How we got here

Our History

Built strong one tank at a time


Tanks Direct has small and humble beginnings. In 1993 co-founders Paul Robertson and Joel Nicchitta started a business supplying tanks and parts to the local mechanical contracting community. They learned about the business by immersing themselves in the entire process and constantly looking for solutions to common industry problems. After decades of learning, refining, and building a reliable team of experts Tanks Direct has become a trusted industry leader in storage tanks and accessories, installation, and service. Today, both Paul and Joel are still pushing Tanks Direct vision forward over three decades later.

1993

Humble Beginnings. Tanks Direct was founded in Burtonsville, MD. Starting with two people and humble beginnings, Paul Robertson and Joel Nicchitta began supplying storage tanks in Maryland, Virginia, and the Washington D.C. area.

1997

Expanding the Vision. With a few years of experience and a growing team, Tanks Direct moves headquarters to Beltsville, Maryland. The next step? Robertson and Nicchitta expanded the company offerings to include a construction division. This growth lends to the opportunity to install and remove storage tanks within the Mid-Atlantic region.

2006

Growing Forward. After outgrowing the Beltsville office, Tanks Direct moved into an expanded complex in Laurel, Maryland, which included a larger office space and spacious warehouse. The company continues to grow in product offerings and expertise in the water and petroleum storage markets.

2012

Making Waves. Tanks Direct enters into a Master Distributor partnership with Xerxes Tanks in the Mid-Atlantic region (DE, MD, VA, and Washington, D.C.). Partnering with Xerxes Tanks helps lead the company to new growth and experience with water tank storage.

2015

Maintaining Expertise. In 2015, Tanks Direct announced the development of the Service and Maintenance Division within the Mid-Atlantic region. With this addition, the company is now able to develop a full-service offering for customers from consultation and installation to maintenance and removal making Tanks Direct the full storage tank experts.

2018

Storing Milestones. Tanks Direct and Xerxes Tanks expanded their partnership. This move grows the service area to an additional seven states in the Eastern Central and Mid-Atlantic regions (KY, NJ, NY, OH, PA, TN, and WV) of the United States. Additionally, Tanks Direct celebrated its 25th anniversary as the leading tank expert. Having grown in offerings and employees, the company celebrated with a tasty crab feast – that’s what Maryland does.

2020

Building On. Showing excellent growth and tenacity, Tanks Direct and Xerxes Tanks once again expands the existing Master Distributor Partnership with Xerxes by adding the South Atlantic and New England regions (CT, FL, GA, MA, ME, NC, NH, RI, SC, and VT). This agreement propels Tanks Direct into covering the entire East Coast spanning 20 states and Washington, D.C.

Trust The Full Service Tank Experts.

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