What Kusel Equipment does

Kusel Equipment Co. is a privately held, family-owned stainless steel manufacturer headquartered in Watertown, Wisconsin, operating continuously since 1849 (175+ years) under Smith family ownership since 1977, with current CEO & President Dave Smith. The company runs two product lines out of a single Watertown facility: (1) sanitary stainless-steel drainage products including KE Floor Drains (2M+ variations), trench drains, cleanouts, P-traps, floor sinks, hub drains, and floor troughs built to FDA/NSF/3-A standards with continuous multi-sided welding to eliminate bacterial harborage points; and (2) cheese-making equipment including CK Vats, TH Vats, Enclosed Finishing Vats, Curd Mills, Weigher-Stompers, Finishing Tables, SR and 2M4-17N Agitators, and the patented Drainer Washer Cooler / Drainer/Creamer cottage cheese system. Core technology is TIG and MIG stainless steel welding executed by welders averaging 20 years of experience, with custom fabrication supported by a December 2023 Drain Product Configurator that produces CAD and SolidWorks specification sheets.

The business makes money primarily through one-time hardware sales of custom-manufactured capital equipment, with separately billed installation, training, and on-site adjustment services performed by the company at prevailing rates. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, published price lists are subject to change, contract prices are firm for up to six months from order date, and all shipments are FOB origin (domestic) or EXW (international) in U.S. Dollars. Go-to-market combines a direct Watertown-based sales team with a network of regional manufacturer representative firms across the U.S. and Canada (Aspen Marketing, K Ross Company, Kingsway Marketing, Spec 22, Maco Southeast, Smillie McAdams Summerline, BBN Sales), plus an online product configurator targeting engineers and architects; sales teams engage from project planning through job-site delivery. Customers span food processing facilities, breweries, pharmaceutical manufacturers, cheese and cottage cheese makers, wineries/distilleries, bakeries, bottling plants, commercial kitchens, and pet food manufacturers, with persona-level reach into engineers, architects, general contractors, and mechanical/plumbing contractors. The company holds no external funding, has no disclosed institutional investors, and has 11-50 employees.

Name

Kusel Equipment

Legal name

Kusel Equipment Co.

Website

https://kuselequipment.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1849

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kusel Equipment Co. is a privately held, family-owned stainless steel manufacturer in Watertown, Wisconsin, producing sanitary drainage products and cheese-making equipment for food processing, beverage, pharmaceutical, and dairy customers across North America.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Watertown

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Stainless Steel Drainage Products: One-time purchase of manufactured stainless steel drain products including floor drains, trench drains, cleanouts, P-traps, floor sinks, and floor troughs. Products available in standard configurations and custom variations.
2. Cheese Making Equipment: One-time purchase of cheese making equipment including vats, finishing tables, curd handling equipment, agitators, and complete cottage cheese systems. Equipment built to customer specifications.
3. Professional Services: Installation, training, and on-site adjustment services performed by the company at prevailing rates. Installation, training, and final on-site adjustment not included in product prices and billed separately.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Kusel Equipment Co. is a diversified manufacturer that designs, fabricates, and sells stainless-steel sanitary drainage products (KE Floor Drains, Trench Drains, Cleanouts, P-Traps, Floor Sinks, Hub Drains, and Floor Troughs) and commercial cheese-making equipment (vats, finishing tables, curd mills, weigher-stompers, agitators, and patented cottage cheese systems). All products are manufactured in Watertown, Wisconsin using TIG and MIG welding with continuous, multi-sided welds to meet 3-A, NSF, USDA, and FDA sanitary standards for food processing, beverage, pharmaceutical, and dairy customers.

Product overview

Kusel Equipment Co. is a diversified manufacturer specializing in stainless-steel products for two primary markets: sanitary drainage systems and cheese-making equipment. The drainage product line includes KE Floor Drains (available in standard, cone bottom, side outlet, and security variants), Stainless Steel Trench Drains, Cleanouts, P-Traps, Floor Sinks, Hub Drains, and Floor Troughs—all constructed from 304 or 316L stainless steel. The cheese-making equipment portfolio comprises TH Vats and CK Vats (steam or hot water heated), Enclosed Finishing Vats, Curd Mills, Weigher-Stompers, and Finishing Tables, along with cottage cheese systems including LI Vats, Elips-E-Stir Agitators, Drainer Washer Coolers, and Drainer/Creamers. The company also offers agitators (SR Vat Agitator, 2M4-17N Agitator), a Drain Product Configurator digital tool, and custom fabrication services for both product lines. All products are manufactured in Watertown, Wisconsin since 1849.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• KE Floor Drains Stainless-steel floor drains available in standard, cone bottom, side outlet, and security configurations. Built for heavy-traffic sanitary environments with customizable outlet sizes and top configurations; available in over 2,000,000 variations.
• Stainless Steel Trench Drains Linear drainage systems constructed of 12-gauge 304 or 316L stainless-steel body with leveling tabs, designed for continuous water removal in high-flow industrial and food/beverage environments.
• Stainless Steel Cleanouts Floor cleanouts providing access to drain lines, manufactured in 304 stainless steel with NSF certification and Extra Heavy Duty load classification per ASME A112.36.2M.
• Stainless Steel P-Traps Sanitary drainage connectors designed for consistent material performance, corrosion resistance, and sanitation when connecting drain outlets to mainlines.
• Stainless Steel Floor Sinks (Basket) High-capacity drainage fixtures for large flow areas, constructed of 12-gauge 304 or 316L stainless-steel with bead-blasted welds for food processing and commercial kitchen applications.
• Stainless Steel Hub Drains Drainage fixtures designed for pipes and hoses requiring an atmosphere break, available in various sizes and options for industrial applications.
• Stainless Steel Floor Troughs Linear drainage solutions for large areas without baskets, providing high-quality performance and reliability in high-flow industrial environments.
• TH Vats Cheese making vats known for producing softer cheeses like Munster and Mozzarella, featuring uniform heating via pumped hot water with capacities from 700 to 3,023 gallons.
• CK Vats Cheese making vats with steam heating, designed for open cheese production with integration capability for the SR Vat Agitator.
• Enclosed Finishing Vat (EFV) High-volume stirred-curd production equipment that replaces traditional open finishing tables, featuring automatic CIP cleaning, labor savings, and whey drainage through side screens.
• Curd Mill Industrial curd milling equipment available in 7MF (5,500 lbs/hr) and 11MF (11,000 lbs/hr) models with quick-change cutting carriage for three cutting sizes.
• Weigher-Stomper Automated filling equipment for 40 lb and 20 lb Wilson moulds that fills and pre-presses curd, operating at 3-5 moulds per minute.
• Finishing Tables Heavy gauge stainless-steel finishing tables available in lengths from 15 to 60 ft, widths from 58 to 72 in., and depths of 14, 16 or 18 inches for curd matting and whey drainage.
• Drainer Washer Cooler (DWC) Patented cottage cheese processing equipment that continuously washes and cools curd from cooking temperature while recovering 94%+ of whey; can receive 100 gallons of hot curd and whey per minute.
• Drainer/Creamer (DCR) All stainless-steel enclosed unit for draining and creaming cottage cheese, featuring load cells for accurate cream dressing measurement; pairs with the DWC.
• SR Vat Agitator Next-generation vat agitator with two-motor design featuring PLC touch screen controlled VFDs, designed for stirring, cutting and forking with optimized sanitary design (built to 3-A standards). Launched August 2020.
• 2M4-17N Agitator Re-engineered agitator (launched March 2021) with two-motor design (3-HP traversing, 4-HP stirring), stainless-steel chain drive, designed to pair with Kusel Finishing Tables and built to 3-A standards.
• LI Cottage Cheese Vats Durable cottage cheese vat with three heating options (Hot/Cold Water Jacket, Shell-in-Tube, Culinary Steam Infuser) designed to integrate with the Elips-E-Stir Agitator.
• Elips-E-Stir Agitator Cottage cheese agitator featuring elliptical agitation for gentle lifting action and better curd definition, reducing or eliminating burn-on; pairs with the LI Cottage Cheese Vat.
• Drain Product Configurator Online configuration tool for designing custom drainage products with specification sheets, 2D CAD drawings, SolidWorks renderings, and project saving capabilities. New version launched December 2023.
• Custom Drainage Solutions Custom fabrication services for stainless steel drainage products to meet specific project requirements, leveraging Kusel's deep customization capacity.
• Custom Cheese-Making Solutions Custom fabrication services for cheese-making equipment to meet exact customer specifications.
• Installation, Training, and On-Site Adjustment Services Professional services performed by Kusel at prevailing rates for installation, training, and final on-site adjustment of cheese-making and drainage equipment; billed separately from product prices.

Quantifiable outcome

• 94%+ whey recovery in Drainer Washer Cooler
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments10 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

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Aspen MarketingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 15 July 2022Aspen Marketing represents Kusel Equipment's product line in the Rocky Mountain region covering Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, New Mexico, and El Paso, TX. This partnership extends Kusel's sales reach in the western United States.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Tetra Pak: Tetra Pak is a global leader in food and dairy processing equipment including cheese-making systems and processing lines, providing a broader incumbent benchmark for Kusel's commercial cheese-making equipment customers.
• GEA Group: GEA is a major global supplier of food processing and dairy technology including cheese vats, separators, and complete plant solutions, serving as a broad incumbent comparable in scope to Kusel's cheese-making equipment line.
• Alfa Laval: Alfa Laval is a global leader in food processing and dairy equipment including heat exchangers, separators, and processing lines, providing a broader incumbent comparison for Kusel's cheese-making and dairy processing equipment.
• Watts Water Technologies: Watts is a large, publicly traded manufacturer of plumbing, drainage, and water treatment products, serving as a broader incumbent in the commercial drainage market where Kusel competes in stainless steel sanitary drains.

Direct peers

• Feldmeier Equipment: Feldmeier is a stainless steel fabricator specializing in sanitary process equipment, tanks, and custom fabrication for food, dairy, and pharmaceutical customers; it overlaps directly with Kusel's stainless steel custom fabrication and food-grade processing equipment business.
• Zurn Industries: Zurn offers commercial drainage, water systems, and plumbing products including stainless steel floor drains and trench drains, providing overlapping product categories to similar food-processing, brewery, and institutional customers.
• Josam Company: Josam produces cast iron and stainless drainage products including floor drains, trench drains, and cleanouts for commercial plumbing applications, competing head-to-head with Kusel's KE floor drain and trench drain offerings in specification-driven projects.
• MIFAB, Inc. MIFAB manufactures a broad line of commercial drainage products including stainless steel floor drains, cleanouts, and trench drains, directly overlapping with Kusel's sanitary stainless drainage catalog for engineers and mechanical contractors.
• Jay R. Smith Mfg. Co. Jay R. Smith manufactures commercial drainage products including floor drains, cleanouts, and roof drains, and is a long-standing competitor to Kusel's stainless steel sanitary drain line for commercial and institutional construction.
• Stoelting, LLC: Stoelting manufactures cheese-making and dairy processing equipment (vats, finishing tables, agitators) serving the same commercial cheese and dairy customers as Kusel's cheese-making equipment line, making it a directly comparable peer in the U.S. dairy machinery market.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kusel-equipment-co-

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Kusel Equipment