What culligan water does

Culligan Water is a privately held water treatment company operating as Culligan International Company, founded in 1936 and headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois. The company sells and services water softening, reverse osmosis, whole-house filtration, and specialized contaminant-reduction systems (including PFAS, arsenic, iron, sulfur, and nitrate variants) under the Aquasential product family, alongside bottled water and salt delivery, in-home water testing, and the Platinum Care extended service plan. Its technology stack centers on proprietary filtration media (Iron-Cleer, Sulfur-Cleer, Sulfur-OX3, Iron-OX5), NSF- and IAPMO-certified systems, and the WiFi-enabled Culligan Connect app for remote monitoring and proactive service alerts. Culligan also operates the Culligan Quench subsidiary (headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania), which provides bottleless water coolers, ice machines, sparkling water dispensers, and coffee machines to commercial customers across North America.

Culligan's go-to-market is hybrid: a 900+ independent dealer franchise network across 90+ countries drives residential sales through free in-home water testing, consultative selling, and local installation/service; meanwhile, Culligan Quench runs a dedicated enterprise field-sales motion with 500+ service technicians supporting 140,000+ businesses (including 75% of the Fortune 500). Revenue mechanics combine one-time equipment sales (purchase or financed), recurring rental/subscription agreements for workplace coolers and residential systems, scheduled water and salt delivery, and ongoing service contracts. The 2024 Waterlogic acquisition by Culligan Quench expanded the commercial bottleless cooler portfolio and consolidated workplace hydration market share.

The customer base spans residential homeowners (addressing hard water, PFAS, well water issues), commercial workplaces (offices, hospitality, healthcare, manufacturing), and industrial/light-manufacturing operations. Distribution includes direct website sales routed to local dealers, franchise recruitment, and a national accounts program for multi-location enterprises. Total cumulative customer reach is cited at 50M to 170M worldwide depending on the source, with 35 billion liters filtered annually through Culligan solutions and a 4.8 customer rating. The company is privately held with no disclosed PE/VC ownership in the input materials and reports no publicly disclosed revenue.

Name

culligan water

Legal name

Culligan International Company

Website

https://emeraldcoastculligan.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1936

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Culligan Water is a privately held, 90-year-old water treatment company that sells and services water softeners, filtration systems, and bottleless coolers through 900+ dealers globally, serving residential homeowners and 140,000+ commercial customers including 75% of the Fortune 500.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Treatment Services

NAICS

Bottled Water Manufacturing (312112), Soft Drink Manufacturing (312111)

SIC

Beverages (2080), Bottled & Canned Soft Drinks & Carbonated Waters (2086)

akta.pro primary industry

Point-of-Use (POU) Faucet-Mount Water Filters (CRAJAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Potable Water Treatment & Conditioning (Filtration, Disinfection, Corrosion Control) (EUANAAAC), Flavored/Enhanced Bottled Water Production (Essenced, Vitamin, Electrolyte) (AFAFACAF)

Keywords

• Water treatment services
• Water filtration systems
• Water softener solutions
• Bottleless water coolers
• Reverse osmosis filtration

Headquarters

HQ city

Rosemont

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Water Treatment Equipment Sales: Sale of water softeners, reverse osmosis systems, whole-house filtration systems, and PFAS filtration units. Products available for purchase with industry-leading warranties and 30-day satisfaction guarantee.
2. Equipment Rental/Subscription: Flexible payment options allowing customers to rent, finance, or purchase water treatment systems. Subscriptions include automatically renewing plans with regular maintenance and service.
3. Water and Salt Delivery: Regular delivery of 5-gallon water jugs and water softener salt to customer homes and businesses. Requires minimum three bottles for delivery.
4. Service and Maintenance: Ongoing service, repairs, water testing, and maintenance provided by local Culligan dealers. Includes professional installation by trained technicians.
5. Workplace Water Solutions (Culligan Quench): Fixed monthly fee for bottleless water cooler rental including service, maintenance, and filter replacements. Installation quoted separately. Serves 140,000+ businesses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Culligan provides water treatment, filtration, and softening equipment along with bottled water delivery, in-home water testing, professional installation, and ongoing maintenance services for residential customers, and supplies bottleless water coolers, ice machines, sparkling water dispensers, and coffee machines to commercial customers through its Culligan Quench division. The company sells, rents, and finances its equipment and operates recurring subscription services for water jug and softener salt delivery, supported by a global network of independent dealers.

Product overview

Culligan Water offers a comprehensive portfolio of water treatment products and services for residential, commercial, and industrial applications. The core product line centers on the Aquasential® brand family of water softeners (including Smart HE, Select Series, and Twin variants), reverse osmosis drinking water systems (smart, tankless, and standard), and whole house filtration systems (with specialized variants for iron, sulfur, arsenic, nitrate, and PFAS reduction). The portfolio also includes salt-free conditioners, well water solutions, and bottled/cold water dispensers. Culligan operates through a franchise/dealer network with over 900 locations worldwide, serving residential customers directly and commercial customers through the Culligan Quench division (acquired Waterlogic), which offers commercial-grade bottleless coolers, ice machines, sparkling water dispensers, and coffee machines. Services include water delivery, salt delivery, water testing, repairs, and the Platinum Care extended warranty program. The ecosystem is connected via the Culligan Connect mobile app for WiFi-enabled system monitoring.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Culligan Quench: Office and workplace water solutions including bottleless water coolers, flavored water dispensers, ice machines, sparkling water dispensers, and coffee machines for commercial and workplace environments.

Products and services

• Aquasential Water Softeners Residential water softening systems (Smart HE, Select Series, Twin, Advantage, and Salt-Free Conditioner variants) that protect plumbing and appliances from hard water scale, available for purchase, rental, or financing through local dealers.
• Aquasential Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water Systems Point-of-use and under-sink RO systems (Smart RO, standard RO, and tankless RO) that reduce over 90 contaminants for residential drinking water, with app connectivity on smart variants.
• Aquasential Whole-House Water Filters Whole-house filtration systems (Smart HE, Advantage, Select Series/Plus, and specialty variants for Iron-Cleer, Sulfur-Cleer, Arsenic Reduction, Nitrate Reduction, Sulfur-OX3, Iron-OX5) targeting specific municipal and well water contaminants.
• PFAS Filtration Systems Filtration systems specifically engineered to reduce PFAS ('forever chemicals') from household water supplies.
• Well Water Treatment Systems Combined softening and filtration systems (including Iron-Cleer, Sulfur-Cleer, sediment filtration, and RO) purpose-built for private well water applications.
• Bottled Water Delivery Service Scheduled delivery of 5-gallon bottled water jugs to homes and businesses on a recurring subscription basis (minimum three bottles per delivery).
• Water Softener Salt Delivery Service Recurring scheduled delivery of water softener salt to customer homes to ensure softeners never run out.
• In-Home Water Testing Service Expert in-home water quality testing and consultation that diagnoses water issues and recommends appropriate treatment solutions.
• Repairs and Maintenance Service Scheduled and on-demand maintenance and repair services for Culligan residential water treatment systems, performed by trained local technicians.
• Platinum Care Program Premium extended service membership providing comprehensive maintenance coverage and savings up to $2,600 for Culligan equipment owners.
• Culligan Quench Bottleless Water Coolers Commercial-grade bottleless water coolers (Ascent 40, Ascent 80, Ascent CT, Hot/Cold dispensers) with multi-stage filtration including RO and IAPMO-certified contaminant reduction for workplace and hospitality environments, rented on monthly subscriptions.
• Culligan Quench Ice Machines Commercial ice machines with built-in filtration (including the Culligan Peak combination ice and water dispenser) for workplaces and hospitality settings.
• Culligan Quench Sparkling Water Dispensers Sparkling and flavored water dispensers (including the Twist flavored and sparkling water dispenser) with filtration for modern workplace hydration programs.
• Culligan Quench Coffee Machines Filtered-water coffee brewers designed for workplace break rooms, paired with Culligan Quench service and maintenance.
• Commercial and Industrial Water Treatment Customizable water treatment solutions for commercial and industrial applications including manufacturing process water and operations-grade filtration.
• Culligan Connect App WiFi-connected mobile application that monitors Culligan water systems, tracks water usage, sends salt-refill and service alerts, and enables proactive maintenance for residential customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 45 billion single-use plastic water bottles avoided annually through Culligan product use
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Culligan InternationalcoreOthersParent company providing brand, technology, marketing support, and operational framework to independent dealer network. Founded 1936, headquartered in Rosemont, Illinois.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• EcoWater Systems: Largest direct competitor to Culligan in residential water softening/filtration, operating through a similar independent dealer/franchise network across North America. Comparable product line (softeners, RO, whole-house filtration) and go-to-market model, directly competing for the same homeowner customer base.
• Kinetico Incorporated: Manufacturer of non-electric, twin-tank water softeners and filtration systems, sold through a dealer/installer network. Direct competitor in the residential and light-commercial water treatment category with comparable product depth and dealer-led service model.
• Hague Quality Water: Family-owned water treatment equipment manufacturer specializing in water softeners, RO, and whole-house filtration, sold through an authorized dealer network. Closely mirrors Culligan's residential dealer-franchise model in product scope and customer base.

Broad incumbents

• Pentair plc: Public global water treatment company with broad residential, commercial, and industrial portfolios (e.g., Fleck valves, Everpure commercial filtration). Competes with Culligan across multiple segments — particularly commercial filtration and bottled water replacement equipment — but with a much broader, non-specialized portfolio.
• 3M (Filtration Division): 3M's water filtration business (including the Filtrete brand) supplies POU drinking water filters and replacement cartridges at retail. A scaled incumbent competing for residential filtration dollars, especially in the DIY/replacement-cartridge category where Culligan also plays via its dealer-installed systems.
• Brita (The Clorox Company): Dominant consumer pitcher and POU filtration brand owned by Clorox, broadly distributed through retail. Competes for the entry-level residential filtration budget that otherwise could be routed through Culligan's dealer consultation funnel.
• Whirlpool Corporation (EveryDrop): Whirlpool's EveryDrop refrigerator water filter brand and broader appliance portfolio overlaps with Culligan's whole-house filtration and POU drinking water systems. A broad incumbent competing at the appliance-integrated filtration interface.
• Watts Water Technologies: Manufacturer of water quality, conservation, and flow-control products serving residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Overlaps with Culligan's water treatment hardware in plumbing-channel distribution and light-commercial filtration.
• Primo Brands Corporation: North American branded bottled water and water delivery company (formed via Primo Water + Mountain Valley merger). A scaled incumbent in the bottled water and dispenser space that overlaps with Culligan's water delivery and bottleless cooler business across both residential and commercial customers.

Regional players

• Niagara Bottling: Large U.S. private-label bottled water manufacturer serving retail and foodservice. While not a direct dealer-network competitor, it competes with Culligan's bottled water delivery business for at-home and workplace consumption occasions in North America.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/CulliganIntl
• Facebookfacebook.com/culligan
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/culligan-international
• Instagraminstagram.com/heyculligan
• TikToktiktok.com/@heyculligan
• Xx.com/heyculligan

Compliance4 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 culligan water