Paragon Water Systems, Inc.

What Paragon Water Systems, Inc. does

Paragon Water Systems, Inc. is a privately held ODM/OEM manufacturer of certified water filtration solutions headquartered in Tampa, Florida, with wholly-owned manufacturing operations in Monterrey, Mexico (280,000+ sq. ft.) and Zhongshan, China (250,000+ sq. ft.). Founded in 1989, the company designs and produces a broad portfolio of filtration products spanning carbon block filters (including Total PFAS Reduction media), reverse osmosis systems (15-150 gpd production range), hollow fiber ultrafiltration membranes (0.02 micron), charged non-woven media, specialty resin media, inline and sediment filters, and refrigerator filter assemblies. The company's product portfolio is organized into four go-to-market verticals: Appliance (refrigerator OEMs), Foodservice (commercial beverage, ice, and brewing equipment OEMs), Residential (under-counter, RO, and drop-in filter OEMs), and Carbon Block (custom and standard carbon blocks for distributors and OEMs).

The business model is exclusively B2B ODM/OEM. Paragon does not sell direct to end consumers; instead it manufactures filtration components and complete filter assemblies that are integrated into OEM partners' branded products. Revenue is generated through quote-based hardware sales, with pricing determined by volume, specifications, and customization. Customer engagement runs from concept and engineering collaboration through regulatory certification, prototyping, and high-volume production fulfillment, supported by dedicated account management and global logistics. Switching costs are intentionally engineered through patented manifold designs and proprietary key/fitting systems that lock OEMs into Paragon's replacement cartridge ecosystem. Manufacturing is vertically integrated with in-house injection molding, carbon extrusion, automated assembly lines, cleanroom environments, and Six Sigma process controls, all operating under ISO 9001 (with ISO 13485 also referenced).

The company maintains an unusually broad regulatory certification footprint — NSF (42, 53, 58, 372), WQA, IAPMO, IAPMO R&T, DVGW (Germany), WRAS (UK), ACS (France), WaterMark (Australia), CSA (Canada), DM174 (Italy), and Chinese MoH PRC — which functions as a cross-border market access moat for OEM partners shipping globally. Paragon serves appliance and foodservice equipment manufacturers in the US, Canada, LATAM, and worldwide. Ownership is not publicly disclosed; the company appears to operate independently with no parent entity or institutional investor references, and no public ticker or investor relations materials. Leadership disclosed in source material is limited to founder and chairman George Lutich and director of finance Benjamin Vargas.

Name

Paragon Water Systems, Inc.

Legal name

Paragon Water Systems, Inc.

Website

https://paragonwater.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Paragon Water Systems is a privately held Tampa-based ODM/OEM manufacturer of certified water filtration components serving appliance, foodservice, residential, and carbon block OEM brands globally from 500,000+ sq. ft. of owned facilities in the US, Mexico, and China.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

OEM Water Filtration Manufacturing

akta.pro primary industry

Separation & Filtration Equipment (Filters, Centrifuges, Membranes) (IMAHAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water & Wastewater Treatment Plant Equipment (Clarifiers, Aeration, Membrane Systems) (IMAHAEAJ), Water Systems & Treatment (Pumps/Boilers/Water Heaters/Filtration) (IMAIABAK), Pitcher & Dispenser Water Filters (CRAJAJAB)

Keywords

• Water filtration systems
• OEM carbon block filters
• Reverse osmosis membranes
• Commercial foodservice filtration
• Refrigerator inline filters

Headquarters

HQ city

Tampa

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. OEM/ODM Water Filtration Products: Paragon manufactures custom and standard water filtration products (carbon block filters, sediment filters, refrigerator filters, foodservice filter systems) for OEM brands. Revenue is generated through product sales to OEM partners who integrate Paragon's filtration solutions into their appliances and equipment. Vertically integrated manufacturing includes in-house injection molding, carbon extrusion, and assembly capabilities.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Paragon Water Systems is a B2B ODM/OEM manufacturer that designs and produces certified water filtration solutions for integration into appliance, residential, commercial foodservice, and carbon block product lines. The company delivers end-to-end services from concept and CAD/CAM design through high-volume manufacturing and fulfillment, with proprietary carbon block, reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, and charged non-woven media technologies manufactured across 500,000+ square feet of facilities in Monterrey, Mexico and Zhongshan, China.

Product overview

Paragon Water Systems is an ODM/OEM manufacturer of certified water filtration solutions offering a comprehensive portfolio of residential, commercial foodservice, and appliance filtration products. The product portfolio includes under-counter filtration systems (single, dual, triple stage, and direct connect), reverse osmosis systems, inline filters, carbon block filters (standard and custom sizes), granular activated carbon, carbon fiber, specialty media filters, charged non-woven media, ultrafiltration membranes, and reverse osmosis membranes. Commercial offerings include post-mix, commercial ice, and brewing filtration systems with high-flow modular platforms. The company also manufactures refrigerator inline water filters and custom OEM components. All products are certified by NSF, WQA, IAPMO, and other organizations. Manufacturing is conducted across 500,000+ sq. ft. of facilities in Monterrey, Mexico and Zhongshan, China.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Residential Under-Counter Filtration Systems Under-sink water filtration systems for OEM residential brands, available in single stage, dual stage, triple stage, and direct connect configurations, featuring patented manifold designs with built-in shut-off valves and certifications from NSF, WQA, or IAPMO.
• Reverse Osmosis Systems Under-sink reverse osmosis systems for OEM residential brands featuring manifold design with valve-in-head configuration for easy installation and filter changes.
• Inline Filters (IL Series) OEM inline filters in industry standard housings available in sediment, granular activated carbon, carbon block, or nanofiber media, with options for KDF or phosphate for scale reduction.
• Sediment Filters Residential sediment filtration products for water pre-treatment and particulate removal supplied to OEM brands.
• Carbon Block Drop-In Filters Standard and custom size carbon block drop-in filters for OEM residential systems, independently tested and certified by NSF, IAPMO, and WQA.
• Refrigerator Inline Water Filters OEM refrigerator inline water filters featuring advanced carbon block technology with Total PFAS reduction capability and broad contaminant reduction including chloramines, lead, cysts, pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and pesticides.
• Refrigerator Manifolds and Accessories Custom refrigerator components including manifolds, tubing, bypass plugs, pitchers, and accessories designed for OEM appliance integration.
• Post-Mix Filtration Systems Commercial post-mix beverage filtration platform for OEMs that reduces chloramine, chlorine, lead, PFAS, and other contaminants to enhance beverage taste, clarity, and purity.
• Commercial Ice Machine Filtration Systems Water filtration systems designed to protect commercial ice machines from clogging or corroding while keeping evaporator plates free from limescale buildup.
• Brewing Systems (Coffee & Tea) Commercial brewing filtration systems for OEMs that improve taste and consistency of coffee and tea while protecting brewing equipment from clogging and corrosion.
• High-Flow, High-Capacity Modular Platform Scalable commercial filtration platform available in 1-Stage, 2-Stage, 3-Stage, and 4-Stage configurations for point-of-use through full commercial applications.
• Next Gen Softening & Filtration Platform Advanced softening and filtration system for vending machines, coffee machines, and water dispensers reducing particulates, cysts, pharmaceuticals, and total PFAS.
• Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) Coconut-based activated carbon filter media blended with resins to target specific contaminants for OEM brands and filtration manufacturers.
• Carbon Block Filters Extruded activated carbon block filters made from coconut-based carbon with performance ranging from CTO Blocks through High Performance Blocks that reduce lead, PFAS, pharmaceuticals, VOCs, cysts, and other contaminants.
• Carbon Fiber Filters Molded carbon fiber filters offering high-capacity filtration performance for OEM filtration system integrators.
• High-Performance Extruded Carbon Blocks Premium extruded carbon blocks designed for high-performance contaminant reduction across OEM filtration applications.
• High-Flow Activated Carbon Fiber (ACF) Blocks Advanced activated carbon fiber blocks designed for high-flow applications in OEM filtration systems.
• Resin Media Filters Specialty resin media technology for targeted filtration solutions, used alone or blended with carbon to remove a wide range of impurities.
• Charged Non-Woven Media Proprietary media integrating a nanoalumina active layer with expert pleating for reduction of bacteria, viruses, cysts, colloids, heavy metals, VOCs, and chlorine with minimal pressure drop and high flow rates.
• Hollow Fiber Ultrafiltration (UF) Membrane Hollow fiber membrane technology filtering down to 0.02 microns or less for reduction of bacteria and other microorganisms, used in point-of-use and point-of-entry OEM systems.
• Reverse Osmosis Membrane Technology Thin film composite reverse osmosis membranes separating particles down to 0.0001 microns, designed for under-counter systems with production range from 15 gpd to 150 gpd.

Quantifiable outcome

• Filters down to 0.02 microns or less (ultrafiltration)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/paragon-water-systems-159088817458208
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/paragon-water-systems-inc

Compliance16 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Paragon Water Systems, Inc.