Smoky Lake Maple Products

What Smoky Lake Maple Products does

Smoky Lake Maple Products, LLC is a privately held American manufacturer of handcrafted maple syrup production equipment, founded in 2011 and headquartered in Hilbert, Wisconsin. The company designs, fabricates, and sells a comprehensive modular product ecosystem covering the entire syrup-making workflow: tapping supplies (drill bits, tubing, spouts, buckets, bulk sap tanks), boiling equipment (six full evaporator models, arches, pans, reverse osmosis systems), filtering and finishing (stainless steel filter presses, cone and flat filter systems), bottling and canning (steam bottlers, water-jacketed bottlers), and testing instruments (hydrometers, color grading, auto draw-off systems). Core technical components include stainless steel construction, laser-cut parts, factory-optimized geometry, raised flue and drop flue high-output pan sets, and TIG-welded assemblies backed by a limited lifetime warranty. The full evaporator product line spans from the StarCat wood-fired hobbyist unit starting at $1,370 up to the Liberator commercial system capable of 468+ GPH evaporation rates.

The company operates a direct-to-consumer e-commerce business model through its website smokylakemaple.com, supplemented by phone sales, on-site pickup at its Wisconsin factory, and White Glove freight delivery to major U.S. maple-producing regions. Pricing is one-time per unit, with made-to-order production requiring a 20% deposit and balance due before delivery, 5% bundle discounts for arch-plus-pan purchases, free shipping in the Continental USA, and customer financing through a partnership with North Star Leasing. Revenue is generated primarily through hardware sales of evaporators and accessories, replacement parts, and the affiliated financing stream. The company serves two primary customer segments—hobbyist maple syrup producers (3-30 taps) and commercial maple syrup operations (scaling to hundreds of taps)—plus a secondary segment of educational institutions that can purchase via purchase orders. All equipment is handcrafted in Wisconsin by described elite artisans, with no disclosed outside institutional capital, no international distribution, and operations restricted to the Continental USA.

Name

Smoky Lake Maple Products

Legal name

Smoky Lake Maple Products, LLC

Website

https://smokylakemaple.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smoky Lake Maple Products is a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of handcrafted, USA-made maple syrup production equipment, selling a full ecosystem of evaporators, pans, reverse osmosis systems, bottlers, and tapping supplies directly to hobbyist and commercial maple syrup producers across the Continental United States via e-commerce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maple Syrup Production Equipment

NAICS

Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing (33331)

akta.pro primary industry

Edible Sap, Syrups & Sweeteners (Maple, Birch) Tapping/Processing (AFAMAFAL)

Keywords

• Maple syrup equipment
• Sugaring supplies
• Evaporator manufacturing
• Maple production tools
• Stainless steel fabrication

Headquarters

HQ city

Hilbert

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Evaporator and Equipment Sales: Primary revenue from selling maple syrup production equipment including full evaporators, arches, evaporator pans, reverse osmosis systems, bottling/canning equipment, filtering systems, and testing instruments. Products range from hobbyist-grade to commercial-scale equipment with prices from approximately $1,300 to $11,000+.
2. Replacement Parts and Accessories: Revenue from selling replacement parts including auto draw-off parts, filter press parts, reverse osmosis parts and consumables, replacement front pans, grates, and other accessories.
3. Financing Services: Partnership with North Star Leasing to provide financing options for equipment purchases, enabling customers to pay over time.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Smoky Lake Maple Products handcrafts and sells maple syrup production equipment for hobbyist and commercial sugar makers. Their product portfolio includes wood-fired, gas-fired, and oil-fired evaporators (StarCat, Dauntless, Corsair, Silverplate, Liberator, Gas-Fired Finisher), evaporator pans and arches, reverse osmosis systems, bottling/canning equipment, filtering systems, tapping supplies, density and color testing instruments, replacement parts, and branded merchandise—all manufactured at their Hilbert, Wisconsin headquarters.

Product overview

Smoky Lake Maple Products offers a comprehensive, modular ecosystem of handcrafted maple syrup production equipment. The product portfolio spans the entire syrup-making workflow: Tapping (drill bits, tubing, spouts, buckets, bulk sap tanks), Boiling (evaporators, arches, evaporator pans, reverse osmosis systems), Filtering (cone filters, flat filters, filter presses), Bottling/Canning (steam bottlers, water-jacketed bottlers, bottles, caps, labels), and Testing (color grading, density testing, auto draw-off systems). The core product line includes six full evaporator models—StarCat (wood-fired, hobbyist), Dauntless (expandable hobbyist/prosumer), Corsair (most adaptable, multi-fuel), Silverplate (premium mirror-finish, highest efficiency), Gas-Fired Finisher (dedicated finisher), and Liberator (professional grade, highest capacity)—each available with compatible arches and various pan styles. Add-on modules, replacement parts, and upgrades (forced draft kits, float boxes, sight glasses, mobility options) allow customers to customize and expand their systems. The company also offers sub-brands including Badgerland Mapleworks for replacement pans and Smoky Lake Merch for branded apparel. All products are handcrafted in the USA at the Hilbert, Wisconsin factory headquarters, with free shipping in the continental USA and a limited lifetime warranty on TIG welds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Badgerland Mapleworks: Product sub-brand under Smoky Lake Maple Products offering front replacement pans and related equipment.

Products and services

• StarCat Evaporator A wood-fired full evaporator designed for hobbyist maple syrup producers with a 16" x 30" pan, a 3–30 tap rating, and a 5–8+ GPH evaporation rate. Available with flat or divided pan styles and ships unassembled with some assembly required.
• Dauntless Evaporator An expandable full evaporator for hobbyist and prosumer producers with a 20" x 48" pan, 10–95 tap rating depending on pan type, and 9–20+ GPH evaporation rate. Available with flat, divided, or hybrid pan styles.
• Corsair Evaporator The most adaptable full evaporator in the lineup, optimized for maximum efficiency and compatible with any Smoky Lake pan or pan set. Supports flat, divided, hybrid, drop flue, and raised flue pan styles; stainless steel arch sides, base stack, and stack pipe come standard.
• Silverplate Evaporator A premium mirror-finish full evaporator with superior fuel efficiency and approximately 30% more efficiency than an identical-footprint Corsair. Compatible exclusively with Raised Flue High Output Pan Sets in standard or Same Side Reverse configurations.
• Gas-Fired Finisher Evaporator A bench-top, high-efficiency gas-fired full evaporator dedicated solely to evaporating sap and finishing syrup. Available in 16" x 30" (3-jet, 4–5 GPH) and 2' x 4' (5-jet, 10–12 GPH) configurations.
• Liberator Evaporator A professional-grade full evaporator available in a variety of sizes with a choice of oil or gas fuel types. Compatible with High Output Pan Sets (Drop Flue or Raised Flue) and offering the highest evaporation rates in the lineup, up to 468+ GPH depending on configuration.
• Evaporator Arches Handcrafted evaporator arches (fireboxes) available for StarCat, Dauntless, Corsair, Silverplate, Gas-Fired, and Liberator models. Each arch features laser-cut parts, pre-cut ceramic blanket insulation, and factory-optimized geometry for the corresponding pan style.
• Evaporator Pans Mirror-finish stainless steel evaporator pans in multiple configurations, including Flat Pans, Divided Pans with partition walls, All-In-One Hybrid Pans, High Output Pan Sets (Drop Flue and Raised Flue), and Replacement Front Pans. All include level assist, angled thermometer ports, and lifetime limited warranty on TIG welds.
• Reverse Osmosis Systems High-efficiency reverse osmosis systems for sap processing, removing water from sap before boiling to significantly reduce energy costs and boiling time. Includes the MiniPro 100 with flowmeter panel and MemPro series (100H, 200H, 350H, 600SS) in multiple capacities.
• Steam Bottlers Electric and gas-powered steam bottling systems with precise temperature control for filling and sealing maple syrup containers at consistent bottling quality.
• Water-Jacketed Bottlers Hot-water-jacketed bottling equipment for warming and bottling syrup at controlled temperatures, ensuring proper viscosity and pour characteristics.
• Stainless Steel Filter Press Professional-grade stainless steel filter press systems available with hand pump or air pump options for removing sugar sand and impurities from maple syrup to produce a crystal-clear final product.
• Cone and Flat Filter Systems Manual filtering options including cone-shaped and flat filter systems using disposable filter cones or pads to remove sediment from syrup.
• Auto Draw-Off Systems Automated draw-off systems for draining finished syrup from evaporators at precise temperatures, reducing manual monitoring and improving consistency.
• Color Grading Instruments Color grading equipment and instruments for classifying maple syrup according to industry color standards (Golden, Amber, Dark, Very Dark).
• Density Testing Equipment Density and specific gravity testing instruments including hydrometers and the Murphy Compensation Cup for verifying syrup density at any temperature throughout production and bottling.
• Tapping Supplies A complete line of maple tree tapping equipment including precision drill bits for 5/16" and other spout sizes, tubing fittings, sap tubing, spouts, collection buckets and bags, and tools for setting up and maintaining sap collection systems.
• Bulk Sap Tanks Large-capacity sap storage tanks including 375-gallon round bottom bulk sap tanks (4' x 4' x 4') and 275-gallon single-use food-grade sap totes.
• Replacement Parts Genuine Smoky Lake replacement parts including Auto Draw-Off components, filter press accessories and replacement filters, reverse osmosis consumables and membranes, replacement evaporator front pans, grates, and firebox peep windows.

Quantifiable outcome

• Silverplate evaporator is approximately 30% more efficient than identical footprint Corsair
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Feature6 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Dominion & Grimm: Canadian-based maple equipment manufacturer and distributor with operations across North America. Sells evaporators, pans, taps, RO systems, and complete sugaring installations, directly competing with Smoky Lake in the commercial and mid-scale segments.
• Sugar Bush Supplies Co. Northeast US maple sugaring supply retailer and equipment reseller serving hobbyist and small commercial producers. Smaller-scale, distribution-led peer operating in the same sap collection and syrup production category as Smoky Lake.
• Leader Evaporator Company: The largest US-based manufacturer of maple syrup production equipment, operating from Swanton, Vermont since 1889. Offers a comprehensive catalog of evaporators, arches, pans, reverse osmosis systems, and sugaring supplies that directly overlaps with Smoky Lake's product portfolio across hobbyist and commercial segments.
• CDL Maple Equipment (CDL USA): Major Canadian-based maple equipment manufacturer with significant US presence through CDL USA. Direct competitor across evaporators, reverse osmosis systems, tubing, tapping supplies, and complete sugaring installations, serving hobbyist through commercial producers.
• Les Équipements Lapierre: Canadian maple equipment manufacturer specializing in evaporators, RO systems, and commercial-grade sap processing equipment. Long-established competitor with a directly overlapping commercial-evaporator portfolio.

Others

• Butternut Mountain Farm: Major US maple syrup producer and packager with industrial-scale sugaring operations. Relevant as a significant downstream player that purchases comparable equipment and shapes category demand in the maple ecosystem.
• Bascom Maple Farms: One of North America's largest maple syrup producers and a major industry ecosystem participant. Comparable as a key downstream customer for sugaring equipment and a benchmark operator in the broader maple value chain.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/smokylakemaple
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smoky-lake-maple-products-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Smoky Lake Maple Products