Quick Answer: Aqua Systems is a genuine dealer-network water-treatment company founded in 1959 in Danville, Indiana, with over 300 dealers nationwide today. The detail most homeowners researching it don’t find: since May 17, 2021, Aqua Systems has been owned by Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (Nasdaq: FELE) through a $150 million all-cash acquisition of its parent, New Aqua, LLC — the exact same holding company that also owns Hellenbrand, a brand we’ve already reviewed separately on this site. Pricing is dealer-quoted with no published list, same as Hellenbrand, Culligan, and Hague.
If you’ve been comparing quotes from an Aqua Systems dealer against a Hellenbrand dealer thinking you’re weighing two independent companies, the ownership structure is worth knowing before you decide. We’ve already covered Hellenbrand’s own six-nameplate situation — one Wisconsin manufacturer selling the same engineering under six names depending on dealer territory. Aqua Systems is a related but distinct pattern: two previously separate, competing regional dealer networks that are now both owned by the same publicly traded parts manufacturer.
Founded 1959, independent since 1982, acquired in 2021
Aqua Systems traces back to 1959, when Lou Petty launched an independent water-treatment dealership in Danville, Indiana. It split off as its own company, Aqua Systems, in 1982, and grew into one of the largest water-softener and reverse-osmosis suppliers in the Midwest — per its own corporate history, it runs 14 retail centers, a roughly 50,000-square-foot production facility in Indiana, and a second facility in Ohio, supplying more than 300 dealers nationwide rather than selling only under its own name in one region.
That changed on May 17, 2021, when Franklin Electric Co., Inc. — a publicly traded (Nasdaq: FELE) manufacturer best known for water and fuel pumping equipment — announced an all-cash acquisition of New Aqua, LLC, the Indianapolis-headquartered parent company, for $150 million. New Aqua’s wholly owned subsidiaries at the time of the deal operated under two brand names: Aqua Systems and Hellenbrand. Both brands continue to sell and service systems under their own names today — Franklin Electric kept the dual-brand structure rather than consolidating into one nameplate.
| Entity | Role | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Franklin Electric Co., Inc. (Nasdaq: FELE) | Public-company parent since 5/17/2021 | $150M all-cash acquisition of New Aqua, LLC |
| New Aqua, LLC | Holding company acquired by Franklin Electric | Indianapolis, IN headquarters |
| Aqua Systems | Operating brand under New Aqua | Founded 1959; 300+ dealers nationwide |
| Hellenbrand | Operating brand under New Aqua | Founded 1967 in Waunakee, WI; also sold as AutoMate/WaterMate/ProMate/Millennium/Iron Curtain |
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How this differs from Hellenbrand’s own six-name pattern
It’s worth being precise about what kind of “same company” finding this is, because this site has now documented a few different versions of it. Hellenbrand’s own situation (covered in our Hellenbrand review) is one manufacturer, one factory, six simultaneous consumer-facing names depending on dealer territory — AutoMate, WaterMate, ProMate, Millennium, Hellenbrand itself, and the structurally distinct Iron Curtain iron filter. Aqua Systems and Hellenbrand are different: they were two separate, competing regional businesses — Aqua Systems out of Indiana/Ohio, Hellenbrand out of Wisconsin — that each built their own dealer networks over decades before Franklin Electric bought the shared holding company that now sits above both. There’s no public confirmation that Aqua Systems and Hellenbrand run identical hardware; Franklin Electric’s own disclosures describe New Aqua as providing “a complete line of residential and commercial water treatment and drinking water equipment” without detailing whether the two brands share a single manufacturing line the way Hellenbrand’s five softener nameplates do internally.
What installed pricing actually looks like
Like Hellenbrand, Culligan, and Hague, Aqua Systems publishes no consumer price list of its own — every system is quoted by a local dealer based on your home’s water hardness, household size, and plumbing. Unlike Hellenbrand, there isn’t yet an independently aggregated cost-guide range specific to the Aqua Systems name the way there is for some other dealer brands on this site (see our Hellenbrand review for its $2,000-$4,000 installed range, or our Culligan review for its tier-by-tier breakdown). Treat whatever number a local Aqua Systems dealer quotes you as a single data point, not a market price — and because Aqua Systems and Hellenbrand now share one public-company owner, getting a genuinely independent second opinion means calling a dealer outside that family, such as Culligan or Kinetico, rather than assuming two different-sounding local quotes are automatically from unrelated businesses.
Who should consider an Aqua Systems dealer
Consider an Aqua Systems dealer the same way you’d consider any dealer-installed brand on this site: you’re paying for professional water testing, installation, and an ongoing local service relationship, not just a tank and a valve. If a local Aqua Systems quote and a local Hellenbrand quote both land on your desk, remember they ultimately report to the same parent company — worth factoring into which one you treat as your “second opinion.” If you’d rather skip the dealer model and the ownership question entirely, our Fleck 5600SXT review and best water softener pillar guide cover the DIY-installable alternative at a fraction of the price.
The bottom line
Aqua Systems is a legitimate, nearly 65-year-old dealer network, not a shell brand — but since May 2021 it’s been part of the same Franklin Electric-owned holding company, New Aqua, LLC, as Hellenbrand, a brand already reviewed on this site. That’s a $150 million acquisition linking two previously independent regional water-treatment businesses under one public-company owner, distinct from Hellenbrand’s own internal six-nameplate situation. If you’re comparing an Aqua Systems quote against a Hellenbrand quote expecting two unrelated opinions, know that they’re sister brands first. See our water softener brands compared guide for how Aqua Systems fits alongside the other 27 brands covered on this site.
Last updated October 10, 2026.