CITERNEO

What CITERNEO does

CITERNEO (legal entity Groupe CITERNEO) is a French family-owned manufacturer founded in 2007 in Montrichard and now headquartered in Amboise, Centre-Val-de-Loire, where it operates a 24,000 m² production facility with an integrated laboratory and design office. The company designs, manufactures and sells self-supporting flexible tanks (citernes souples) ranging from 1 m³ to 2,500 m³, using its proprietary EXOM+ PVC-coated high-tenacity polyester fabric assembled by high-frequency welding. Its product portfolio covers fire reserves (DECI/QB09 compliant), general water storage, rainwater harvesting, agricultural and industrial effluents, liquid fertilizers, drinking water (ACS/DWA certified), hydrocarbons, and post-fire extinguishing water recovery (D9A/ICPE compliance).

CITERNEO serves four primary verticals — municipalities and local government, industrial sites, construction/BTP, and agriculture — alongside a secondary consumer segment served through the La Citerne Verte e-commerce brand. The company generates revenue primarily through one-time unit sales of flexible tanks (entry pricing €552–€1,101 ex-VAT for standard 5–25 m³ units, with quote-based project pricing up to 2,500 m³) supplemented by accessories, replacement parts, and engineering/regulatory-compliance professional services. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise field sales for large projects, an inside-sales/contact-form channel for standard configurations, factory-direct e-commerce for individuals, and a certified distributor/installer network covering 120+ countries.

The business is recognized as the European and self-described global leader in flexible-tank manufacturing, holding ISO 9001, QB09 (CSTB), Origine France Garantie, ACS, and DWA certifications. Its claimed advantages include 20+ year product lifespan, 40–60% cost savings versus concrete, 90 kg CO₂ per m³ vs. 700 kg for concrete, and rapid installation (30 minutes for standard units). Record volume of 6,000 tanks was achieved in 2023 and a first 2,500 m³ self-supporting tank was delivered to Croatia in January 2024.

Name

CITERNEO

Legal name

Groupe CITERNEO

Website

https://citerneo.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CITERNEO is a French family-owned manufacturer of self-supporting flexible tanks (1 m³ to 2,500 m³) using proprietary EXOM+ PVC-coated fabric, serving municipalities, industrial sites, agriculture, construction, and individual consumers across 120+ countries through direct sales, e-commerce, and an international distributor network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Flexible Tank Manufacturing

NAICS

Boiler, Tank, and Shipping Container Manufacturing (3324)

SIC

Miscellaneous Plastics Products (3080)

akta.pro primary industry

Polymer Compounds & Masterbatches (Compounding, Color/Fill/Additive Concentrates) (IMAEANAJ)

Keywords

• Flexible tank manufacturing
• Rainwater harvesting systems
• Fire defense reserves
• Liquid fertilizer storage
• Industrial effluent containment

Headquarters

HQ city

Amboise

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Flexible Tank Sales: CITERNEO generates revenue primarily through one-time sales of flexible tanks (citernes souples) manufactured at their Amboise facility. Products range from small 5 m³ units to massive 2,500 m³ custom installations. Pricing is direct-from-factory with indicative public prices for standard models and quote-based pricing for custom configurations. The company also generates revenue from accessories, replacement parts, and after-sales service.
2. Professional Services: CITERNEO provides accompanying services including custom engineering design, installation planning and validation, regulatory compliance support (DECI, ICPE, environmental standards), and after-sales support through dedicated service portals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

CITERNEO designs, manufactures, and sells flexible tanks (citernes souples) made from its proprietary EXOM+ technical fabric, with capacities from 1 m³ to 2,500 m³, for fire defense reserves, rainwater harvesting, drinking water, hydrocarbons, liquid fertilizer, effluent containment, and extinguishing-water recovery applications. Products are sold factory-direct to municipalities, industrial sites, agricultural operations, and construction firms through an in-house sales force, plus to individual consumers via the La Citerne Verte e-commerce brand, with delivery across more than 120 countries.

Product overview

CITERNEO is a French manufacturer offering flexible tanks (citernes souples) as a unified product line, with volumes ranging from 1 m³ to 2,500 m³. The core portfolio includes specialized tanks for fire reserves (DECI/QB09 certified), general water storage, rainwater recovery, effluent management, liquid fertilizer, drinking water, hydrocarbons, and extinguishing water recovery. The product line is unified by the proprietary EXOM+ technical fabric technology manufactured in their Amboise facility. CITERNEO operates three sub-brands: La Citerne Verte (retail rainwater solutions for homeowners, awarded at the Élysée in 2024), Reserve-Incendie.fr (fire protection expertise), and Citerneo Agriculture (farm-specific liquid storage). All products are manufactured in France with ISO 9001 quality management and Origine France Garantie certification.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• La Citerne Verte: E-commerce brand dedicated to rainwater recovery for private individuals, offering flexible tanks from 3 m³ to 50 m³. Recognized with the Grande Exposition du Fabriqué en France at the Élysée in 2024.
• Reserve-incendie.fr
• Citerneo Agriculture

Products and services

• Réserve Incendie (Flexible Fire-Reserve Tank) Self-supporting flexible tank engineered for DECI-compliant fire-water reserves, with capacities up to 2,500 m³. Manufactured with EXOM+ fabric and QB09-certified for French fire-defense compliance. Sold primarily to municipalities, industrial sites, and fire-defense authorities as a 60% lower-cost alternative to concrete basins.
• Citerne Eau (Water Storage Tank) Flexible tank for general water storage in industrial, agricultural, and emergency-response contexts, built with EXOM+ fabric and available across CITERNEO's full 1 m³ to multi-thousand m³ volume range. Sold factory-direct to B2B customers and via the professional services team for custom sizing.
• Citerne Eau de Pluie (Rainwater Harvesting Tank) Flexible rainwater harvesting tank sold both factory-direct to B2B buyers and to individual consumers through the dedicated La Citerne Verte e-commerce brand. Positioned for residential self-installation kits and for larger agricultural and commercial rainwater capture projects.
• Citerne Effluents (Effluent Storage Tank) Flexible retention tank for industrial and agricultural effluents, sold to ICPE-regulated industrial sites and farming operations as a faster-to-install, lower-cost alternative to rigid retention basins. Constructed with EXOM+ fabric for chemical and abrasion resistance.
• Citerne Engrais Liquide (Liquid Fertilizer Tank) Flexible tank dedicated to liquid-fertilizer storage for agricultural operators. Distributed through the Citerneo Agriculture sub-brand and CITERNEO's direct sales force to farming customers requiring agro-environmental compliance.
• Citerne Eau Potable (Drinking Water Tank) Flexible tank certified for potable water storage (ACS-certified), addressing safe drinking-water storage for remote sites, humanitarian deployments, communities without mains water, and emergency response.
• Citerne Hydrocarbures (Hydrocarbon Storage Tank) Flexible tank designed for hydrocarbon containment on industrial sites, used to satisfy ICPE retention obligations and as a faster-to-deploy alternative to rigid bunding. Sold factory-direct to industrial buyers.
• Citerne Récupération Eaux d'Extinction (Extinguishing Water Recovery Tank) Flexible retention tank for recovering contaminated water used in firefighting operations, deployed by industrial sites to comply with environmental regulations on extinguishing-water discharge. Positions CITERNEO in the post-incident industrial water-management segment.

Quantifiable outcome

• 60% cost savings compared to concrete tank installations
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature10 records

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Musthane: French designer and manufacturer of flexible/inflatable technical structures for fluid storage and containment. The closest direct competitor to CITERNEO in France, with overlapping technology (high-frequency welded coated textiles) and customer segments including defence and industry.
• Copol International: Norwegian-based manufacturer of flexible PVC and TPU containers and tanks for industrial, military, and environmental applications. Closest Nordic analogue to CITERNEO's flexible-coated-fabric storage tanks, serving similar oil-and-gas, environmental, and emergency-response use cases.
• Copernit: Italian manufacturer of geomembranes, technical textiles, and flexible liquid storage tanks. Closest European peer to CITERNEO in terms of flexible-coated-fabric technology and liquid-containment product line, addressing agriculture, industry, and environmental markets.
• Pioneer Water Tanks: Australia-based manufacturer of water storage tanks for residential, rural, commercial and fire-protection use. Comparable to CITERNEO in use case (rainwater harvesting, fire reserves) and target market (agriculture, municipalities, individuals), but uses corrugated steel rather than flexible textile.

Broad incumbents

• Containment Solutions Inc. Manufacturer of underground and above-ground storage tanks (steel, fiberglass, polyethylene) for fuel, water, and wastewater. Comparable industrial customer base to CITERNEO, particularly on fire-water recovery and ICPE-type environmental compliance, though predominantly rigid construction.
• Roth Global Plastics (Roth Industries): Manufacturer of rotationally-moulded plastic tanks for water, fuel oil, and chemical storage, primarily serving residential and light commercial markets in North America and Europe. Comparable product category (liquid storage tanks) with overlapping residential and rainwater use cases to CITERNEO's La Citerne Verte line.
• Snyder Industries: US manufacturer of rotationally-moulded polyethylene tanks and intermediate bulk containers for chemical, agricultural and industrial markets. Comparable customer base and liquid-storage applications to CITERNEO; competes in the same bids for industrial effluent and chemical storage.
• CST Industries: Global manufacturer of bolted steel storage tanks for water, wastewater, energy and industrial applications. Competes with CITERNEO for large municipal and industrial water-storage bids, especially where rigid construction is preferred over flexible membranes.
• Norwesco: North America's largest manufacturer of polyethylene tanks for water, septic, agricultural and industrial applications. Overlaps with CITERNEO on water storage, agriculture and industrial liquid containment; much broader product portfolio and scale but uses rigid moulded plastic instead of flexible textile.

Regional players

• Bushman Tanks: Australian polyethylene tank manufacturer serving rural, residential and light-commercial water storage. Comparable product use case (rainwater, fire reserve) to CITERNEO but primarily serves the Australian/NZ market, similar to how CITERNEO sells via local partners like GetWet Solutions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@citerneo/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/people/CITERNEO/100063442700295
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/citerneo
• TikToktiktok.com/@citerneo

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 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 CITERNEO