About

We build robots for the people who maintain tanks.

Paragonix Tek LLC is an engineering and equipment manufacturer. Everything we build exists so that a maintenance crew can do difficult work from outside the tank, with the asset still running.

Origin

From commercial diving to remotely operated vehicles.

The company began with a problem its founder knew from the inside. Diving inside a live potable water tank is dangerous work, and the regulations around it are written to protect the diver — not the water. A diver in a tank increases turbidity simply by moving, and introduces contamination just by breathing.

In 1999 that led to the first robotic cleaning and inspection of a potable water tank that stayed in service throughout. The equipment has changed almost beyond recognition since. The reasoning has not.

1999
The founders carry out the first robotic cleaning and inspection of a potable water tank while it remained in service.
2002
Purpose-built machines replace adapted equipment as sediment depths and tank sizes increase.
2010
Paragonix Tek LLC is formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and takes over manufacturing.
2014
The technology is adapted for oil and gas, including the first certified Zone 0 robotic deployment.
2020
The current generation of platforms is developed — lighter, configurable, and certifiable for classified areas.
2022
First inspection and cleaning of a water storage tank in service on an active offshore platform.

Leadership

Stephen Antolich, President.

United States Marine Corps combat engineer from 1981 to 1986, and Marine Corps Reserve intelligence from 1986 to 1998. Commercial diver from 1993. Built his first robotic dredging device in 1995, and holds several patents in robotic dredging.

He studied at the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering, and has led the development of every generation of the equipment since the first deployment in 1999.

The company

Legal entity
Paragonix Tek LLC, registered in Pennsylvania
Manufacturing
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Made in USA
Ownership
Veteran owned
In the field
More than 400 tanks inspected and cleaned with our technology, across more than eight countries
Validation partner
Quasset, Netherlands

Seminar

The technical seminar.

A working session for engineers and operations managers: the history of in-service robotic cleaning, what turbidity actually is and where sediment comes from, how the equipment is built, what happens to the sludge, and where the method has and has not worked.

Ask about a seminar for your team →

The team

The people behind it.

Four people across three continents, so wherever your asset is there is someone in your working day.

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    Stephen Antolich

    Founder and President

    United States

    Marine Corps combat engineer and commercial diver before he was a roboticist. Built the first robotic dredging device in 1995 and has led every generation of the equipment since 1999. Covers the Americas.

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    Anthony Palmowski

    Chief Operating Officer · Asia-Pacific

    Australia

    Operations, and the company’s presence across Australia and South East Asia.

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    Jani Vihervuori

    Chief Commercial Officer

    Finland

    Partnerships and new markets across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. If you run a maintenance business and want to add robotic capability, this is the conversation to start.

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    Carl Stephens

    Chief Financial Officer

    Belgium

    Finance and commercial structure, and the point of contact for investors.

How we work

Fact-based, and clear about where we fit.

We build and support technology

Our work is the equipment and the engineering behind it. The cleaning and maintenance contracts belong to the companies that operate it.

We say what is measured

Where results are quoted, they come from the utility or maintenance company that recorded them. Every claim on this site traces back to a document we can show you.

We support what we sell

Equipment built decades ago remains supported. A capital purchase should outlive the sales conversation that produced it.

Start with the application

Tell us about the tank.

Access opening, product, approximate sediment depth and whether the asset can come offline. That is usually enough for a first conversation.

Discuss your application