Caldwell Tanks

What Caldwell Tanks does

Caldwell Tanks, Inc. is a Louisville, Kentucky-based designer, fabricator, and field erector of custom steel storage tanks and ASME-certified pressure vessels, founded in 1887 as W.E. Caldwell Co. The company operates from a 200,000+ sq. ft. production campus with dedicated carbon steel and stainless steel production lines, specialized equipment including a 1,500-ton hydraulic press, and in-house professional engineering across civil, structural, mechanical, chemical, and electrical/controls disciplines. Its product portfolio spans five core elevated and ground water tank designs (CET, LEG, PED, FLC, GST), Thermal Energy Storage including molten salt tanks for concentrated solar, oil & gas and chemical storage tanks to API 650/620, food & beverage stainless tanks, pressure vessels and spheres under ASME U/U2/R stamps, and — via the 2015-affiliated Preload, LLC — prestressed concrete tanks including cryogenic LNG containment.

The business operates as a custom turnkey EPC contractor. Revenue is project-based, with each engagement involving unique design, fabrication, and field erection; quotes are bespoke and individual industrial projects have exceeded $20 million (e.g., Tharaldson Ethanol, Sasol Chemicals). Sales run through named regional sales managers covering Industrial & Water, Pressure Vessels, and geographic territories (Northeast, Southwest, Southeast, East Coast & Ohio Valley), with a regional office in Urbandale, Iowa supplementing the Louisville headquarters. Caldwell serves seven primary verticals — Municipal Water Utilities, Chemical Processing, Oil & Gas, Power Generation, Food & Beverage, Clean Energy & Biofuels, and Pressure Vessels & Spheres — with a customer roster including Sasol, Abengoa, UPS, Tharaldson Ethanol, Chevron Phillips, Loudoun Water, and the University of Illinois, and has won the STI/SPFA Tank of the Year in seven of the last nine years.

The company is privately held with no disclosed PE/VC backing, employs 101-250 people, and is led by President K. Ryan Harvey (since 2021). Competitive moat is anchored by 135+ years of operating history, ASME Section VIII certification earned in 2021, standards-committee participation across AWWA, API, ASME, and ASCE, proprietary molten salt diffuser designs, and a multi-year STI/SPFA Award of Excellence safety record (12 months with zero OSHA recordables).

Name

Caldwell Tanks

Legal name

Caldwell Tanks, Inc.

Website

https://caldwelltanks.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1887

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Caldwell Tanks is a 138-year-old Louisville, KY-based fabricator and field erector of custom steel storage tanks and ASME-certified pressure vessels serving municipal water utilities, chemical, oil & gas, power generation, food & beverage, and clean energy customers across North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Louisville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Custom Tank and Vessel Fabrication & Construction: Caldwell generates revenue through custom-engineered storage tank and pressure vessel projects. Each project is unique, involving design, fabrication, and field erection services. Revenue is project-based, typically one-time for each construction project, though they maintain ongoing relationships with customers for future projects and maintenance.
2. Turnkey Construction Services: Full EPC (Engineering, Procurement, Construction) services where Caldwell acts as single point of responsibility. Includes foundation design/installation, tank coatings, insulation, mechanical equipment installation. Project values can exceed $20 million for large industrial projects.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Caldwell Tanks designs, fabricates, and field-erects custom welded steel storage tanks and ASME-certified pressure vessels for municipal water, industrial, and energy customers across North America. The company delivers turnkey design-build projects — covering civil, structural, mechanical, chemical, and electrical/controls engineering plus fabrication, erection, coatings, and commissioning — for elevated water tanks, ground storage tanks, thermal energy storage, oil & gas, chemical, food & beverage, power, and clean energy/biofuels applications.

Product overview

Caldwell Tanks is a storage tank manufacturer offering a comprehensive portfolio of field-erected and shop-fabricated storage solutions. The core product lineup includes four types of elevated water storage tanks: Composite Elevated Storage Tank (CET), Multi-Column Elevated Storage Tank (LEG), Pedesphere Elevated Storage Tank (PED), and Fluted Column Elevated Storage Tank (FLC), plus Ground Storage Tank (GST) for grade-level applications. Industrial storage solutions span Thermal Energy Storage (TES), Oil & Gas tanks, Chemical Storage tanks, Food & Beverage tanks, Power Storage tanks, and Clean Energy/Biofuels storage. The company also manufactures ASME-certified Pressure Vessels and Spheres, and through its affiliated company Preload, offers Prestressed Concrete Tanks. All products are available in carbon steel, stainless steel, and exotic alloys, with full turnkey design, fabrication, and field erection capabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Preload: Prestressed concrete tank subsidiary company providing large LNG tanks and cryogenic storage solutions.

Products and services

• Composite Elevated Storage Tank (CET) An elevated welded carbon-steel water storage tank supported by a steel-reinforced concrete support pedestal featuring architectural rustification patterns. Used by municipalities for potable water storage, fire protection, and pressure management; the tallest CET ever built was in Lexington, Texas in 2025.
• Multi-Column Elevated Storage Tank (LEG) An elevated welded carbon-steel water storage tank supported by a series of carbon-steel supporting columns and cross braces. Available in Double Ellipsoidal (DE) configuration for smaller capacities and Torus Bottom (TB) for larger capacities; used by municipalities and water utilities.
• Pedesphere Elevated Storage Tank (PED) An elevated, welded, carbon-steel, spherical water storage tank supported by a single cylindrical carbon-steel support pedestal with a flared conical base. Sphere-shaped for 25,000-150,000 gallons; spheroidal-shaped for larger capacities; used by municipalities and water utilities.
• Fluted Column Elevated Storage Tank (FLC) An elevated welded carbon-steel water storage tank supported by a single large-diameter corrugated carbon-steel support column, combining structural rigidity with architectural appearance; used by municipalities.
• Ground Storage Tank (GST) A welded carbon-steel cylindrical water storage tank built at grade-level on a steel-reinforced concrete foundation. Classified as Reservoir (RES) when diameter exceeds height, or Standpipe (SP) when height exceeds diameter; used by municipalities and water utilities.
• Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Insulated tanks for storing chilled water, ice, or hot water produced during off-peak hours for use during peak demand periods. Includes stratified ice storage, chilled water storage, hot water storage, and molten salt storage solutions; used by power generators, solar plants, and large institutional facilities.
• Oil & Gas Storage Tanks Field-erected storage tanks for the oil and gas industry including traditional oil storage tanks, column-supported cone roof tanks, condensate storage tanks, and LNG cryogenic storage tanks; used by upstream, midstream, and downstream operators.
• Chemical Storage Tanks Field-erected tanks designed for chemical storage applications meeting API 650 or API 620 standards, utilizing carbon steel, stainless steel (304/316), or exotic alloys for corrosive or high-temperature chemical storage; used by chemical and petrochemical plants.
• Food & Beverage Storage Tanks Stainless steel storage and process tanks for the food and beverage industry, including tanks for vegetable oils, distillery/beverage applications, and wastewater solutions with specialized finishes and coatings; used by distilleries, food processors, and beverage companies.
• Power Storage Tanks Storage tanks, stacks, and silos for the power industry including stacking tubes, firewater tanks, process water tanks, demineralized water tanks, thermal energy storage tanks, and exhaust stacks for coal, natural gas, and solar power plants.
• Clean Energy - Biofuels Storage Storage and process solutions for clean energy including atmospheric storage tanks, low/high pressure tanks, cryogenic storage, ethanol, anaerobic digesters, methanol, biofuel storage, blue hydrogen systems, biomass, and renewables; used by alternative energy producers.
• Pressure Vessels & Spheres ASME Section VIII Pressure Vessels and Spheres built under ASME U, U2, and R stamps for high-pressure and cryogenic containment of industrial gases, chemicals, LNG, LPG, and ammonia. Includes field-erected and shop-fabricated options; used by industrial gas, LNG, LPG, ammonia, and chemical operators.
• Preload Prestressed Concrete Tanks Prestressed concrete storage tanks providing durability and leak resistance for demanding industrial and municipal applications, offered through affiliated company Preload, LLC; used by municipalities and large industrial customers including LNG storage.
• API 650 / AWWA Stainless & Carbon GST Ground storage tanks designed to API 650 and AWWA standards, available in both stainless steel and carbon steel construction.

Quantifiable outcome

• $860,000 annual energy cost avoidance for University of Illinois using Thermal Energy Storage tank
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Preload, LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015In 2015, Caldwell Tanks and Preload came together as affiliated companies to better serve customers. Preload specializes in prestressed concrete tanks. Together, they offer the full array of tank styles, capacities, and material types. Preload is currently constructing large prestressed concrete LNG tanks. The combined companies represent over 220 years of experience.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Fisher Tank Company: Family-owned field-erected steel tank fabricator serving industrial and municipal customers since 1948. Comparable to Caldwell in carbon and stainless steel storage tank construction with similar customer mix across chemical, petroleum, and water utility markets.
• Tank Connection: Designer and manufacturer of bolted and welded storage tanks serving industrial, petroleum, water, and dry bulk markets globally. Comparable to Caldwell in storage tank fabrication, with overlap in chemical, oil & gas, and water segments; differentiated by bolted tank focus vs. Caldwell's field-erected welded approach.
• Superior Tank Company: Family-owned manufacturer of bolted and welded steel tanks for water, oil & gas, and industrial applications across the western U.S. Comparable to Caldwell in storage tank manufacturing with similar customer mix in municipal water and petroleum storage.
• DN Tanks: Premier designer and constructor of prestressed concrete tanks in North America, specializing in water storage, wastewater, and increasingly LNG/cryogenic applications. Directly comparable to Caldwell's affiliated company Preload, with overlapping capability in large-diameter concrete tank construction.
• T.F. Warren Group (Tarsco Bolted Tank): Industrial tank fabricator providing field-erected steel tanks, API 650 tanks, and bolted tanks for petroleum, chemical, water, and dry bulk applications. Comparable to Caldwell in industrial storage tank fabrication with similar product breadth across oil & gas, chemical, and water sectors.
• Engineering America: ASME-certified pressure vessel and storage tank fabricator serving chemical, petrochemical, refining, and power markets. Comparable to Caldwell's pressure vessel and industrial tank business with similar ASME U-stamp capabilities and overlap in chemical and refinery customer segments.
• Crom Corporation: Specialty contractor focused on prestressed concrete tanks for water, wastewater, and industrial liquids with a long history in the North American market. Comparable to Caldwell's Preload affiliate in concrete tank construction, with overlap in municipal and industrial water storage projects.
• Pittsburg Tank & Tower Company: One of the oldest continuously operating tank fabricators in the U.S., specializing in elevated and ground storage water tanks, repair, and modification services. Directly comparable to Caldwell's water storage tank business with similar geographic coverage across the eastern and central U.S.

Broad incumbents

• McDermott International (CB&I Storage Solutions): Global EPC contractor with legacy Chicago Bridge & Iron tank fabrication business serving LNG, refining, and petrochemical customers with field-erected and cryogenic storage tanks. Comparable to Caldwell's industrial tank business but at vastly larger scale with broader geographic reach.
• Matrix Service Company: Publicly-traded engineering and construction firm (NASDAQ: MTRX) serving oil & gas, power, and industrial markets with storage tank and pressure vessel capabilities as part of a broader EPC portfolio. Comparable to Caldwell on storage tank construction but with materially larger scale and broader service offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CaldwellTnksInc

Compliance10 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 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 Caldwell Tanks