS REPS A brand ambassador rep agency service connecting manufacturers with influential trades professionals who showcase products and the profession through social media channels.
• PHCPPros Newsletters Email newsletter subscriptions including titles such as 'Women in PHCP,' 'Hydronics,' 'PVF,' 'Plumbing,' 'Generation PHCP,' and 'HVAC' delivering targeted industry content to subscribers.
• Business Directory Listings Online business directory offering Free, Basic ($995 Net), and Premium ($3,995 Net) annual listing tiers for PHCP manufacturers and service providers, with Premium including up to 125 product categories, images, videos, downloadable files, press releases, and RFQ functionality.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BNP Media: Large B2B trade publishing group whose titles — including ACHR News, HPAC Engineering, and Plumbing & Mechanical / PM Engineer — serve the same mechanical/PLUMBING/HEATING audience PHCPPros targets with The Wholesaler, Plumbing Engineer and PHC News, making it the closest direct comparable.
• ACHR News: Long-running HVAC/R trade publication focused on dealers, contractors and wholesalers; competes head-on with PHCPPros for PHCP advertiser budgets and professional readership.
• HPAC Engineering: Engineering publication for HVAC design, specifiers and consulting engineers; its engineering-specifier audience overlaps directly with PHCPPros's Plumbing Engineer audience.
• PM Engineer (Plumbing & Mechanical): Trade publication for plumbing and mechanical engineers/designers; covers the same specification and design audience as PHCPPros's Plumbing Engineer, including codes & standards content.
• Engineered Systems Magazine: Magazine covering HVAC engineering, design and system performance for consulting engineers; competes with PHCPPros for the same engineering and specifier audience and ad budgets.
• Trade Press Media Group: B2B trade publishing group that operates niche trade publications; comparable to PHCPPros as a smaller-scale, vertical-specialized B2B media operator with multi-title portfolios.

Broad incumbents

• Endeavor Business Media: B2B media company owning dozens of trade titles across mechanical, electrical, building and industrial verticals; a broad incumbent that competes with PHCPPros across multiple categories and has greater scale and event-portfolio reach.
• Informa Markets (B2B Media arm): Large global B2B media and events company with extensive trade publication portfolio; serves overlapping PHCP/building audiences and competes for the same advertiser relationships at greater scale.
• Hearst (B2B Media / Endeavor-comparable): Diversified media group with significant B2B and trade media holdings that compete with PHCPPros for the broader B2B advertiser universe and have deeper multi-channel sales capabilities.

Emerging players

• HVAC.com: Digital platform connecting HVAC contractors, distributors and homeowners; emerging player in the PHCP/HVAC information ecosystem where PHCPPros competes, but with a digital-first model rather than legacy trade publications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 PHCPPros