Drake Refrigeration

What Drake Refrigeration does

Drake Refrigeration Inc., doing business as Drake Chillers, is a privately held U.S. industrial process chiller manufacturer founded in 1972 and headquartered in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. The company designs and builds custom and semi-custom chillers spanning 1 to 200 tons of cooling capacity, using scroll (2–60 HP), semi-hermetic (10–100 HP), and screw (40–214 HP) compressor technologies, in packaged air-cooled, packaged water-cooled, and split-system configurations, along with supporting tank systems, pumps, heat exchangers, and fluid coolers.

Drake organizes its offering into industry-specific sub-brands serving at least ten verticals: brewery, winery, dairy, food processing, medical (MRI, CT, linear accelerators), cannabis (including the XL Chiller line for extraction at -20°F to -40°F), refrigeration and cold storage, comfort cooling (large residences, casinos, data centers, marine), low-temperature process, and general industrial. Product differentiators include tight temperature control (claimed +/- 1°F for medical), 99.4% uptime, capacity modulation of 17–100%, redundancy options, and energy-efficiency features such as EC condenser fan motors, floating head pressure, and VFD pumps.

The company sells primarily through a direct sales motion supported by technical site reviews, custom engineering, and quote-based pricing, with parallel distribution via U.S. refrigeration wholesalers and contractors. Revenue is generated predominantly through hardware sales of chillers and accessories; pricing is not publicly disclosed and varies by configuration and customization. Drake operates from a single Bensalem, PA manufacturing facility with 11–50 employees, has no disclosed parent, subsidiaries, funding rounds, or M&A activity, and reports no senior management team in the available data.

Name

Drake Refrigeration

Legal name

Drake Refrigeration Inc.

Website

https://drakechillers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Drake Refrigeration (d.b.a. Drake Chillers) is a Bensalem, PA-based, privately held manufacturer of custom industrial process chillers (1–200 tons) serving medical, cannabis, food & beverage, comfort cooling, and general industrial customers in the United States.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Process Chillers

NAICS

Air-Conditioning and Warm Air Heating Equipment and Commercial and Industrial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing (333415)

SIC

Air-Cond & Warm Air Heatg Equip & Comm & Indl Refrig Equip (3585), Refrigeration & Service Industry Machinery (3580)

akta.pro primary industry

Chillers & Cooling Plant Equipment (IMAHAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Chillers, Boilers & Central Plant Operations (BPABACAG)

Keywords

• Industrial process chillers
• Air-cooled chillers
• Water-cooled chillers
• Custom chiller manufacturing
• Refrigeration equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Bensalem

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Industrial Chiller Sales: Sale of industrial process chillers ranging from 1 ton to 200 tons capacity, including air-cooled, water-cooled, and split-system configurations. Products available in-stock or custom-designed to specifications.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Drake Refrigeration designs and manufactures industrial process chillers in capacities from 1 to 200 tons, including packaged air-cooled, packaged water-cooled, and split-system configurations. The company sells both in-stock and custom-engineered chillers to industrial customers in industries such as brewery, winery, dairy, food processing, medical imaging, cannabis extraction, refrigeration, comfort cooling, and general industrial applications, and distributes its products through refrigeration wholesalers and direct sales.

Product overview

Drake Refrigeration (d.b.a. Drake Chillers) is an industrial process chiller manufacturer offering a comprehensive portfolio of cooling solutions. The core product line includes Packaged Air-Cooled Chillers, Packaged Water-Cooled Chillers, Split-System Air-Cooled Chillers, Tank Systems, Pumps/Heat Exchangers/Fluid Coolers, and Stock Chillers with capacities ranging from 1 ton to 200 tons. The portfolio is organized into industry-specific sub-brands including Comfort Cooling Chillers (for large residences and commercial applications), Cannabis Chillers (with XL Chiller extraction line and greenhouse cultivation systems), Medical Chillers (for MRI, CT scanners, and medical equipment), and Refrigeration Chillers (for cold storage and industrial refrigeration). Products span compressor technologies including Scroll (2-34 hp), Semi-Hermetic (25-100 hp), and Screw (38-214 hp) configurations. The company operates with over 40 years of experience, achieving a 99.4% uptime rate, with manufacturing located in Bensalem, PA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• XL Chiller: Extra-low temperature process chiller line designed for cannabis extraction, delivering fluid temperatures from -20°F to -40°F for maximum cannabinoid extraction.
• Comfort Cooling

Products and services

• Packaged Air-Cooled Chillers
• Packaged Water-Cooled Chillers Water-cooled industrial process chillers that use water from an external cooling tower to remove heat from the process, offering long lifespan, quiet operation, and energy efficiency.
• Split-System Air-Cooled Chillers Air-cooled chillers with separate condenser and compressor units allowing flexible installation configurations for various industrial applications.
• Stock Chillers Pre-configured, in-stock chiller units available for quick shipment to meet urgent cooling requirements.
• Comfort Cooling Chillers Industrial-grade comfort cooling systems designed for large residences, apartment complexes, casinos, data centers, and marine settings; refrigerant is contained entirely inside the chiller housing with environmentally safe fluid plumbed over long distances, and the system supports single-phase power capable of over 10 tons of cooling.
• Cannabis Chillers (XL Chiller line) Specialized chillers for cannabis industry applications, including the XL Chiller line for extra-low temperature extraction (-20°F to -40°F) and comfort cooling for greenhouse cultivation.
• Medical Chillers Industrial-grade medical chillers designed for year-round reliability to cool medical equipment including MRI machines, CT scanners, and linear accelerators, with tight temperature control of +/- 1°F.
• Refrigeration Chillers Custom-designed refrigeration chillers for low-temperature applications including cold storage, walk-in freezers, greenhouses, and industrial refrigeration with precise temperature control.

Quantifiable outcome

• 99.4% uptime rate
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Johnson Controls (York): York-branded chillers from Johnson Controls serve commercial, industrial, and institutional cooling markets. Comparable to Drake in capacity range and end-use, but with a global service network and much broader product breadth.
• Trane Technologies: Global HVAC and refrigeration incumbent with a broad commercial/industrial chiller portfolio under the Trane brand. Overlaps directly with Drake on air-cooled and water-cooled process chillers but competes at much larger scale with global service infrastructure.
• Carrier Global: One of the largest HVAC and commercial/industrial refrigeration equipment manufacturers worldwide. Carrier's AquaEdge and similar screw/scroll chiller lines compete head-on with Drake's packaged and split-system offerings in commercial and process-cooling applications.
• Daikin Applied: North American arm of Daikin, offering air-cooled and water-cooled commercial/industrial chillers (including the Trailblazer and Magnitude lines). Overlaps with Drake on packaged chillers but at substantially larger scale with broader refrigerant technology.

Direct peers

• Advantage Engineering: US process chiller manufacturer offering portable, central, and custom chillers with strong presence in plastics and industrial markets. Comparable in scale and customization approach to Drake.
• Cold Shot Chillers: US-based process chiller manufacturer offering air-cooled, water-cooled, and portable chillers in similar capacity ranges. Closely comparable small-mid scale competitor targeting brewery, medical, cannabis, and industrial applications with custom engineering.
• Lytron (process chillers): Manufacturer of liquid cooling and process chiller systems for medical imaging, laser, semiconductor, and industrial applications. Direct overlap with Drake's medical chiller line and temperature-precision positioning.
• MTA (process chillers): Italian manufacturer of industrial chillers, heat pumps, and process cooling solutions with global distribution. Competes in similar capacity ranges and end-use verticals including medical, food & beverage, and comfort cooling.
• Dimplex Thermal Solutions: European process cooling and chiller specialist under the Glen Dimplex group, serving medical, laser, and industrial applications. Direct technical overlap with Drake's precision temperature control offerings.
• Skidmore Chillers: Family-owned US manufacturer of custom process chillers for breweries, food processing, and industrial applications. Closely comparable in scale, customization model, and target verticals.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/drakechillers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/drake-refrigeration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Drake Refrigeration