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WATTS WATER TECHNOLOGIES INC

For the period ended Dec 31, 2024. Filed Feb 18, 2025.

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A company's yearly report to the SEC, with audited financial statements. It is the fullest account a company gives of its business, its finances and the risks it sees.

FY2024 · Filed Feb 18, 2025

WTS$359.31-0.1%Stored close · as of Nov 10, 2026

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Contents

Item 1. BUSINESS

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, references to “the Company,” “Watts Water,” “Watts,” “we,” “us” or “our” refer to Watts Water Technologies, Inc. and its consolidated subsidiaries.

Overview

Watts Regulator Co. was founded by Joseph E. Watts in 1874 in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Watts Regulator Co. started as a small machine shop supplying parts to the New England textile mills of the 19th century. Since then, Watts has grown into a global manufacturer and become one of the world’s leading providers of water technologies and solutions that are designed to promote safety, energy efficiency, and water conservation for commercial and residential buildings. Watts Water Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware in 1985 and is the parent company of Watts Regulator Co.

Our strategy is to be the preferred supplier of differentiated solutions, systems and products that manage and conserve the flow of fluids and energy into, through and out of buildings in the commercial and residential markets of the Americas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa (“APMEA”), our three geographic segments. Within this framework, we focus upon three themes: safety and regulation, energy efficiency and water conservation. This strategy provides us with a platform to increase our earnings through sales growth, both organic and inorganic, and the systematic reduction of manufacturing costs and operational expenses.

Our strategy is to expand organically by introducing new, complementary products and solutions in existing markets, by enhancing our preferred brands, by promoting plumbing code development to drive the need for safety and quality products and by continually improving merchandising in our wholesale and retail distribution channels. We focus on selling solutions to our customers that integrate a variety of our product offerings. We target selected new products and geographic markets based on growth potential, including our ability to leverage our existing distribution channels. Additionally, we leverage our distribution channels through the introduction of new products and solutions, as well as the integration of products of our acquired companies.

The Internet of Things (“IoT”) has allowed companies to transform components and products into smart and connected solutions. We are committed to enhancing our smart and connected capabilities by expanding our internal competencies and making strategic acquisitions. We continue to invest in these capabilities by expanding our architecture development, enhancing digital tools used by our customers, including Watts’ website, and investing in new smart and connected product development projects. Our strategy focuses on three dimensions: Connect, Control and Conserve. In 2024, 25% of our revenue was from smart and connected enabled products. We have introduced and plan to continue offering new products that will connect our customers with smart systems, control systems for optimal performance, and conserve critical resources by increasing operability, efficiency and safety. In 2024, we launched Nexa, the intelligent water management solution, which integrates sensing hardware, smart and connected equipment and software to provide

a powerful offering for customers in the commercial building space and users of a building’s water system. This new solution provides insight into water systems and unlocks significant value in onsite operations and water risk management, while supporting customers’ sustainability targets.

We continue to focus on sustainability by taking steps to reduce the negative impact our operations have on the environment while generating economic value, and we manufacture and sell solutions, products and technologies that enable our customers to reduce their negative impact to the environment. As a leading global water technology company, we address some of the world’s most important sustainability priorities: the conservation, control and safe use of water. In 2024, we completed a project to conduct Life Cycle Assessments (LCAs) for all of our products produced in our largest production plant and foundry located in Franklin, New Hampshire, representing many of our largest and most impactful product lines. This project also allowed us to generate 30 Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for our top selling products, and we plan to generate EPDs for all Backflow, ACV, Regulators, Relief Valves and Mixing valves in 2025. Globally, we completed our first plant-level LCA for our plant in Vildbjerg, Denmark, which covers all stainless steel products produced at the location, and, in 2025 we plan to generate EPDs for stainless steel products produced at this location. Our strategy is anchored by a commitment to connect our customers to smart systems, control those systems for optimal performance, and conserve critical water and other resources by increasing operability, efficiency, and safety. In 2024, we broadened the offerings of our enabled backflow preventor product line with smart and connected capability options that provide flood and freeze detection, helping avoid water waste and mitigate damage. Operationally, we have reduced our global water consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, improved our safety performance, continued to foster an engaging work environment, and maintained robust ethics and compliance programs so that we do business with integrity and in accordance with high ethical standards.

We intend to generate incremental growth by targeting select acquisitions both in our core markets and in new complementary markets. We have completed 14 acquisitions since 2015. Our acquisition strategy focuses on businesses that manufacture preferred brand name products that address our themes of safety and regulation, energy efficiency and water conservation. We target businesses that will provide us with one or more of the following: an entry into new markets, improved channel access, unique and/or proprietary technologies, advanced production capabilities or complementary solution offerings. In the last two years, we completed four strategic and complementary acquisitions that expanded our addressable market and are intended to enable value creation through greater scale and growth opportunities.

We are committed to reducing our manufacturing and operating costs using Lean methodologies to drive improvement across all key processes. We have a number of manufacturing facilities in lower-cost regions, including a contract manufacturing facility in Mexico and manufacturing facilities in China, Bulgaria and Tunisia. In recent years, we have announced global restructuring plans which reduced our manufacturing and distribution footprint in order to reduce our costs and to realize incremental operating efficiencies.

Additionally, a majority of our manufacturing facilities are ISO 9001 certified by an accredited third party certification body to the ISO standards.

The majority of our sales are for products that have been approved under regulatory standards incorporated into state and municipal plumbing, heating, building and fire protection codes in the Americas, Europe and certain countries within APMEA. We have consistently advocated for the development and enforcement of plumbing codes and are committed to providing products to meet these standards.

Products and Solutions

We have a broad range of products and solutions in terms of design distinction, size and configuration. We classify our many products and solutions into four global categories. These categories are:

●Residential & commercial flow control and protection—includes products and solutions typically sold into plumbing and hot water applications such as backflow preventers, water pressure regulators, temperature and pressure relief valves, thermostatic mixing valves, leak detection and protection products, commercial washroom solutions and emergency safety products and equipment. Many of our flow control and protection products are now smart and connected enabled, warning of leaks, floods, freezing temperatures and other hazards with alerts to Building Management Systems (“BMS”) and/or personal devices giving our customers greater insight into their water management and the ability to shut off the water supply to avoid waste and mitigate damage. Residential & commercial flow control and protection products accounted for approximately 60%, 56% and 52% of our total net sales in 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
●Heating, ventilation and air conditioning (“HVAC”) & gas—includes commercial high-efficiency boilers, water heaters and custom heat and hot water solutions, hydronic and electric heating systems for under-floor radiant applications, hydronic pump groups for boiler manufacturers and alternative energy control packages, and flexible stainless steel connectors for natural and liquid propane gas in commercial food service and residential applications. Most of our HVAC products and solutions feature advanced controls enabling customers to easily connect to the BMS for better monitoring, control and operation. HVAC & gas products and solutions accounted for approximately 24%, 29% and 31% of our total net sales in 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
●Drainage & water re-use—includes drainage products and engineered rain water harvesting solutions for commercial, industrial, marine and residential applications, including connected roof drain systems. Drainage & water re-use products and solutions accounted for approximately 11%, 10% and 10% of our total net sales in 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
●Water quality—includes point-of-use and point-of-entry water filtration, monitoring, conditioning and scale prevention systems for commercial, marine and residential applications. Water quality products and solutions accounted for approximately 5%, 5% and 7% of our total net sales in 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Commercial and Operational Excellence

We strive to invest in product innovation that meets the wants and needs of our customers. Our focus is on differentiated products and solutions that will provide greater opportunity to distinguish ourselves in the marketplace. Our goal is to be a solutions provider, not merely a components supplier. We refer to this customer-facing mindset as commercial excellence, and we are continually looking for strategic opportunities to invest or divest, where necessary, in order to meet those objectives. In conjunction with this customer-centric focus, we continually review our operations to ensure we can efficiently and effectively produce and deliver products to customers. We are also striving to simplify our administrative operations to drive further efficiencies. We call this aspect of our business operational excellence. In 2024, we embarked on a multi-year SAP Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) system implementation for our Americas and APMEA regions to consolidate our business systems, drive productivity and support our smart and connected strategy. The new ERP is designed to enable commercial and operational excellence by empowering our resources through a modern, standardized and connected experience.

Customers and Markets

We sell our products and solutions to plumbing, heating and mechanical wholesale distributors and dealers, original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”), specialty product distributors, and major do-it-yourself (“DIY”) and retail chains.

Wholesalers. Approximately 66%, 62% and 60% of our net sales in 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively, were to wholesale distributors for commercial and residential applications.

OEMs. Approximately 11%, 15% and 15% of our net sales in 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively, were to OEMs. In the Americas, our typical OEM customers are water heater manufacturers and equipment and water systems manufacturers needing flow control devices and other products. Our sales to OEMs in Europe are primarily to boiler manufacturers and radiant system manufacturers. Our sales to OEMs in APMEA are primarily to water heater, air conditioning, and appliance manufacturers.

*Specialty.*Approximately 19%, 19% and 21% of our net sales in 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively, were through our specialty channel. The specialty channel primarily includes sales related to high-efficiency boilers and water heaters, water filtration and conditioning products and solutions, specialty floor and tile products, food service products and leak detection products.

DIY Chains. Approximately 4% of our net sales in each of 2024, 2023 and 2022 were to DIY chains. The DIY channel primarily includes sales related to valves and a portion of our water quality products.

In 2024, 2023 and 2022, no customer accounted for more than 10% of our total net sales. Our top ten customers accounted for $512.0 million, or 22.7%, of our total net sales in 2024; $440.4 million, or 21.4%, of our total net sales in 2023; and $431.7 million, or 21.8%, of our total net sales in 2022. Thousands of other customers constituted the balance of our net sales in each of those years.

Marketing and Sales

For product sales in the Americas, we rely primarily on commissioned manufacturers’ representatives to market our product lines, some of which maintain a consigned inventory of our products. These representatives sell primarily to plumbing and heating wholesalers and contractors or supply DIY stores. Our specialty channel products in the Americas are sold through independent representatives, dealers and distributors. We also sell products directly to wholesalers, OEMs and private label accounts primarily in Europe and APMEA, and, to a lesser extent, in the Americas.

We aim to inform and educate our channel partners, installers and end-use customers on how to maximize our product solutions. We do so through a variety of traditional and digital marketing avenues, including social media, trade shows, and advertising. We pride ourselves in providing industry leading product education through four distinct training vehicles: Online Courses, on-location Lunch and Learns, Live and Virtual Instructor Led Training, and Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for designers.

Manufacturing

We have integrated and automated manufacturing capabilities, including a state-of-the-art foundry dedicated exclusively to the production of products that qualify as “lead-free” under the U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act; and machining capabilities, plastic extrusion, and injection molding and assembly operations. Our foundry operations include metal pouring systems, automatic core making, and brass and bronze die-castings. Our machining operations feature computer-controlled machine tools, high-speed chucking machines with robotics, robotic assembly capability, laser-cutting technology, and automatic screw machines for machining bronze, brass and steel components. Our heating and hot water product manufacturing capabilities include all phases of light and heavy gauge metal fabrication, incorporating the latest technology for welding and brazing, as well as laser cutting; automated and robotic applications; and metal finishing, which includes chemical passivation of stainless steel. We have invested in recent years to expand our manufacturing capabilities and to adopt the most efficient and productive equipment. We are committed to maintaining our manufacturing equipment at a level consistent with current technology in order to maintain high levels of quality and manufacturing efficiencies. In 2024, we continued to invest in our systems, our manufacturing facilities and our commercial and operational excellence initiatives.

Capital expenditures and depreciation for each of the last three years were as follows:

​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​ · ​
​ · ​ · Years Ended December 31,
​ · 2024 · 2023 · 2022
​ · ​ · (in millions)
Capital expenditures​$35.3​$29.7​$28.1
Depreciation​$34.6​$30.1​$27.6

Purchased Raw Materials and Components

Our products are made using various purchased components and raw materials, including primarily bronze, brass, cast iron, stainless steel, steel, and plastic. Substantially all of the raw materials we require to manufacture our products are purchased from outside sources. The commodity markets have experienced tremendous volatility over the past several years, particularly with respect to copper and stainless steel, and we have experienced high inflationary pressures in these markets. Tariffs impact the total cost of our products and the components and raw materials that go into manufacturing them. The new, substantial tariff increases on imports to the United States from Canada and Mexico (in addition to China) announced on February 1, 2025, should they be implemented and sustained for an extended period of time, could adversely impact the gross margin we earn on our products. Because we internationally source a significant amount of raw materials and components, several months of raw materials and work in process are moving through our supply chain at any point in time. We are not able to predict whether component costs or commodity costs, including copper and stainless steel, will significantly increase or decrease in the future. If component costs or commodity costs increase in the future and we are not able to reduce or eliminate the effect of the cost increases by reducing production costs or implementing price increases, our profit margins could decrease. If component costs or commodity costs were to decline, we may experience pressure from customers to reduce our selling prices. The timing of any price reductions and decreases in commodity costs may not align. As a result, our margins could be affected.

With limited exceptions, we have multiple suppliers for our components and raw materials. We believe our relationships with our key suppliers are strong and an interruption in supply from any one supplier would not materially affect our ability to meet our immediate demands while another supplier is qualified. We regularly review our suppliers to evaluate their capabilities. If a supplier is unable to meet our demands, we believe that in most cases our inventory of components and raw materials will allow for sufficient time to identify and obtain the necessary commodities and other raw materials from an alternate source. We believe that the nature of the components and raw materials used in our business are such that multiple sources are generally available in the market. However, our current and alternative suppliers are largely concentrated in China. The occurrence of natural disasters, public health crises such as pandemics or epidemics, political crises such as war, terrorism or political instability, or other events that result in widespread business or supply chain disruptions in China or the imposition of tariffs that make it more costly or cost prohibitive to source raw materials from China could have a material adverse effect on our ability to obtain necessary components and raw materials, and our business and operating results could suffer. Alternative sources for raw materials may not be timely available or available at reasonable cost.

Refer to Item 1A. “Risk Factors” for risks related to the impact of supply chain and logistic disruptions and Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” for additional disclosure.

Code Compliance

Products representing a majority of our sales are subject to regulatory standards and code enforcement, which typically require that these products meet stringent performance criteria. Codes and standards in the Americas are established by industry and government organizations such as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), the American Society of Sanitary Engineering (ASSE), NSF International (NSF), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Californian Energy Commission (CEC), the International Code Council (ICC) and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO). Many of the codes and standards are incorporated into state and municipal plumbing and heating, building and fire protection codes.

National regulatory standards in Europe vary by country. The major standards and/or guidelines that our products must meet are AFNOR (France), DVGW (Germany), UNI/ICIM (Italy), SVGW (Switzerland), SITAC (Sweden), WRAS (United Kingdom) and CEN (Denmark). Further, there are local regulatory standards requiring compliance as well.

We consistently advocate for the development and enforcement of plumbing codes and standards. Our product-testing capabilities and quality control processes are core competencies. Our manufacturing operations consistently maintain stringent quality control and testing procedures, thus ensuring products remain in continuous compliance with all requirements. Investment in product-testing capability and in plant and equipment also ensures ongoing continuous product compliance. Additionally, a majority of our manufacturing facilities are ISO 9001 certified by an accredited third party certification body.

Watts also proactively monitors and participates in regulatory, codes and standards development activities with the various aforementioned entities and others. We are a primary participating member of the U.S.-based voluntary industry association American Supply Association (“ASA”), which provides its members with industry information and coordinates resources for addressing regulatory issues and developing and maintaining codes and standards. Watts is also a member of the Canadian Institute of Plumbing and Heating (CIPH), which provides a similar function and benefit as ASA by monitoring and advocating on behalf of its members on various legislative and regulatory issues.

New Product Development and Engineering

We retain our own product development staff, design teams, and testing laboratories in the Americas, Europe and APMEA that work to enhance our existing products and develop new products and solutions with a focus on sustainable, customer-centric technological innovation and smart and connected solutions. We maintain sophisticated product development and testing laboratories and continue to invest in our smart and connected product pipeline. We employ a global new-product development process that is used to prioritize, guide, and support new projects. Over the years, we have continued to bring innovation to our markets, with smart and connected advancement in our backflow product line to provide sensors for flood and freeze detection, notification, and tampering security, providing potential to avoid water loss and mitigate damage from undetected floods. Leak detection has also become an important product group helping avoid costly water-based damage and loss, providing the ability to shut off water supply remotely at the first detection of a leak with our Leak Defense system. We continue to invest in leak detection and have solutions that service both the residential market and commercial properties and multifamily units, together making water safer and cutting off water loss. We launched an advanced technology strainer used in commercial and residential plumbing systems that allows for communication to a cellphone or BMS when the flow rate is reduced due to debris or blockages, improving process efficiency and is able to reduce total cost of maintenance for customers. We also launched three new AERCO boilers this year, with two being electric. The Benchmark E, a powerful, low-emissions electric boiler, which is capable of providing superior reliability and increased energy savings, and the Sequoia, an electric high voltage immersed electric boiler ideal for large commercial and industrial applications in need of space heating or hot water processing, including universities, manufacturing plants, hospitals, EV/car companies and chemical plants. In addition, we launched the AERCO CFR, the world’s first stainless steel condensing boiler which can be installed on Category 1 vents (for non-condensing venting for boilers).

In 2024, we launched 25 new smart and connected product offerings, adding to our portfolio and expansion of our smart and connected strategy. We will continue to focus on and invest in our global new product development program to leverage new technologies, inhouse expertise and our electronics capabilities to expand our smart and connected strategy.

Competition

The domestic and international markets for energy efficient products, water conservation devices, and products that address the safety and regulation for the flow of fluids, are intensely competitive and require us to compete against some companies possessing greater financial, marketing and other resources than ours. Due to the breadth of our product offerings, the number and identities of our competitors vary by product line and market. We consider quality, brand preference, delivery times, engineering specifications, plumbing code requirements, price, technological expertise, breadth of product offerings, products that help customers’ sustainability efforts, and smart and connected products and solutions to be the primary competitive factors. We believe that new product development and product engineering are also important to success in the water industry and that our position in the industry is attributable in part to our ability to develop new and innovative products quickly and to adapt and enhance existing products. We continue to develop new and innovative products to expand our market position and are implementing manufacturing and design programs to reduce costs. We cannot be certain that our efforts to develop new products will be successful or that our customers will accept our new products. Although we own certain patents and trademarks we consider to be of importance, we do not believe that any one of our patents or trademarks or patent or trademark protection generally are material to our business.

Human Capital Management

We believe our employees are our greatest asset, and we aim to provide a safe, engaging and high-performance culture where our employees can thrive. As of December 31, 2024, we had approximately 4,800 employees globally, including 2,500 in the Americas, 1,900 in Europe and 400 in APMEA. At Watts, we strive to attract, develop, retain and engage high performing talent and we reward employee performance. By developing and promoting our talented people, we are creating value for our customers and shareholders. As the economy and our business grow, so does the need for highly qualified talent; hence we are always competing for the best people in an environment of increasingly challenged supply. To that end, we have developed, and continue to enhance and refine, a robust and comprehensive talent management strategy which spans from talent attraction to performance management, career development and retention of our top talent, to succession planning across our organization. We continually strive to cultivate and support a highly engaged and productive workforce with employees from all backgrounds.

Talent Acquisition

●Recruitment efforts follow a defined Talent Acquisition process to attract and hire top talent.
●We provide a robust college internship program to identify and cultivate an early-in-career pipeline of talent.
●We are actively engaging with colleges and universities and professional organizations to help attract and recruit the best talent.
●We engage with external professional recruiting firms to supplement our internal recruiting efforts as needed.
●We employ varying sourcing strategies and technology platforms to increase our outreach to candidate pools of all different backgrounds.
●We have a global employee referral bonus program to attract qualified candidates and reward employees.

Professional Development

●Team Building. In 2024, we continued our global roll-out of a training program that is designed to build leadership skills, including team building behaviors. This training included, where permitted by law, three modules focused on making better decisions, creating teams where people feel valued and empowering people to contribute ideas.
●Watts Training & Development Offerings Catalog. We partner with external vendors to offer leadership and professional development opportunities such as coaching for improved performance, time management and new manager skills.
●Performance Management Training. We offer a targeted training series addressing the components of performance management to help all employees accomplish their individual goals and strategic objectives of the organization. Specific modules have been developed for all employees on goal setting, performance conversations, assessing performance, and career development.
●LinkedIn Learning Curriculum. We provide a comprehensive suite of online LinkedIn Learning courses to supplement live, instructor-led training. Learning collections on relevant topics are provided which employees can access on-demand.
●Coaching. We provide global coaching opportunities through external partnerships targeted to the individual’s coaching and development needs.

Engagement and Performance Management

●Senior Leader Communication and Transparency. We actively seek opportunities for regular engagement and communication by our CEO and other senior executive leaders with our broader employee population. For example, the Quarterly Connect Meetings and the quarterly CEO videos that follow the release of our quarterly earnings are accessible to thousands of employees across the Company.
●Employee Engagement Surveys. We conduct confidential company-wide employee engagement surveys. Feedback from these surveys provides our management team with valuable information about our workplace culture. Survey results are also reviewed with our Board and used to develop and refine other aspects of our talent strategies. In 2024, 80% of our Americas employee population participated in a pulse survey to gain feedback on a core set of engagement items and performance drivers aligned to our business priorities.
●Employee Engagement - Recognition. We continue to strive for success in being an employer of choice which is a testament to our commitment to fostering a positive and engaging workplace culture. In 2024, Watts was recognized, by our employees, as a best-in-class place for employment in two regions. 80% of our employees in our North Andover, MA, US, Headquarters participated in the Massachusetts Top Places to Work survey, resulting in being named by the Boston Globe as one of the Top Places to Work in Massachusetts. Top Places to Work measures employee opinions about their company’s direction, execution, connection, work, pay, benefits and engagement. Our Watts China location was certified as a Great Place to Work, with 88% of employees participating in the Great Place to Work Trust Index survey which gathers insight on workplace environment factors and various management behaviors related to trust from the employees’ perspective.
●Performance Management Framework. We maintain a robust annual performance management process across the organization. Together with their managers, employees start the process by setting goals; year-end activities begin with employee self-assessments and conclude with a conversation led by the manager on goal accomplishment and defined cultural behaviors.
●Safety. Employee safety is one of our highest priorities and we strive for zero hazards and zero injuries by educating and training employees on safety best practices through awareness campaigns and related engagement initiatives.

Access & Culture

An integral part of our mission to build a high performance, value-driven culture is creating a culture that welcomes employees of all identities, backgrounds and cultures. Our path to innovation starts and ends with our employees, who are fundamental to the vibrancy and success of Watts. Everything we accomplish depends on creating an environment that is engaging and supportive and enables employees to perform to their potential.

Watts’s mission is to cultivate and sustain a workplace that integrates this culture in everything we do to fuel innovation, empower our people to reach their full potential and foster stronger connections with our partners. To support this mission, we have incorporated this culture into the Watts strategic pillars, cultural behaviors, global performance management and talent review frameworks, as well as the Global Leadership Team’s goals.

We also established a regular cadence for pay equity review and added benefits including additional paid parental leave and family planning in the U.S. and mental health resources globally through our Employee Assistance Program.

In addition, we monitor employee perception on our culture through employee feedback, and we create awareness with our employees through the company intranet, in employee meetings, and through a calendar of events designed to increase allyship and engagement. We formed employee resource groups, which are voluntary, employee-led groups that provide a space for all interested employees to gain professional development support, engage with our leadership teams, and drive initiatives to improve Watts.

ESG and Sustainability

Focus on Sustainability

We have demonstrated our focus on environmental sustainability by reducing our impact on the environment in multiple areas of our global business and by providing innovative products and solutions that can help customers to reduce their impact on the environment.

The Governance and Sustainability Committee of our Board of Directors has primary responsibility for the oversight of our environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) efforts and strategy. The Governance and Sustainability Committee reviews the Company’s ESG performance and strategic plans four times a year at its regularly scheduled quarterly meetings and receives additional updates from the Company’s Chief Sustainability Officer as needed. At the management level, our General Counsel and Chief Sustainability Officer, who reports directly to our Chief Executive Officer, has general oversight responsibility for all sustainability matters. Our General Counsel and Chief Sustainability Officer also chairs our global Sustainability Steering Committee, which is made up of senior company leaders and is responsible for formulating our sustainability strategy and overseeing the execution of our environmental, social and governance initiatives.

Climate Change Impact

The increasing focus on sustainability and climate change has furthered demand for energy efficient products such as our high-efficiency boilers and water heaters, our Aegis heat pumps, under floor heating systems, smart thermostats, and our Microflex insulated pipes. Concern around water conservation has led to increased interest in products that are designed to reduce water consumption, such as our Nexa intelligent water management system, ACV Assure monitoring system, Intelliflow water shut off device, ZeroWaste reverse osmosis filters, OneFlow anti-scale system, Hygienic Pro drains, and our Trident™ and Leak Defense leak detection and water shutoff systems. We have also seen increased interest in our products and services that are designed to protect our customers from contaminated water and safeguard biodiversity, such as backflow preventers, HF Scientific ballast water testing systems, Intellistation® digital water mixing systems, and Lync® brand solutions. Severe weather events that cause damage to, or destruction of, water systems and plumbing devices have also resulted in increased demand for replacement products and repair kits.

Environmental Stewardship

We believe we have made substantial progress in reducing the environmental impact of our operations. Recent initiatives have resulted in a reduction on our global water consumption and our greenhouse gas emissions, including through the implementation of smart monitoring systems in many of our high water-use facilities to promote early leak and surge detection and investments in various energy reduction projects. With respect to our product handprint, we provide a portfolio of products, components and systems that conserve water, save energy, reduce waste and preserve water quality and safety. In addition, our goal is to embed sustainability throughout the lifecycle of our products to create safe, efficient, long-lasting products made with high-recycling-value materials wherever possible.

Social Responsibility

We are focused on creating both economic and social value and strive to have a positive impact on our global community. During 2024, we supported those in need through donations of money and products to several non-profit charitable organizations and through the volunteer efforts of our employees. One example was our ongoing partnership with the Planet Water Foundation. During 2024, we worked with Planet Water to fund the construction of eight AquaTowers and AquaSan systems during their World Water Day and Global Handwashing Day campaigns in order to provide clean, safe drinking water for people in Cambodia, Mexico, the Philippines and Vietnam and the construction of an additional emergency Aqua Tower in Vietnam in the wake of Typhoon Yagi. We also made donations to the American Red Cross to assist with relief efforts in the southeastern United States following Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Governance, Business Ethics, and Compliance

We believe that good corporate governance and an environment of high ethical standards are important for us to achieve business success and to create value for our stockholders. Our Board is committed to high governance standards and continually works to improve them. We periodically review our corporate governance policies and practices and compare them to those suggested by various authorities on corporate governance and employed by other public companies and consider changes to our corporate governance policies and practices in light of such guidance and interpretations. We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct applicable to all officers, employees and Board members worldwide that serves as the foundation for our ethics and compliance program, and drives policy development, training initiatives, and reinforcement of our values throughout the global organization. We are also focused on adhering to responsible business practices, prioritizing employee safety and providing our employees with opportunities for personal and professional growth, including through programs and initiatives that support access, teamwork and reinforce our focus on building a high-performance, values-driven culture that welcomes employees of all identities, backgrounds and cultures. We also strive to have a positive impact on the communities in which we live and work and other communities in need through community involvement, educational partnerships and charitable giving.

Recognition

In 2024, we were recognized for the sixth year in a row as one of Newsweek’s Most Responsible Companies and we were also selected by Newsweek as one of America’s Greenest Companies for the second year in a row. We were also named one of America’s Climate Leaders by USA Today for the second consecutive year.

More information about our sustainability efforts is included in our latest Sustainability Report, available at https://investors.wattswater.com/sustainability. The material on our website, including in our Sustainability Report is for informational purposes only and is not included as part of, or incorporated by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Product Liability, Environmental and Other Litigation Matters

We are subject to a variety of potential liabilities connected with our business operations, including potential liabilities and expenses associated with possible product defects or failures and compliance with environmental laws. We maintain product liability and other insurance coverage, which we believe to be generally in accordance with industry practices. Nonetheless, such insurance coverage may not be adequate to protect us fully against substantial damage claims. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors” and Note 16 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Environmental Remediation

We have been named as a potentially responsible party with respect to a limited number of identified contaminated sites. The levels of contamination vary significantly from site to site as do the related levels of remediation efforts. Environmental liabilities are recorded based on the most probable cost, if known, or on the estimated minimum cost of remediation. Accruals are not discounted to their present value, unless the amount and timing of expenditures are fixed and reliably determinable. We accrue estimated environmental liabilities based on assumptions, which are subject to a number of factors and uncertainties. Circumstances that can affect the reliability and precision of these estimates include identification of additional sites, environmental regulations, level of clean-up required, technologies available, number and financial condition of other contributors to remediation and the time period over which remediation may occur. We recognize changes in estimates as new remediation requirements are defined or as new information becomes available. See Item 1A. “Risk Factors” and Note 16 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements, both of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Asbestos Litigation

We are defending lawsuits in different jurisdictions, alleging injury or death as a result of exposure to asbestos. The complaints in these cases typically name a large number of defendants and do not identify any of our particular products as a source of asbestos exposure. To date, discovery has failed to yield evidence of substantial exposure to any of our products and no judgments have been entered against us. Based on information currently known to it, management believes that these matters are not likely to have a material adverse effect on the business or financial condition of the Company, or to have a material adverse effect on the Company’s operating results for any particular period.

Other Litigation

Other lawsuits and proceedings or claims, arising from the ordinary course of operations, are also pending or threatened against us.

Available Information

We maintain a website with the addresswww.wattswater.com. The information contained on our website is not included as a part of, or incorporated by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Other than an investor’s own internet access charges, we make available free of charge through our website our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to these reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after we have electronically filed such material with, or furnished such material to, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Information about Our Executive Officers and Directors

Set forth below are the names of our executive officers and directors, their respective ages and positions with our Company, and a brief summary of their business experience for at least the past five years:

​​​​​
Executive Officers​Age​Position
Robert J. Pagano, Jr.​62​Chief Executive Officer, President, Chairperson of the Board and Director
Shashank Patel​64​Chief Financial Officer & Interim Chief Information Officer
Monica Barry​54​Chief Human Resources Officer
Andre Dhawan​61​Chief Operating Officer
Kenneth R. Lepage​54​General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Sustainability Officer & Secretary
Elie A. Melhem​61​President, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East & Africa
Non-Employee Directors​​​​
Rebecca J. Boll(1)(3)​53​Director
Michael J. Dubose(2)(3)​69​Director
David A. Dunbar(2)(3)​63​Lead Independent Director
Louise K. Goeser(2)(3)​71​Director
Kenneth Napolitano(1)(3)​63​Director
Joseph T. Noonan​43​Director
Merilee Raines(1)(3)​69​Director
Joseph W. Reitmeier(1)(3)​60​Director
(1)Member of the Audit Committee
(2)Member of the Compensation Committee
(3)Member of the Governance and Sustainability Committee

Robert J. Pagano, Jr. has served as Chief Executive Officer, President and a director of the Company since May 2014 and as Chairperson of the Board of Directors since February 2022. He also served as interim Chief Financial Officer from October 2014 to April 2015 and from April 2018 to July 2018. Mr. Pagano previously served as Senior Vice President of ITT Corporation and President, ITT Industrial Process from April 2009 to May 2014. Mr. Pagano originally joined ITT in 1997 and served in several additional management roles during his career at ITT, including as Vice President Finance, Corporate Controller, and President of Industrial Products. ITT Corporation is a diversified manufacturer of highly engineered critical components and customized technology solutions for the energy, transportation and industrial markets. Prior to joining ITT, Mr. Pagano worked at KPMG LLP. Mr. Pagano is a Certified Public Accountant. Mr. Pagano has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. since August 2017. Applied Industrial Technologies is a distributor of bearings, power transmission products, fluid power components and other industrial supplies and provides engineering, design and systems integration for industrial and fluid power applications, as well as customized mechanical, fabricated rubber and fluid power shop services. Mr. Pagano has also served on the Board of Directors of The Water Council since October 2021. The Water Council is a non-profit organization focused on water research, education and economic development to solve critical water challenges by driving innovation in freshwater technology and advancing water stewardship.

Shashank Patelhas served as Chief Financial Officer of the Company since July 2018 and our interim Chief Information Officer since January 2025. Mr. Patel previously worked at Xylem Inc. from the time of its spin-off from ITT Corporation in 2011 until June 2018. While at Xylem, Mr. Patel served as Vice President, Finance for Xylem Applied Water Systems, Dewatering and the America’s Commercial Team from July 2017 to June 2018, Integration Leader for the Sensus business from August 2016 to June 2017, Vice President, Finance for Global Operations from April 2016 to July 2016, Interim Chief Financial Officer of Xylem from July 2015 to March 2016, and Vice President, Finance for the Applied Water Systems division from 2011 to July 2015. Mr. Patel also served in several leadership roles in finance, operations and engineering at ITT from 1996 until the spin-off of Xylem in 2011. Xylem is a global designer, manufacturer and equipment and service provider for water and wastewater applications. Mr. Patel has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Federal Signal Corporation since October 2021. Federal Signal Corporation designs, manufactures and supplies a suite of products and integrated solutions for municipal, governmental, industrial and commercial customers. In October 2024 Mr. Patel announced his intention to retire effective as of March 15, 2025. Mr. Patel will continue as Chief Financial Officer until a successor is hired and will remain with the Company through a subsequent transition period.

Monica Barry has served as Chief Human Resources Officer of the Company since October 2021. Ms. Barry previously served as Vice President, Talent Management, Organizational Development and Corporate Human Resources Business Partner with Colfax Corporation from February 2020 to September 2021. Colfax is a global diversified technology company that provides specialty medical technologies and fabrication technology products and services. Ms. Barry served as Vice President, Global Talent, Learning & Development and Inclusion from July 2015 to January 2020 and as Vice President, Human Resources, Health Sector from August 2012 to October 2015 for Johnson Matthey, PLC. Johnson Matthey is a provider of catalyst systems for emission control within vehicles, products and processing services for the efficient use and transformation of natural resources, active pharmaceutical ingredients for a variety of treatments and drugs, and emerging opportunities in battery materials and fuel cells. From 2010 to 2012, Ms. Barry served as Director Human Resources, North America Supply Chain & Labor Relations for The Campbell Soup Company. Prior to 2010, Ms. Barry held several human resources and operations management positions with FMC Corporation.

Andre Dhawan has served as Chief Operating Officer of the Company since August 2022. Mr. Dhawan previously worked at Gilbarco Veeder-Root, a subsidiary of Vontier Corporation and formerly a subsidiary of Danaher Corporation and Fortive Corporation. While at Gilbarco Veeder-Root, Mr. Dhawan served as President, Americas from July 2020 to July 2022 and President, EMEA & APAC from July 2015 to July 2020. Gilbarco Veeder-Root is a global manufacturer of fueling and convenience store equipment and technology. Mr. Dhawan also served as President, EMEA for Xylem Inc. from 2013 to 2014 following its spin-off from ITT Corporation. From 1998 to 2012, Mr. Dhawan served in a number of progressively more senior leadership positions within ITT Corporation.

Kenneth R. Lepage has served as General Counsel and Secretary of the Company since August 2008, as Chief Sustainability Officer since May 2021 and as Chief Compliance Officer since October 2024. Mr. Lepage also previously served as Chief Human Resources Officer of the Company from April 2020 to October 2021 and from December 2009 to October 2015. Mr. Lepage originally joined the Company in September 2003 as Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Lepage was a Junior Partner at the law firm of Hale and Dorr LLP (now Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP).

Elie A. Melhem has served as President, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa since February 2016. Mr. Melhem originally joined the Company in July 2011 as President, Asia Pacific. Mr. Melhem was previously the Managing Director of China for Ariston Thermo Group, a global manufacturer of heating and hot water products, from 2008 to July 2011. Prior to joining Ariston, Mr. Melhem spent eleven years with ITT Industries in China where he held several management positions, including serving as President of ITT’s Residential and Commercial Water Group in China and President of ITT’s Water Technology Group in Asia.

Rebecca J. Boll has served as a director of the Company since February 2024. Ms. Boll served as Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer at Fluence Energy, Inc. from 2020 until January 2025. Fluence is a leading provider of energy storage products and services and cloud-based software for the renewable energy and energy storage markets, and its service offerings include delivery services and recurring operational services, as well as financing structuring services. Ms. Boll previously served as Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Strategy for the Building Management business unit at Schneider Electric from 2018 to 2020. Prior to this position, Ms. Boll held several management positions at General Electric from 2005 to 2018, including Chief Technology Officer of GE Licensing and Technology Ventures; Executive General Manager, Edge Computing and Software Solutions, Automation & Controls; and Commercial Leader, GE2GE, Automation & Controls. Prior to joining General Electric, Ms. Boll held management positions at Northrop Grumman, Allied Domecq and Leo Burnett Advertising, and she served as an electronic combat officer, AWACS, in the United States Air Force.

Michael J. Dubose has served as a director of the Company since December 2020. Mr. Dubose has served as Operating Partner for Commercial Excellence of GenNx360 Capital Partners and Chief Executive Officer of B2B Industrial Packaging since December 2024. GenNx360 Capital Partners is a private equity firm focused on acquiring middle market industrial and business service companies. B2B Industrial Packaging is a distributor of packaging equipment and supplies owned by GenNx360. Mr. Dubose previously served as President of the Fisher Healthcare Division of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. from March 2019 to August 2023. Thermo Fisher Scientific engages in the provision of analytical instruments, equipment, reagents and consumables, software and services for research, analysis, discovery, and diagnostics. Mr. Dubose previously served as Vice President of National Accounts and Cross Border Business Globally for W.W. Grainger, Inc. from 2010 to March 2019. W.W. Grainger is a leading broad line supplier of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) products. Prior to this position, he served as a Regional Vice President of Staples, Inc. from 2008 to 2010. Prior to 2008, Mr. Dubose held senior management positions with Corporate Express Inc., Alliant Foodservice Inc. and Baxter International Inc.

David A. Dunbar has served as a director of the Company since February 2017 and as Lead Independent Director of our Board of Directors since July 2023. Mr. Dunbar has served as President and Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Standex International Corporation since January 2014, and as Chairman since October 2016. Standex is a global, multi-industry manufacturer comprised of five broad business segments: Electronics, Engraving, Scientific, Engineering Technologies and Specialty Solutions. Mr. Dunbar previously served as President of the valves and controls global business unit of Pentair Ltd. from October 2009 to December 2013. The unit was initially owned by Tyco Flow Control and Tyco Flow Control and Pentair merged in 2012. Pentair is a global provider of products and services relating to energy, water, thermal management and equipment protection. Prior to his tenure at Pentair, Mr. Dunbar held a number of senior positions at Emerson Electric Co., including President of each of the following: Emerson Process Management Europe; Machinery Health Management; and Emerson Climate Technologies Refrigeration.

Louise K. Goeserhas served as a director of the Company since March 2018. Ms. Goeser served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Grupo Siemens S.A. de C.V. from March 2009 until her retirement in May 2018. In this position, Ms. Goeser was responsible for Siemens Mesoamérica, which is the Mexican, Central American and Caribbean unit of multinational Siemens AG, a global engineering company operating in the industrial, energy and healthcare sectors. Ms. Goeser previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Ford of Mexico from January 2005 to November 2008. Prior to this position, she served as Vice President, Global Quality for Ford Motor Company from 1999 to 2005. Prior to 1999, Ms. Goeser served as General Manager, Refrigeration and Vice President, Corporate Quality at Whirlpool Corporation and held various leadership positions with Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Ms. Goeser has served as a member of the Board of Directors of MSC Industrial Direct Co., Inc. since December 2009. MSC is a North American distributor of metal working and maintenance, repair, and operations products and services. Ms. Goeser previously served as a member of the boards of directors of Talen Energy from June 2015 to December 2016, PPL Corporation from March 2003 to June 2015, and Witco Corporation from 1997 to 1999.

Kenneth Napolitano has served as a director of the Company since March 2024. Mr. Napolitano served as Senior Vice President and President of the Applied Water Systems and Americas Commercial Team of Xylem, Inc. from 2017 until his retirement in 2020, and as Senior Vice President and President of Applied Water Systems at Xylem from 2011 to 2017. Xylem is a developer of water solutions through smart technology. Prior to the spin-off of Xylem from ITT Corporation in 2011, Mr. Napolitano held several management roles at ITT from 1998 to 2011, including President of Residential and Commercial Water, President of the Industrial Products Group, Vice President of Sales and Service Operations, Americas, General Manager of PumpSmart Control Solutions and Director of Distributor Sales. From 1984 to 1998, Mr. Napolitano held several sales and sales management roles at Goulds Pumps, Inc., which was acquired by ITT in 1997.

Joseph T. Noonan has served as a director of the Company since May 2013. Mr. Noonan is currently an angel investor and advisor to consumer, software and technology-enabled companies. Mr. Noonan served as Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Linger Home, Inc., a direct-to-consumer home textile brand, from August 2018 to January 2020. From November 2013 to January 2018, Mr. Noonan served as Chief Executive Officer of Homespun Design, Inc., an online marketplace for American-made furniture and home accents. Mr. Noonan previously worked as an independent digital strategy consultant from November 2012 to November 2013. Mr. Noonan was employed by Wayfair LLC from April 2008 to November 2012. During his time at Wayfair, Mr. Noonan served as Senior Director of Wayfair International from June 2011 to November 2012, Director of Category Management and Merchandising from February 2009 to June 2011 and Manager of Wayfair’s Business-to-Business Division from April 2008 to February 2009. Wayfair is an online retailer of home furnishings, décor and home improvement products. Prior to joining Wayfair, Mr. Noonan worked as a venture capitalist at Polaris Partners and as an investment banker at Cowen & Company.

Merilee Raines has served as a director of the Company since February 2011. Ms. Raines served as Chief Financial Officer of IDEXX Laboratories, Inc. from October 2003 until her retirement in May 2013. Prior to becoming Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Raines held several management positions with IDEXX Laboratories, including Corporate Vice President of Finance, Vice President of Finance and Treasurer, Director of Finance, and Controller. IDEXX Laboratories develops, manufactures and distributes products and provides services primarily for the companion animal veterinary, livestock and poultry, dairy and water testing industries. Ms. Raines served as a member of the Board of Directors of Affymetrix, Inc., a provider of life science and molecular diagnostic products that enable analysis of biological systems at the gene, protein and cell level, from January 2015 until it was acquired in March 2016. Ms. Raines also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Aratana Therapeutics, Inc., a pet therapeutics company focused on licensing, developing and commercializing biopharmaceutical products for companion animals, from February 2014 until it was acquired in July 2019. Ms. Raines served as a member of the Board of Directors of Benchmark Electronics, Inc., a worldwide provider of engineering services, integrated technology solutions and electronic manufacturing services from May 2018 to June 2021. Ms. Raines has served as a member of the Board of Directors of TransMedics Group, Inc., a medical technology company providing novel systems for the preservation and transport of organs to be used for transplant, since January 2021, and as a member of the Board of Directors of Ocular Therapeutix, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the formulation, development and commercialization of innovative therapies for diseases and conditions of the eye, since September 2021.

Joseph W. Reitmeier has served as a director of the Company since February 2016. Mr. Reitmeier served as Executive Vice President and Advisor of Lennox International Inc. from January 2024 until his retirement in February 2024. Mr. Reitmeier previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Lennox International from July 2012 until December 2023, as Vice President of Finance for the Commercial business segment of Lennox International from 2007 to July 2012, and as Director of Internal Audit of Lennox International from 2005 to 2007. Lennox International is a leading global provider of climate control solutions and it designs, manufactures and markets a broad range of products for the heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration markets. Before joining Lennox International, Mr. Reitmeier held financial leadership roles at Cummins Inc. and PolyOne Corporation.

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