Holding Water makes this family over $18M a year.
A friend of mine is a mechanical engineer in New York City.
I recently was being annoying during conversation and asked him to please tell me a new fun fact. And wow did he show up.
He gave me some intriguing insights that led me down a rabbit hole.
Here is the background:
In the 1870’s, New York City founded the department of public works. Their main priority was to create a drainage system that would ease the pain of the rapidly growing population.
By 1880, the city began using indoor plumbing versus the antiquated well-drawn water systems. This was the start of top-floor storage tanks, allowing for water pressure to remain strong while in new high rises. Within a few years these tanks were required by city law.
These tanks are the wooden water towers we still see today.
Yet, the craziest thing I’ve ever heard:
Since 1880 there are only THREE companies that make these tanks.
All of which are privately owned by families.
One of these companies was bought in 1897 for $55, The Rosenwach Tank Company.
They don’t have a ton of new information online but here is what I found:
Each year they average about 250 new tanks (presumably more since 2020 uptick in building). At avg. cost of $55k a tank, they are making $13.75M/year in revenue just on new installments.
NYC has a law that every 35 years all tanks must be replaced. Since these companies have been around for over 150 years, they are their own best friend. Circulating business for themselves. This adds about $6M/year in revenue.
These number date back to 2012, but whats awesome about this specific company — they have branched out, expecting these tanks to be outdated in time.
Now, The Rosenwach Tank Company also builds Heating and Cooling systems for buildings & they use their remaining wood to help build furniture. Furniture accounts for about 10% of the business currently.
I love that this fun fact was shared with me. It highlights how little I know about my day to day life, like where my drinking water comes from.
Even cooler — I was on a long run this past Saturday and snapped the picture below. Wooden water tanks are still at the forefront of our skyscrapers draining systems. Fun to see the worn & dated tanks next to the new.
Lastly, just to share, this article here was awesome to read — tons of pictures of the process.
