Genesis Systems, an atmospheric water generator company, moving HQ to Tampa from Kansas City
By Ashley Gurbal Kritzer
Tampa Bay Business Journal
Published: Sep 14, 2021

A startup that wants to solve the world's looming water crisis is moving its headquarters to Tampa — where it plans to open a facility that will manufacture its atmospheric water generators.

Genesis Systems, founded in Kansas City in 2017, is consolidating operations across the U.S. in Tampa. Its water generators harvest water from the atmosphere — at an industrial scale and using far less energy than any of its competitors, COO David Stuckenberg told the Tampa Bay Business Journal.

He and his wife, Genesis CEO Shannon Stuckenberg, founded the company together.

"It scares the heck out of us, but somebody’s gotta do it," David Stuckenberg said. "We’re in a race against conditions if you think about it. One-third of the globe is in water scarcity and what follows that is water bankruptcy."

Genesis on Tuesday held the product launch of its proprietary WaterCube at a media event at Port Tampa Bay. The WaterCubes are about the size of a shipping container and can be deployed anywhere, the company says, and generate up to 10 million gallons of water per day.

The company has signed its first customer, a 1,900-acre industrial park and innovation center known as Port San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas. The Genesis equipment on-site at Port San Antonio will supply water for the innovation center's community garden and common green spaces, which are set to open in 2022. Potential customers could come from a wide range of industries, Stuckenberg said, from municipalities and hospitals to farmers and ranchers.

If Genesis' technology delivers on the company's promises, it will be a huge win for Tampa. The company is currently working out of American Bridge Co.'s Tampa office — there's some common ownership between the two companies — on West Tyson Avenue near the Westshore Marina District. It has 20 employees and plans to grow its head count to 125 in the next five years.

Stuckenberg said the company is looking for a headquarters space here, and the initial space requirement is 15,000 to 25,000 square feet. That will include administrative, laboratory and manufacturing space.

Craig Richard, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council, said the Genesis deal "checks a lot of boxes" — it's a headquarters relocation; advanced manufacturing is one of the EDC's targeted industries; it's a woman-led company. But it's also bigger than any of those factors, Richard said.

"It’s a great technology when you think about what it means to the world," Richard told the Business Journal, "of being able to offer products that can advance our water supply."

The EDC first made contact with Genesis in May 2020 through a referral from Yvette Segura, one of its investors and regional vice president at USAA. Stuckenberg said the Genesis team cast a "very wide net" when deciding where to establish the company's headquarters. Texas cities San Antonio and Austin were considered, along with Tulsa, Oklahoma.

"When it came down to it, Tampa had all of the right ingredients," Stuckenberg said, "from the talent pool to the lifestyle that would allow us to support that talent to the geography to move our products into global markets."

Genesis hasn't yet sought economic development incentives, though Stuckenberg said his team is considering it.

"When you’re able to help a company relocate based purely on the merits of your community, that’s a big win," Richard said.

Genesis is the latest advanced manufacturing operation to move to the Tampa area. Signode Industrial Group, Anuvia Plant Nutrients, NuCycle Energy and Advanced Airfoil Component have all recently announced plans to move their headquarters or open operations in Hillsborough County.

Tampa can't offer discounted utility rates to manufacturers the way some cities can — those that own or control their utilities — but it still offers an attractive package to manufacturers. Its rates are "middle of the road" compared to competitor regions, Richard said, so they don't put the city at a disadvantage.

"Many think of Florida as just a beach and retirement destination, but when you look at the cost of doing business here, manufacturing companies find that appealing," Richard said.