Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd is a 100% New Zealand-owned industrial and commercial refrigeration and HVAC services group operating 11 regional businesses and 300+ staff nationwide. It designs, builds, services, and maintains ammonia and CO2 refrigeration plants, industrial heat pumps, and HVAC systems for food processors, transport, government, and commercial clients.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2005
- HeadquartersHāwera, New Zealand
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd does
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd is a 100% New Zealand-owned industrial and commercial refrigeration and HVAC services group headquartered in Hāwera, Taranaki, and operating 11 regional businesses across every region of Aotearoa New Zealand with 300+ staff and more than 40 apprentices. Founded in 2005 by six individuals to serve Taranaki's industrial refrigeration market, the group has grown through organic regional expansion and a sustained acquisition roll-up of local HVAC and refrigeration operators between 2013 and 2024. Its core offering covers design, build, installation, servicing and maintenance of industrial refrigeration plants (notably ammonia and cascade ammonia/CO2 systems with reduced synthetic-refrigerant charge), commercial HVAC, industrial heat pumps, and engineering design-and-build via the dedicated Excel Engineering Ltd subsidiary, supported by a Simpro-based real-time asset management platform and 24/7 nationwide emergency response.
The group's technology stack centres on natural refrigerants — low-charge ammonia skids (2.4MW chilled water, 275kW chilled glycol), cascade ammonia/CO2 systems that eliminate synthetic refrigerants such as R507, and industrial heat pumps delivering hot water at 40–85°C+ while simultaneously providing chilled water, including the largest industrial heat pump installation in New Zealand at 7MW+ heat load. Customers are predominantly industrial food and beverage processors (Fonterra/Hochland, ANZCO Foods, AFFCO, Heinz Watties), cold storage and commercial operators, transport providers (Interislander/KiwiRail), and government/institutional facilities (GNS Science, multiple district councils), with enterprise logos balanced against 1000+ total accounts nationwide.
Revenue is generated through project-based design-build contracts (large one-time installations such as Project Goldrush valued at ~$32M), recurring service and maintenance contracts with real-time asset management via Simpro, equipment and component supply, and a growing industrial heat pump business. Pricing is bespoke and quote-driven rather than publicly listed. Group Managing Director Stephen Frowde and Group Director Craig Heerdegen lead the holding entity, with regional directors managing each of the 11 operating businesses, and the group holds a minority stake in EcoChill Limited as a related-party investment.
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd
- Legal name
- Excel Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Limited
- Website
- https://excel.co.nz
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2005
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd is a 100% New Zealand-owned industrial and commercial refrigeration and HVAC services group operating 11 regional businesses and 300+ staff nationwide. It designs, builds, services, and maintains ammonia and CO2 refrigeration plants, industrial heat pumps, and HVAC systems for food processors, transport, government, and commercial clients.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Industrial Refrigeration & HVAC Services
- NAICS
- Refrigeration Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (423740)
- SIC
- Refrigeration & Service Industry Machinery (3580), Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Refrigeration & Cold-Chain Equipment Service (IMAIABAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Refrigeration Installation & Replacement (Commercial) (HSAOAJAD), Emergency Refrigeration Service (24/7) (HSAOAJAM), Blast Chiller & Specialty Refrigeration Service (HSAOAJAJ), Commercial Refrigeration & HVAC (Foodservice) Wholesale (AFAIALAI)
Keywords
Where Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Hāwera
- HQ country
- New Zealand
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices12 records
Markets served
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Design, Build & Installation Services: Project-based design and build of industrial refrigeration plants, HVAC systems, and engineering solutions. Includes turnkey projects covering process, mechanical, and electrical work. Revenue from large-scale installation contracts (e.g., AFFCO Wairoa, ANZCO Foods, Project Goldrush).
- Servicing & Maintenance Contracts: Ongoing servicing and maintenance contracts for commercial and industrial refrigeration and HVAC systems. Includes regular plant servicing, real-time asset management via Simpro, and 24/7 emergency call-out capability.
- Equipment & Component Supply: Supply of refrigeration equipment including compressor skids, evaporative condensers, chillers, and refrigeration components as part of design-build projects or standalone supply.
- Industrial Heat Pump Systems: Design, installation, and commissioning of industrial heat pump systems for large-scale process heating and cooling applications in industrial facilities.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels6 records
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd designs, builds, installs, services and maintains industrial and commercial refrigeration, HVAC and air conditioning systems throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. Core offerings include commercial refrigeration (bar chillers, ice makers, supermarket fridges, compressor skids), commercial HVAC for offices/retail/hospitality/public buildings, industrial refrigeration (ammonia-based and natural refrigerant plants for dairy, meat, cold storage, wine, food processing), industrial heat pumps with heat recovery, and engineering design-and-build services for turnkey process, mechanical and electrical projects. The group delivers these services through 11 regional businesses with 300+ staff and 24/7 nationwide emergency call-out backed by real-time Simpro remote monitoring.
Product overview
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd is a leading industrial and commercial refrigeration and HVAC service provider operating throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. The company offers a portfolio of integrated services including Commercial Refrigeration, Commercial HVAC, Industrial Refrigeration, Industrial Heat Pumps, Ammonia as Refrigerant Systems, and Engineering Design & Build. Key supporting services include Remote Monitoring and Diagnostics, Real Time Asset Management via Simpro, 24/7 Emergency Service, Custom Design Solutions, and Heat Recovery Systems. The company operates through 11 regional businesses across New Zealand with 300+ staff, serving dairy, cold storage, wine, food, meat, hospitality, and commercial sectors.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Commercial Refrigeration Design, build, servicing and maintenance of commercial refrigeration systems including bar chillers, ice makers, cooling towers, packaged chillers, compressor skids and supermarket fridges and freezers for retail, hospitality and food distribution customers in New Zealand.
- Commercial HVAC Design, build, servicing and maintenance of commercial heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for offices, shopping centres, hotels, hospitals, theatres, libraries, heritage buildings and other commercial premises in New Zealand, including IQP-registered building compliance approvals.
- Industrial Refrigeration Industrial refrigeration plant design, build, servicing and maintenance for dairy, cold storage, wine, food and meat industries across New Zealand, with focus on sustainability, efficiency and plant life longevity. Examples include turnkey ammonia systems, spiral freezer dehumidification upgrades and heat recovery projects for Fonterra, ANZCO Foods, AFFCO and Heinz Watties.
- Industrial Heat Pumps Design, installation and commissioning of large-scale industrial heat pump systems that convert ambient or waste heat to higher useful temperatures (40°C, 65°C and 85°C+) using ammonia or CO2 compression cycles, delivered for hospitals, sterilization, hot water and laundry services and integrated with chilled water production. Featured in the largest industrial heat pump project in Aotearoa New Zealand at 7MW+ heat load.
- Ammonia as Refrigerant Systems Design, build and maintenance of ammonia refrigeration solutions with zero global warming potential, including low-charge ammonia systems and cascade ammonia/CO2 systems that reduce ammonia charge on site, lower safety risks and eliminate synthetic refrigerants such as R507. Targeted at large industrial facilities in food and beverage, cold-storage and petrochemical industries.
- Engineering Design & Build Turnkey industrial system design and build services through Excel Engineering Ltd covering process, mechanical and electrical work from concept design through construction and commissioning for large-scale industrial refrigeration, HVAC, ammonia and heat pump projects.
- 24/7 Emergency Service & Maintenance On-call servicing, breakdown response and preventative maintenance available 24/7/365 for refrigeration and HVAC systems across New Zealand, delivered by the group's 11 regional businesses and supported by Simpro remote monitoring and online diagnostics.
- Heat Recovery Systems Engineering, supply and integration of heat recovery systems that capture waste heat rejected by refrigeration processes and convert it to higher useful temperatures for industrial process heating, reducing energy consumption by up to 50% compared with conventional systems.
- Refrigeration Equipment & Component Supply Supply of refrigeration equipment including compressor skids, evaporative condensers, chillers and refrigeration components, typically delivered as part of design-build projects or as standalone equipment supply to industrial and commercial customers.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduced ammonia charge on site by over 20 metric tonnes through cascade system design
- +7 more outcomes
Companies that use Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- EcoChill LimitedminorExcel Group Managing Director Stephen Frowde is also a director of EcoChill Limited. Excel Group independently owns shares in EcoChill. EcoChill appears to be a related entity in the refrigeration industry, though the nature of the commercial relationship is not detailed in available sources.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves18 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd social profiles
Digital presenceExcel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles16 records
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries23 records
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd
What does Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd do?
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd designs, builds, installs, services and maintains industrial and commercial refrigeration, HVAC and air conditioning systems throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. Core offerings include commercial refrigeration (bar chillers, ice makers, supermarket fridges, compressor skids), commercial HVAC for offices/retail/hospitality/public buildings, industrial refrigeration (ammonia-based and natural refrigerant plants for dairy, meat, cold storage, wine, food processing), industrial heat pumps with heat recovery, and engineering design-and-build services for turnkey process, mechanical and electrical projects. The group delivers these services through 11 regional businesses with 300+ staff and 24/7 nationwide emergency call-out backed by real-time Simpro remote monitoring.
Is Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd a public or private company?
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd founded?
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd was founded in 2005. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd based?
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd is headquartered in Hāwera, New Zealand, in the Oceania region.
How does Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Design, Build & Installation Services are the primary driver. The others are servicing & Maintenance Contracts, equipment & Component Supply and industrial Heat Pump Systems.
Does Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd have an API?
No public API is recorded for Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd.
What industry is Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd in?
Excel Refrigeration & A/C Ltd's product category is Industrial Refrigeration & HVAC Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAIABAE, Refrigeration & Cold-Chain Equipment Service, with a secondary code of HSAOAJAD, Refrigeration Installation & Replacement (Commercial). Its NAICS code is 423740 and its SIC code is 3580.