What Gemwater does

Gemwater s.r.l. is an Italian engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor headquartered in Milan that designs and builds water treatment, wastewater treatment, and oil processing plants for industrial clients. Founded in 2006 by former Ionics Italba engineers following the predecessor's takeover by a multinational, the company operates with a small specialist headcount (11-50 employees) under the ownership of Aquarion Holding, which joined as a partner in 2012 alongside the acquisition of INTRADE Co., a Milan-based thermal process engineering firm. The firm maintains ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and BS OHSAS 18001 certifications and applies international standards (ISO, IEC, ASME, NORSOK, ANSI, ANFOR, GOST, CNS) across project execution.

The company's technology portfolio spans membrane systems (MF/UF, NF/RO, EDI/EDR, gas transfer membranes), thermal processes (evaporation, crystallization, wet air oxidation), ion exchange with a proprietary ResinBlock countercurrent regeneration system, biological treatment, electrochlorination (THREETUBE SAFETY CTE electrolyser), sludge management, and oil-water separation technologies (coalescer, CPI/API/PPI separators, electrostatic dehydrators/desalters). These are deployed across six primary verticals: industrial water treatment, wastewater treatment, oil & gas, offshore platforms, power stations, and food & pharmaceutical processing, with the firm's own R&D concentrated on a small set of differentiated hardware and process architectures rather than software or AI.

Gemwater generates revenue through professional services contracts (feasibility studies, project engineering, procurement, construction management, commissioning) and equipment supply, with pricing structured per-project and tailored to client specifications. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales, leveraging reference lists and engineering qualifications rather than digital marketing, supported by a multilingual (English, French, Russian) website and downloadable capability brochures. After-sales revenue derives from maintenance contracts, spare parts, and pilot plant validation services. Geographic reach is claimed to be global, though no named customer logos or revenue disclosures are available to confirm the actual footprint or scale of recent activity.

Name

Gemwater

Legal name

Gemwater s.r.l.

Website

http://www.gemwater.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Water and Wastewater Treatment Engineering

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Treatment Plant Construction (Drinking Water) (IMAFAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Desalination Plant EPC, O&M & Performance Optimization (EUANAFAK)

Keywords

• Industrial water treatment
• Wastewater treatment engineering
• Oil processing plants
• Membrane separation systems
• Zero liquid discharge

Headquarters

HQ city

Milan

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Engineering and EPC Services: Engineering, procurement, and construction services for water/wastewater treatment plants and oil processing facilities. Services include feasibility studies, project engineering, procurement, construction management, commissioning, and after-sales support including maintenance contracts and spare parts supply.
2. Equipment and Technology Supply: Supply of proprietary equipment including electrolyzers, membrane systems, evaporators, crystallizers, and filtration units. Includes pilot plant testing services for process validation before full-scale deployment.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Gemwater is an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractor that designs and builds water treatment, wastewater treatment, and oil processing plants for industrial clients. It supplies proprietary process technologies (membrane systems, thermal evaporation and crystallization, electro-chlorination, ion exchange, biological treatment) and complements them with full engineering services from feasibility studies through commissioning and after-sales support.

Product overview

Gemwater is an engineering company (EPC contractor) that designs and constructs water treatment, wastewater treatment, and oil processing plants. The company's product portfolio comprises multiple specialized technology processes organized into treatment categories: membrane technologies (MF/UF, NF/RO, EDI/EDR, Gas Transfer Membrane), thermal processes (Thermal Evaporation, Crystallizers, Wet Air Oxidation), separation systems (Coalescer, Oil Separation, Flotation, Granular Media Filtration), biological treatment, ion exchange resins, sludge management (digestion, composting, thickening, dewatering), and electro-chlorination systems (Brine and Seawater). These technologies are complemented by engineering services including project management, procurement, fabrication, commissioning, and training. The company serves five primary market sectors: Water treatment, Wastewater treatment, Oil and Gas, Power Stations, Offshore, and Food and Pharma.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) Thermal Evaporation and Crystallizer Systems Thermal separation systems for Zero Liquid Discharge applications covering distillation (liquid-gas), evaporation (liquid-liquid), and crystallization (solid-liquid) processes, including single/double effect and recompression evaporators. Used by industrial clients in power, oil and gas, and general industry to minimize liquid discharge and recover solids.
• Sodium Hypochlorite Production Plants On-site sodium hypochlorite generation systems using electrolysis of brine (standard 60 kg/day to 7 ton/day) or seawater. Includes Concentric Tubular Electrode (CTE) ThreeTube Safety design for offshore applications and plate type electrodes for desalination plants. Used for disinfection in potable and industrial water, agriculture, offshore platforms, and chemical industries, with no hazardous gas handling and no certified operator requirements.
• Wet Air Oxidation (WAO) Systems Thermal treatment process for oxidizing dissolved or suspended organic components in wastewater using superheated water at 10-200+ bar pressure. Configured as a perfectly stirred reactor (CSTR type) promoting high degree of liquid mixing and greater than 90% oxidation extent at less severe operating conditions. Used for spent caustic, sludge reduction, and industrial organic waste streams.
• MF/UF Membrane Filtration Systems Membrane separation systems where microfiltration (0.1-10 micrometer pores) removes bacteria and partial viral contamination and ultrafiltration (0.001-0.1 micrometer pores) provides complete virus removal. Used for pre-treatment, MBR applications, and food and dairy industries, typically achieving 85-95% recoveries.
• NF/RO Desalination and Reclamation Systems Membrane desalination systems where reverse osmosis (MWCO under 200 Daltons) removes dissolved molecules and ions for desalination and reclamation, while nanofiltration (MWCO 10 squared to 10 to the fourth Daltons) handles food, potable water, and softening applications. Used for seawater desalination, brackish water treatment, and industrial process water.
• EDI/EDR High-Purity Water Systems Continuous ion removal systems for producing high-purity water combining electrodialysis with ion exchange resins. EDI produces high-quality product water and EDR handles brackish water desalination. Achieves 85-95% recoveries and is used for power station boiler feed water and process industries.
• Coalescer Oil-Water Separation Systems Oil-water separation system utilizing oleophilic ion exchange resin beds for removing oil from oily water, achieving less than 1 ppm oil content with 99.9% removal efficiency. Used by oil and gas operators for produced water polishing and refinery applications.
• Electrostatic Crude Oil Dehydrators and Desalters Electrostatic separation systems for crude oil processing that remove insoluble and emulsified water (dehydrator) and water-soluble salts (desalter) using high-voltage electrical fields. Used by refineries and upstream processing operations to meet pipeline and downstream processing specifications.
• ResinBlock Ion Exchange Demineralization Systems Ion exchange resin processes with advanced countercurrent regeneration using the proprietary ResinBlock system, featuring inert synthetic resin compression beds for uniform flow distribution and efficient demineralization without additional tank internals. Used for industrial water demineralization, power station polishing, and chemical process applications.
• Biological Wastewater Treatment Systems Biological treatment systems including Conventional Activated Sludge, Sequential Batch Reactor (SBR), Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR), and Intermittent Cycle Extended Aeration System (ICEAS). Used to reduce oxygen demand from industrial and municipal wastewater streams.
• Feasibility Studies and Budgeting Services Project evaluation and cost-value analysis services supporting industrial client decision-making on capital investments in water, wastewater, and oil processing plants.
• Project Engineering and Project Management Services Complete project management and control across all design, procurement, construction, and supply stages for industrial water, wastewater, and oil processing plants.
• Pilot Plant Testing and Validation Services Small-scale industrial plant testing and validation services for wastewater treatment processes before full-scale plant design and construction.
• Procurement and Fabrication Services Conscious procurement selecting best products at reasonable cost through sub-vendor relationship management, plus manufacturing services through a network of specialized workshops under all required certifications.
• Supervision, Commissioning and Start-up Services Specialized personnel providing supervision services for pre-commissioning, commissioning, start-up, and installation of water, wastewater, and oil processing plants.
• Maintenance, Training and After-Sales Services Flexible maintenance contracts covering preventive maintenance, consumable supply, and after-sales support, plus operation and maintenance training courses following equipment supply.
• Debottlenecking, Revamping and Modernization Services Plant renewal and capacity increase services that modify existing equipment to remove throughput restrictions at a fraction of the cost of new facilities, applied to existing water, wastewater, and oil processing plants.

Quantifiable outcome

• CPI/API Separators achieve 90% removal efficiency (inlet 5,000-20,000 ppm to outlet 500-2,000 ppm)
• +4 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• INTRADE CocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Acquired assets of INTRADE Co, a Milan-based company specialized in thermal process engineering (evaporation, crystallisation, drying, distillation). This acquisition enabled Gemwater to cover the full range of ZLD engineering solutions.
• Mandressi Group (Italy)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Initial participation in Gemwater formation alongside Christ Water of Switzerland, bringing Italian market expertise and industrial connections.
• Christ Water (Switzerland)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2006Initial participation in Gemwater formation alongside Mandressi Group of Italy, bringing Swiss engineering expertise and international market access.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Veolia Water Technologies: Veolia's water technologies division is the largest industrial water/wastewater EPC player globally and competes with Gemwater across power, oil & gas, and food/pharma treatment projects. As a broad incumbent, it offers overlapping capabilities but as part of a much wider portfolio.
• SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions: SUEZ WT&S designs and builds industrial water and wastewater treatment plants, with strong positions in ZLD, produced water, and boiler feed treatment — directly overlapping Gemwater's service scope. Operates as a broad incumbent with significantly larger engineering and procurement scale.
• Ovivo: Global water-treatment EPC and equipment supplier serving power, oil & gas, and municipal clients. Overlaps with Gemwater on boiler feed, cooling, and produced water projects and operates at broader scope with deeper service-network reach.

Direct peers

• De Nora: Italian-headquartered electrochemical specialist whose on-site hypochlorite generation and electrochlorination systems are the most direct technological competitor to Gemwater's THREETUBE SAFETY CTE and brine/seawater electrolysis platforms. Both serve offshore and municipal disinfection markets.
• WABAG Group: Mumbai-headquartered EPC contractor specializing in municipal and industrial water/wastewater treatment plants, including desalination and ZLD. Comparable project-based delivery model and similar exposure to industrial verticals (oil & gas, power, food).
• Paques: Dutch biological and gas-treatment EPC specialist offering anaerobic/aerobic wastewater and biogas systems. Directly competes with Gemwater's biological treatment and sludge digestion product lines for industrial clients in food/pharma and chemical sectors.

Emerging players

• H2O Innovation: Canadian pure-play water-treatment specialist delivering membrane systems, ZLD, and aftermarket services to industrial and municipal clients. Smaller and more focused than Veolia/SUEZ but with growing ZLD capability, making it a comparable emerging player in overlapping niches.
• Saltworks Technologies: Vancouver-based ZLD and brine-treatment specialist using proprietary thermal and membrane processes. Competes with Gemwater on industrial ZLD scope and shares a similar technology-bundled EPC delivery model at smaller scale.

Regional players

• EnviroChemie: German industrial wastewater treatment EPC contractor serving chemical, pharmaceutical, food, and metal-finishing clients. Comparable in size and European footprint to Gemwater, with similar bespoke-plant delivery and process-technology depth.

Others

• Aquarion Group: Holding/investment company that has backed Gemwater since 2012 and operates adjacent process-water engineering businesses. Ecosystem parent rather than direct competitor, but provides strategic context on Gemwater's positioning within the broader Aquarion portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gemwater

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 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 Gemwater