Tank Industry Consultants

What Tank Industry Consultants does

Tank Industry Consultants (TIC), founded in 1979 by E. Crone Knoy, P.E., is a privately held professional engineering firm headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, that specializes exclusively in the engineering, inspection, and rehabilitation of water storage tanks. The company operates from four offices across the United States (Indianapolis, IN; Atascadero, CA; El Paso, TX; and Pittsburgh, PA) and employs 49 engineers, field technicians, and support personnel. Over its 45-year operating history, TIC has evaluated more than 17,000 water storage tanks for approximately 2,700 tank owners and operators, and holds professional engineering registrations in 43 states plus the District of Columbia.

TIC delivers a comprehensive suite of engineering services organized around the water tank lifecycle. Core offerings include pre-maintenance evaluations delivered via three distinct methods — dry rappelling inspections, certified commercial diving (underwater) inspections, and ROV robotic inspections — along with design and specification services for new and rehabilitation projects, coating consulting, structural and failure analysis, seismic evaluation and retrofit design, contractor workmanship observation, and a proprietary Tank Maintenance Prioritization System used for portfolio-level maintenance scheduling with cost forecasting. Compliance services include AWIA (America's Water Infrastructure Act) risk analyses. TIC supports its service practice with original technical content, including the AWWA M42 Steel Water Storage Tanks handbook (authored by TIC engineers), the quarterly "Tank Talk" newsletter, an extensive technical papers library, and a seminar program covering corrosion, coatings, confined-space safety, and tank failure modes.

TIC operates a project-based professional services revenue model with quote-based, scope-driven pricing on multi-year engagements delivered through direct field sales supported by thought-leadership content (seminars, technical papers, AWWA ACE conference participation). The customer base is concentrated in municipal water systems and public/private water utilities — evidenced by named clients including the City of Richardson TX, City of Victoria TX, City of Harrisonburg VA, Baltimore County MD, Village of Mount Prospect IL, New Jersey American Water, and Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission — with secondary work for industrial facilities and consulting engineering firms. The company maintains an ongoing strategic relationship with the U.S. Navy for storage tank maintenance on a global basis, and its leaders hold chair and committee roles across AWWA, NACE, NFPA, SSPC, and STI/SPFA standards bodies, including Chip Stein's chairmanship of the AWWA Steel Tank Committee — positioning that supported the firm's AWWA Water Industry Hall of Fame recognition in 2023.

Name

Tank Industry Consultants

Legal name

Tank Industry Consultants, Inc.

Website

https://tankindustry.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tank Industry Consultants is a specialty engineering firm providing inspection, evaluation, design, and rehabilitation services exclusively for water storage tanks. Founded in 1979 in Indianapolis, it serves municipalities, water utilities, and industrial clients across 43 states.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Storage Tank Engineering Services

NAICS

Engineering Services (54133), Architectural, Engineering, and Related Services (5413), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Civil & Structural Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water, Wastewater & Hydraulics Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAD), Testing, Inspection, Certification & Commissioning (TICx) Technical Services (BPAHAIAL), Industrial & Process Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAF)

Keywords

• Water tank engineering
• Tank inspection services
• Storage tank consulting
• Coating consulting
• Structural failure analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Indianapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering and Consulting Services: Professional engineering and consulting services for water storage tanks including evaluations, inspections, design specifications, and maintenance engineering. Services provided to tank owners, prospective tank owners, consulting engineers, and contractors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tank Industry Consultants (TIC) provides professional engineering and inspection services exclusively for water storage tanks, including dry evaluations, underwater/diving inspections, ROV robotic inspections, coating consulting, seismic evaluation, structural/failure analysis, new tank and rehabilitation design, and specification preparation. The firm has evaluated over 17,000 tanks for more than 2,700 owners and operators, serving municipalities, water utilities, industrial facilities, and consulting engineers across 43 states and the District of Columbia.

Product overview

Tank Industry Consultants (TIC) is a professional engineering and consulting firm specializing exclusively in water storage tank services since 1979. The company offers a unified portfolio of integrated services organized around the tank lifecycle: evaluation and inspection services (dry, diving, and ROV inspections), engineering and design services (new tank design, rehabilitation design, coating consulting, structural/failure analysis, and seismic evaluation), project execution support (contractor observation, specifications preparation), and ongoing maintenance management (prioritization systems, AWIA risk analysis). TIC also provides educational resources including the Tank Talk newsletter, technical papers library, and seminars covering tank-related topics. The company operates from four offices (Indianapolis headquarters, Atascadero CA, El Paso TX, Pittsburgh PA) with 49 engineers, field technicians, and support personnel, having evaluated over 17,000 tanks for more than 2,700 water storage tank owners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pre-Maintenance Tank Evaluations
• Tank Maintenance and Rehabilitation Engineering
• Maintenance Prioritization System
• Antenna Installation Evaluation
• Contractor Workmanship Observation
• Specifications and Contract Documents Preparation
• New Tank and Tank Rehabilitation Design
• Coating Consulting
• Structural/Failure Analysis
• Seismic Evaluation and Retrofit Design
• AWIA Risk Analysis

Quantifiable outcome

• Evaluated over 17,000 tanks for water storage tank owners and operators
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 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.

• US NavycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTIC provides storage tank maintenance services to the US Navy on a global scale. Their diving evaluation team members have been providing dive evaluations for the US Navy for more than 10 years.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• KTA-Tator Engineering Services: KTA-Tator is a coatings engineering and inspection consultancy that directly competes with TIC on tank coating surveys, failure analysis, and quality-control oversight for industrial tank and infrastructure assets. Both firms occupy the high-trust third-party niche for condition assessment.
• Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates (WJE): WJE is an engineering consultancy specializing in structural failure analysis, materials evaluation, and rehabilitation design for buildings and infrastructure. Their tank and vessel structural work overlaps directly with TIC's structural/failure analysis and seismic retrofit services.

Broad incumbents

• AECOM: AECOM is one of the world's largest engineering and infrastructure firms with a major North American water practice. AECOM competes for large municipal water programs where TIC might serve as a specialty subcontractor rather than a prime competitor; both serve the same ultimate buyers.
• Hazen and Sawyer: Hazen and Sawyer is a national water-and-wastewater engineering firm that designs pumps stations, reservoirs, and storage infrastructure for municipalities and utilities. They overlap with TIC on tank-related design specifications and rehabilitation projects where the firms compete for and subcontract against each other.
• Black & Veatch: Black & Veatch is a global EPC and engineering consultancy with a substantial water infrastructure practice serving municipalities and utilities. Their tank-related work spans new-build design and major rehabilitation, putting them in occasional competition with TIC, though at much larger project scale.
• Arcadis: Arcadis is a global design and consultancy firm with a North American water-and-environmental practice. Their municipal water work overlaps with TIC's customer base in utilities and counties, with Arcadis typically absorbing project scopes TIC might also be qualified for.
• Brown and Caldwell: Brown and Caldwell is a 2,000-person employee-owned environmental and water engineering consultancy serving municipal water utilities — a core TIC customer base. While TIC specializes narrowly in tanks, Brown and Caldwell designs the broader treatment and distribution systems those tanks serve, creating overlapping relationships with the same utility clients.
• HDR Inc: HDR is a large employee-owned engineering firm with deep municipal water expertise. They pursue tank inspection and rehabilitation contracts as part of broader utility master service agreements, positioning them as both a competitor and a potential TIC partner for specialty scopes.
• Jacobs Solutions: Jacobs is a global professional services firm with a critical water infrastructure practice. They compete for large municipal water modernization programs and frequently partner with specialty firms like TIC for tank-focused scopes.

Emerging players

• TRC Companies: TRC is an infrastructure-focused engineering and consulting firm with growing water and environmental practices. They compete in municipal water and tank-related inspection work at a regional level, frequently subbing specialty tank scopes to TIC.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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 Tank Industry Consultants