Solberg Knowles Associates

What Solberg Knowles Associates does

Solberg Knowles Associates is a privately held manufacturer representative firm specializing in water and wastewater treatment equipment, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Zeeland, Michigan. The company represents more than 40 equipment manufacturers and distributes their products through a consultative direct sales team to municipal and industrial end users across Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. Its product portfolio is organized into seven equipment categories — wastewater, water, chemical feed, controls, instrumentation, pumps, and valves/actuators — supplemented by a Service & Support offering that includes 24/7 emergency response, installation, preventative maintenance, and calibration.

The firm's business model is commission-based manufacturer representation: Solberg Knowles earns revenue by acting as the exclusive or primary sales channel for its represented manufacturers within its assigned territory, and it also generates service revenue from installation and maintenance work on the equipment it sells. Pricing is quote-based and negotiated directly with municipal and industrial buyers; no standardized pricing is publicly disclosed. Customer segments are split between primary municipal water/wastewater treatment and secondary industrial water/wastewater treatment.

The company operates as a subsidiary of Gasvoda Group, a multi-entity manufacturer representative organization whose portfolio also includes William Reid LTD (serving Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula) and Gasvoda & Associates (serving Illinois and Indiana). This affiliation gives Solberg Knowles a Lake Michigan shoreline distribution platform while preserving its local market focus. The firm has 11–50 employees and no publicly disclosed revenue, funding history, or M&A activity beyond the Gasvoda Group affiliation.

Name

Solberg Knowles Associates

Legal name

Solberg Knowles & Associates

Website

https://solbergknowles.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Solberg Knowles Associates is a Michigan-based manufacturer representative firm representing 40+ water and wastewater treatment equipment makers, selling to municipal and industrial end users in Michigan and the Upper Peninsula under the Gasvoda Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Zeeland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Manufacturer Representative Commission: As a manufacturer representative firm, Solberg Knowles earns commissions by representing water and wastewater treatment equipment manufacturers and facilitating sales to engineers and end users. They also provide installation services, preventative maintenance, and calibration services for equipment they sell.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Solberg Knowles Associates is a manufacturer representative firm that distributes and supports water and wastewater treatment equipment from 40+ equipment manufacturers to municipal and industrial customers across Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. The company sells solutions spanning the complete treatment train (headworks, primary, secondary, tertiary treatment, and solids handling) and provides installation, preventative maintenance, calibration, and 24/7 emergency service for the equipment it represents.

Product overview

Solberg Knowles Associates is a manufacturer representative company for water and wastewater treatment solutions, representing over 40 equipment manufacturers. The company offers a comprehensive portfolio organized into seven equipment categories: Wastewater Equipment, Water Equipment, Chemical Feed Equipment, Controls Equipment, Instrumentation Equipment, Pump Equipment, and Valves & Actuators Equipment. They also provide Service & Support including 24/7 emergency service, installation, and preventative maintenance. The products portfolio includes blowers and compressors (Inovair), geomembrane covers (IEC), flotation systems (Heron Innovators SAF), mixing equipment (UET Mixers), flow control valves (Ross Valve), filter systems (Orthos Liquid Systems), peristaltic pumps (Stenner Pumps), packaged pump stations (Smith & Loveless), progressive cavity pumps (Roto Pumps), gas detection equipment (RKI Instruments), SCADA systems (SCADATA, Primex Controls), instrumentation (Chemtrac, Lovibond), and chemical feed systems (Accu-Tab, SAF-T-FLO, Force Flow). This is a distribution/representation model rather than a single unified product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wastewater Process Equipment Complete range of wastewater process equipment from represented manufacturers for municipal and industrial applications, covering headworks, lift stations, primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment, and solids handling.
• Water Treatment Process Equipment Water treatment process equipment including advanced treatment/PFAS, aeration, booster pumps, chemical feed, filtration, disinfection, and distribution monitoring for municipal and industrial drinking water systems.
• Chemical Feed Equipment Chemical dosing and feeding systems including chlorination systems, scales, and chemical injection quills for water and wastewater treatment disinfection and conditioning.
• Controls and SCADA Equipment SCADA systems, telemetry, custom control panels, and automation solutions for water and wastewater facility management, including pre-engineered panel programs from represented manufacturers.
• Instrumentation Equipment Monitoring and measurement instruments including gas detectors, turbidimeters, chlorine analyzers, colorimeters, and flow measurement devices for water and wastewater process monitoring.
• Pump Equipment Various pump types including progressive cavity pumps, grinder pumps, chopper pumps, peristaltic metering pumps, and packaged pump stations from represented manufacturers for wastewater applications.
• Valves and Actuators Equipment Flow control valves including slide gates, weir gates, and actuators in aluminum or stainless steel construction for water and wastewater treatment plants.
• Equipment Installation, Maintenance, and 24/7 Emergency Service Comprehensive after-sales service for the equipment Solberg Knowles represents, including installation, preventative maintenance, calibration, and 24/7 emergency response with confined-space certified technicians.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Gasvoda GroupcoreOthersSolberg Knowles is a subsidiary of Gasvoda Group, a manufacturer representative organization serving the Lake Michigan shoreline region. Gasvoda Group also includes William Reid LTD. (serving Wisconsin & UP) and Gasvoda & Associates, Inc. (serving Illinois & Indiana).
• William Reid LTD.minorOthersPart of Gasvoda Group, William Reid LTD. serves Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula region. Sister company to Solberg Knowles under the Gasvoda Group umbrella.
• Gasvoda & Associates, Inc.minorOthersPart of Gasvoda Group, Gasvoda & Associates serves Illinois and Indiana. Sister company to Solberg Knowles under the Gasvoda Group umbrella.
• Smith & LovelesscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSmith & Loveless is a key manufacturer represented by Solberg Knowles, providing pre-engineered water and wastewater treatment and pumping systems for municipalities, developments, industry, governmental, and military facilities.
• Roto PumpscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRoto Pumps North America Inc. is a 100% subsidiary of Roto Pumps Ltd, a leading industrial pump manufacturer. Solberg Knowles represents their Progressive Cavity Pumps & Twin Screw Pumps (ROTO ULTRA brand) in Michigan and UP.
• Stenner PumpscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorStenner Pump Company has been manufacturing peristaltic pumps since 1957. Solberg Knowles represents their complete line of peristaltic metering pumps including Classic, S, and S420 series.
• Crane/Barnes/DemingcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCrane Pumps & Systems creates innovative pump solutions for wastewater transport. Solberg Knowles represents their Barnes SH pumps, SITHE chopper pumps, and RAZOR grinder pumps.
• Heron InnovatorscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHeron Innovators manufactures Suspended Air® Flotation (SAF®) water treatment systems. SAF® is flotation without dissolved air® and performs reliably regardless of changing conditions.
• RKI InstrumentscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRKI Instruments is an innovative gas detection company and exclusive North American supplier of Riken products. They manufacture portable and fixed gas monitors for water and wastewater applications.
• Primex ControlscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimex Controls is a recognized leader in complete control solutions for water applications in North America, offering products and services for SCADA systems, pump controllers, and custom control panels.
• HowdencoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHowden works in partnership with customers to deliver sustainable and customized solutions. They build global network of experts in more than 100 countries for water and wastewater treatment applications.
• InovaircoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorInovair is the industrial products division of Accessible Technologies, Inc. They are the worldwide leader for high performance compressors for aircraft ground support and a leader in compact high efficiency blower packages for wastewater treatment.
• Precision SystemsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrecision Systems is a privately owned manufacturing company with over 30 years of experience in packaged mechanical/electrical systems, primarily serving the municipal water and wastewater industry with standby power generator systems.
• LovibondcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLovibond® has specialized in manufacturing analytical products for water quality and color for over 130 years, offering testing solutions in over 160 countries including turbidimeters and colorimeters.
• ScadatacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorScadata provides SCADA systems that give customers full control and flexibility over their systems without being locked out. Partner with National Instruments and LabView systems engineering software.
• Waco ProductsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWACO Products serves clients across the globe with expertise in design and fabrication of aluminum structures for environmental products including slide gates, ladders, debris baskets for pump stations and treatment plants.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Smith & Loveless Inc. Key Solberg Knowles principal manufacturing pre-engineered wastewater pump stations and treatment systems. While represented (not directly competing) in Michigan, Smith & Loveless' direct rep or in-house sales coverage in other states overlaps the same buyer base and could be a competitor if it restructured its channel model.
• Aqua-Aerobic Systems: US manufacturer of water and wastewater treatment equipment including aeration, filtration, and biological processes. Comparable to Solberg Knowles' represented principals in secondary and tertiary treatment categories, and competes for similar municipal project specifications.
• WesTech Engineering: Engineered water and wastewater treatment process equipment manufacturer serving municipal and industrial markets. Comparable in product category to Solberg Knowles' represented portfolio and competes for similar customer specifications.
• Parkson Corporation: Water and wastewater treatment equipment manufacturer with a North American installed base. Represented by Solberg Knowles in Michigan, but competes with its own direct sales force and other reps elsewhere for municipal and industrial treatment system bids.

Regional players

• Pollard Water: Distributor and rep of water, sewer, and stormwater products serving utility contractors and municipalities, primarily in the eastern US. Comparable B2B distribution/rep model and overlapping municipal customer base, though different geographic footprint than Solberg Knowles.

Broad incumbents

• Veolia Water Technologies: Global provider of water and wastewater treatment solutions, including equipment and services for municipal and industrial customers. Competes for the same municipal RFPs and engineering specifications across treatment train categories.
• Veralto Corporation: Public water quality and environmental testing parent of Hach and other water-focused brands. Operates broadly across water analytics, treatment, and compliance—overlapping with Solberg Knowles' instrumentation and process monitoring categories at the customer-spend level.
• Xylem Inc. Global water technology major serving municipal and industrial water/wastewater with pumps, treatment equipment, metering, and services. While Xylem sells direct rather than through reps, it competes for the same municipal capital budgets and engineering specifications that Solberg Knowles' principals serve.

Direct peers

• Gasvoda & Associates, Inc. Sister company under the Gasvoda Group umbrella, serving Illinois and Indiana with water and wastewater treatment equipment representation. Direct peer given identical rep-firm business model and overlapping principal relationships across the Lake Michigan region.
• William Reid LTD. Sister company under Gasvoda Group, serving Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula as a water/wastewater treatment equipment rep. Direct peer by structure, business model, and parent affiliation, with overlapping customer and principal relationships.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Solberg Knowles Associates