The Specialist in Commercial HVACR Retrofitting: FridgeWize

Our mission is to save customers money and reduce their carbon footprint.

FridgeWize emerged with one vision; to help people save energy by replacing certain components within their HVACR systems. Founded in 2011, the company was set up around the need to address the huge energy consumption of heating, cooling and refrigeration components.

Headquartered in Kansas City MO, FridgeWize has implemented the product in every state in the US as well as several international countries. The company is built around a solid core of employees in Kansas City and Colorado offices. These employees manage the company, sales, operations, and rebates. With its smart products, which allows for Carbon footprint reduction, FridgeWize is helping all of the society on a global scale in reducing energy consumption, and move towards a greener planet.

Let’s Start the Ball Rolling With Ryan Grobler, Founder, and CEO

Can you talk about your first product?

Our first package that was launched revolved in and around walk-in coolers and freezers. Replacing simple components like the evaporator fan motors can provide the client with great energy savings and quick paybacks on the product. Around the motor, FrdigeWize developed its first Carbon fiber fan blade which allowed for an additional 50%+ reduction in energy usage. The blade has since evolved into different sizes for different applications and continues to advance.

Was your first project successful? Elaborate.

Our first large project was a national restaurant chain that had more than 460 locations around the country. FridgeWize was able to provide a full turnkey solution for the client from initial audits and pilot testing to a full-scale rollout. FridgeWize also completed all the rebate paperwork for the client and provided a complete database of all equipment that was retrofitted for the client’s records. The full rollout was a great experience for both FridgeWize and the client providing a great platform to target similar accounts in the market.

What is the key challenge you faced when you began?

Educating the marketplace was the single largest challenge we faced as a company. Clients simply do not understand what equipment they have moving, heating or cooling air. Most of the equipment in the market is older and consumes a very large portion of the energy every month. Simply replacing these components can save clients a very large amount of energy. Energy savings ultimately leads to bottom-line savings, which every business owner likes to see.

What are the greatest attributes of FridgeWize?

• Employees that believe in what our mission is as a company: Having the correct individuals around you that have the same core values and are competent in what they bring to the company can only lead to success. I am a great believer in people that get satisfaction out of what they do while at work and believing in the company and the goals of the company are where it all begins.
• Client relationships that have been developed and nurtured over the years: Building, nurturing and maintaining relationships with clients is imperative to building a company. Having established multiple relationships in the industry FridgeWize can return to existing clients with newer technologies ultimately benefiting the client.
• Great install teams that allow for flawless implementation: Being a turnkey solution for the client FridgeWize also needs to be able to perform the implementation of the product. Install partners in the HVACR arena that we have built relationships with over the years allow for the install to be a great experience for the client.
• Sound Business coaches: I am a firm believer that if you can listen to others opinions you will learn from their experience. Having established individuals to discuss all inside of the company can only benefit the organization.
• Having solid data to back up the proposals presented to clients: FridgeWize has taken the time to collect and process a tremendous amount of data from clients. This has allowed us to not only develop back-end calculators for proposals but more importantly scientifically prove out the savings for the client.

Discuss the future prospect of your company.

We are currently in development on a 12ft carbon fiber blade for the oil and gas industry. This could change the face of that industry by providing a superior axial fan blade slashing energy consumption on the existing sites. This product will be on the market by the 3rd quarter 2018. I see our company being the global leader in energy saving for the HVACR markets. We have interest in several countries and continue to explore those markets to try and launch our products globally.

Prime Mover of FridgeWize

Ryan Grobler, Founder, and CEO: Grobler, having studied at Rhodes University in South Africa with a focus in the sciences, began his career as a professional rugby player—an exciting first step to an unconventional journey that would result in the making of a talented entrepreneur. He developed his strong leadership skills in the construction industry owning, operating and managing several large companies both as a general contractor and developer. Grobler cultivated a passion for implementing green building practices into all phases of construction using cutting-edge technologies to offset energy usage. Possessing entrepreneurial skills honed as a successful builder, developer, and owner of companies, he saw an opportunity and chose to enter the renewable energy sector. He is a founding partner of FridgeWize and is credited with the invention and development of the Carbon Fiber blade range. Naturally leading by example, Grobler inspires his team to perform efficiently and to the best of each member’s ability.

“The energy savings that we provide our customers have ranged from 60% to 80% on their refrigeration portion of their utility bill and up to 30% on their total utility bill!”