Our story begins in 1990 in Cleveland, Ohio. Two individuals who were working at the same company became close friends. Their entrepreneurial spirits soon took over and they started a new business selling bearings from a surplus supplier. Shortly after starting the bearing business, the two became aware of an opportunity to sell surplus fuel tanks. Cleveland Tank was born and as they say the rest is history.
In 1992, Cleveland Tank was officially incorporated as a diesel fuel tank distributor. As the business continued to grow, it slowly developed beyond purchasing surplus overruns and into purchasing new production runs of fuel tanks and mounting hardware. As the needs for inventory storage and shipping increased, the friends moved the business into a small warehouse located on Scranton Road in Cleveland.
With fuel tanks in inventory and sales surging, the two businessmen shifted their attention and started to focus on original equipment manufacturers. Contracting with their suppliers to design and develop fuel tanks for OEMs and specialty applications proved to be very successful. The OEM business proved to be so prosperous that Cleveland Tank quickly
became a top supplier to several big-name manufacturers.
The two founders were off to a great start however, in 1993 they were notified that their fuel tank strap supplier was shutting down. Backed up against a wall, the two friends saw an opportunity and they acquired the strap manufacturing equipment before the supplier closed its doors. With fuel tank strap production up and running, Cleveland Tank soon was bursting at its seams.
Recognizing a growing need for more space, the company moved to a new, much larger facility located on Carter Road in 1994. The new building provided plenty of room for
manufacturing the new fuel tank straps, stocking inventory and shipping and receiving.
When the turn of the century occurred the demand for Cleveland Tank’s fuel tanks soared creating another opportunity. The businessmen invested in fuel tank manufacturing
equipment and turned the company into a complete diesel fuel tank production facility. New machinery was installed and in 2001, Cleveland Tank manufactured its first diesel fuel tank.
Over the next eight years, the business continued to grow by designing, manufacturing and offering diesel fuel tanks for a wide range of applications. Aftermarket replacement tanks that could be stocked in inventory were developed for school buses, semi-trucks and more while OEM sales increased for fire trucks, cranes and government contracts.
In 2009, fuel tanks were being manufactured and shipped out at a record pace! As the need for more production space increased, the company relocated its headquarters to Juniata Avenue. The new facility doubled the size of the production floor, provided a larger shipping and receiving area and created a fully staffed office for operations.
Experiencing an increase in demand for aluminum tanks, Cleveland Tank then added a complete acid washing system in early 2013. The new system internalized the entire
aluminum tank production process. The business was now able to fabricate, manufacture, leak test and pretreat all aluminum products.
Once established in the new building, the business noticed another opportunity to grow and offer additional fuel tank supplies. In 2014 Cleveland Tank purchased machinery and equipment to manufacture fuel tank mounting brackets in-house. It was now able to offer fuel tanks and fuel tank straps, plus tank mounting brackets.
In 2019 Cleveland Tank was again looking to grow. With aftermarket, OEM and custom tank business increasing, the organization added a team of engineers, expanded its
production and office staff and introduced a new company logo.
Then in 2021, Cleveland Tank made the decision to invest in a state-of-the-art powder coating system. The new system included a complete overhead conveyor, pretreatment wash booth, dry oven, powder application room and cure oven. The addition of the system provided the business with the capabilities to house the entire tank manufacturing process, from design and development to production and powder coat, all under one roof.
In 2024, the company realized its current building lacked the capacity and capability to meet its ever growing needs. As a result, Cleveland Tank built a brand new 60,000 sq.ft. facility in Bedford, Ohio to expand its operations and accommodate its growth.
For over 35 years, Cleveland Tank has been providing diesel fuel tanks and tank accessories. Our comprehensive knowledge and expertise go into every product we engineer and manufacture. This, along with our commitment to quality and understanding your business, is the Cleveland Tank difference.