What Abtech Holdings does

Abtech Industries, a privately held subsidiary of Verano Water Group operating from Scottsdale, Arizona, is a specialty environmental filtration firm that designs, manufactures, and sells the proprietary Smart Sponge® adsorption media platform along with integrated treatment systems for industrial wastewater, stormwater, and municipal water applications. The company's core technology is a polymer-based adsorption media that selectively captures persistent water contaminants — PFAS, heavy metals (lead, arsenic, mercury, chromium, zinc, selenium, copper), phosphorus, hydrocarbons/oils, and bacteria — and permanently binds them into a stable solid with only ~1% moisture retention, materially reducing disposal costs versus granular activated carbon (GAC) and ion-exchange resins. The product line spans five media variants (Smart Sponge Quanta™ for PFAS, HM for heavy metals, Plus for bacteria, AC for dissolved organics, and the base hydrocarbon media) plus engineered systems including Smart Pak®, Smart Vault, Ultra-Urban® Filter, Smart Drum, and a family of skimmers; performance claims include up to 40 GPM/SF flow rates, Empty Bed Contact Time as low as 45 seconds, and sub-1 PSI back pressure. The company claims 30,000+ cumulative global installations, 50+ distribution partners, 20 years of industry expertise, and 100% U.S. manufacturing, with a customer roster that includes the U.S. Navy, Disneyland Resort, Dow Chemical, Devon Energy, Grainger, LA County, City of Long Beach, and NYC MTA. Revenue is generated primarily through direct B2B sales of filtration media and integrated systems to municipal water utilities, industrial facilities, government agencies, and commercial end-users, priced on a custom quote basis with multi-year contracts; the firm operates with 11–50 employees and is led by founder/CEO/President Glenn Rink alongside CFO Lane Castleton and COO Robert Backman.

Name

Abtech Holdings

Legal name

Abtech Industries

Website

https://abtechindustries.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Abtech Industries, a Scottsdale-based subsidiary of Verano Water Group, manufactures the proprietary Smart Sponge® adsorption media platform and integrated filtration systems to remove PFAS, heavy metals, hydrocarbons, bacteria, and phosphorus from industrial, stormwater, and municipal water streams.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Water Filtration Media

NAICS

Soap, Cleaning Compound, and Toilet Preparation Manufacturing (3256)

SIC

Plastics Foam Products (3086)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Treatment Adsorbents (GAC/PAC/Media) (IMAEAIAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water Treatment & Process Specialty Chemicals (IMAEABAN), Water & Wastewater Treatment Plant Equipment (Clarifiers, Aeration, Membrane Systems) (IMAHAEAJ), PFAS & Emerging Contaminants Treatment Services (IMAIAGAJ)

Keywords

• Industrial water filtration
• PFAS removal media
• Stormwater treatment systems
• Heavy metals filtration
• Water filtration media

Headquarters

HQ city

Scottsdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Smart Sponge® Filtration Media Sales: Sale of proprietary filtration media products (Smart Sponge Quanta, HM, Plus, AC variants) for PFAS removal, heavy metals, bacteria, and hydrocarbon filtration. Media sales appear to be the primary revenue stream with products designed for industrial wastewater, stormwater, municipal water, and environmental remediation applications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Abtech Industries manufactures and sells the proprietary Smart Sponge® water filtration media platform, comprising specialized adsorbent variants (Quanta™ for PFAS, HM for heavy metals/phosphorus, Plus for bacteria, AC for hydrocarbons/organics) plus integrated treatment hardware such as Smart Pak® stormwater vaults, Smart Vault, Ultra-Urban® catch basin filters, and floating skimmers. The technology is positioned as a higher-performance, lower-cost alternative to traditional granular activated carbon (GAC) and resin filtration systems for municipal, industrial, mining, oil & gas, and transportation customers.

Product overview

Abtech Industries offers the Smart Sponge® water filtration platform as its core technology, comprising multiple specialized media variants: Smart Sponge Quanta™ (PFAS removal), Smart Sponge® HM (heavy metals/phosphorus), Smart Sponge® (hydrocarbons/oils), Smart Sponge® Plus (bacteria), and Smart Sponge® AC (dissolved organics). This platform powers a portfolio of integrated treatment products including the Passive Skimmer, Bilge Skimmer, Line Skimmer, Smart Drum, Smart Pak®, Smart Vault, and Ultra-Urban® Filter. The system is designed to outperform traditional granular activated carbon (GAC) and resin-based solutions with higher flow rates (up to 40 GPM/SF), lower energy requirements, minimal backwashing, and non-leaching permanent contaminant capture. All products are manufactured in the USA and serve municipal, industrial, mining, oil & gas, transportation, and commercial sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Smart Sponge Quanta™: Next-generation PFAS removal filtration media with 5x higher flow rate and superior efficiency
• Smart Sponge® HM
• Smart Sponge® Plus
• Smart Sponge® AC

Products and services

• Smart Sponge® Quanta™ Next-generation PFAS removal filtration media that delivers 5x higher flow rates (40 GPM/SF) than traditional GAC and resin systems and rapidly reduces PFAS from 4,100 ppt to non-detect levels for municipal, industrial, and environmental remediation buyers.
• Smart Sponge® HM Heavy metals and phosphates removal filtration media that captures dissolved lead, arsenic, zinc, chromium, selenium, and copper, achieving up to 96% heavy metal removal and up to 97.1% phosphorus reduction for municipal and industrial water treatment buyers.
• Smart Sponge® Plus EPA-registered antimicrobial filtration media that destroys bacteria on contact, achieving over 99.98% reduction of E. coli, fecal coliform, and enterococcus for municipal stormwater, wastewater, and industrial discharge compliance applications.
• Smart Sponge® (Hydrocarbon & Oil Removal) Hydrophobic and oleophilic filtration media that selectively absorbs oils and removes up to 99.9% of hydrocarbons including benzene, toluene, and ethylbenzene with permanent non-leaching contaminant binding for industrial and municipal hydrocarbon removal applications.
• Passive Skimmer Floating hydrocarbon-absorbing skimmer using Smart Sponge® technology that permanently encapsulates oil and fuel spills in sumps, separators, and marine fueling stations for industrial and municipal buyers.
• Bilge Skimmer Compact Smart Sponge® skimmer for boat engine compartments that captures and removes oil sheen with a flexible, compact design that prevents oil discharge from bilges for marine operators.
• Line Skimmer Versatile floating hydrocarbon filter that absorbs sheen-level hydrocarbons in ponds, streams, and industrial settings without impeding water flow, with low labor costs suited to low-energy flow environments.
• Smart Drum® Industrial wastewater treatment system for hazardous waste remediation that removes free-phase and emulsified hydrocarbons from process water streams with a corrosion-resistant design supporting parallel or series scalability.
• Smart Pak® Stormwater vault filtration system that filters out hydrocarbons, heavy metals, phosphorus, sediment, and bacteria to help meet NPDES permit requirements, integrating into new or existing vaults with environmentally friendly disposal.
• Smart Vault Comprehensive stormwater treatment solution utilizing Smart Sponge® filtration media to target multiple contaminants including heavy metals and phosphorus, with customizable filtration options and low maintenance for municipal and industrial applications.
• Ultra-Urban® Filter California Water Board-certified stainless-steel catch basin filtration system using SmartPak® technology for long-term stormwater treatment, featuring a 20-year warranty and Full Trash Capture Certified status.

Quantifiable outcome

• 5x higher flow rate (40 GPM/SF vs traditional systems)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Verano Water GroupparentOthersParent company relationship. Abtech Industries is described as 'a Verano Water Group Company', indicating Verano Water Group as the parent organization controlling Abtech Industries.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Pentair:
• Xylem: Xylem is a major global water technology company providing pumps, filtration, and treatment systems for municipal and industrial water. Overlaps with Abtech at the system level (Smart Vault, Smart Pak) rather than media level, and competes for the same municipal/industrial procurement budgets.
• Evoqua Water Technologies (Veolia): Evoqua, now part of Veolia, supplies water and wastewater treatment systems, services, and consumables to municipal and industrial customers. Comparable to Abtech across the water treatment stack — filtration media, treatment systems, and NPDES compliance solutions.

Emerging players

• Cyclopure: Cyclopure commercializes DEXSORB, a novel cyclodextrin-based adsorbent polymer targeting PFAS removal from drinking water. It is a direct emerging competitor to Smart Sponge Quanta™ in the rapidly growing PFAS treatment media market, with venture funding and academic backing.
• Carbonxt: Carbonxt manufactures specialty activated carbon products for industrial air and water applications, including PFAS removal. Comparable to Abtech as a smaller, specialized adsorbent media company targeting similar environmental remediation and water treatment customers.

Direct peers

• Calgon Carbon (Kuraray): Calgon Carbon, now part of Kuraray, is the leading manufacturer of granular activated carbon (GAC) and other adsorbent media for water and air purification. It is the primary incumbent whose technology Smart Sponge® directly competes with in PFAS, heavy metals, and hydrocarbon removal applications.
• Cabot Corporation: Cabot Corporation is a major specialty chemicals and performance materials producer with a significant activated carbon business for water treatment. Competes with Abtech in industrial and municipal water filtration media, particularly for contaminant removal applications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/abtechindustries
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/abtech-industries-inc-

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

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 Abtech Holdings