Frigoduman was founded in 1973 by Kemal Duman, who passed away in July. The company's roots were laid when he started supplying equipment to the cooling industry after years of service experience. Frigoduman's half-century journey and recent developments were shared by Vice Chairman of the Board Yaman Duman
We stand behind the quality of every product we sell, aiming to provide our customers with reliable and sustainable supply
Frigoduman Cooling Ind. and Trade Co. completed its 50th year in the industry this year and continues to progress steadily. The foundations of our company were laid when our founder Kemal Duman, after completing his education, began supplying equipment to the cooling industry following years of service experience. Duman Cooling, after changes in titles such as Frigoduman Limited Company, has been serving our industry as Frigoduman Inc. since 1995. With our group company, Frigoduman Kimya Inc., established in 2020, we provide chemical-focused products and services to the cooling and air conditioning sector.
Unfortunately, we lost our founder Kemal Duman this year. Upholding his principles and memory, we endeavor to develop Frigoduman in a way that would make Kemal Duman proud every day as his legacy in the industry. Growing and evolving since its establishment, Frigoduman currently employs a total of 35 personnel in three different locations: its central office in Izmir, branch office in Istanbul, and filling facility in Izmir Aliağa. Importing from the brands we represent domestically, it has always been our priority to deliver the highest quality and state-of-the-art equipment to the Turkish cooling and air conditioning industry. We stand behind the quality of every product we sell, aiming to provide our customers with reliable and sustainable supply.
Due to our extensive and diverse inventory, we receive export requests from neighboring countries when necessary. While recognizing the importance of exports, our primary mission as a company serving our own country is to prioritize quick access to products for our domestic business partners. Therefore, we engage in exports only when it does not disrupt the service we provide, acknowledging the relatively low proportion of our exports. Despite recognizing the significance of exports, our mission as a company primarily serving our own country leads to a relatively low export rate.
Our intensive workload extends beyond collaboration with companies' Research and Development departments; in addition to product sales, we also provide post-sales technical support in the field as needed
Our product portfolio includes all the items required by our industry, ranging from compressors to heat exchangers, electronic control devices to hand tools, refrigerants to oils used in cooling. As all our products can be considered semi-finished goods, we cater to a diverse customer base, from OEMs to service companies, contracting firms to end-users, depending on application and volume. We strive to reach the entire Turkish HVAC industry through customer visits, local fairs, industry magazine advertisements, and active use of social media. We provide regular supply to manufacturers with different approaches to meet various needs, respond to urgent requirements of service companies, and offer technical support in the procurement phase to determine the most suitable equipment for special projects.
Just as we invest significant time with companies' Research and Development departments, providing post-sales technical support in the field is also among our services after product sales. Frigoduman Kimya, on the other hand, specializes in refrigerant gases, offering active services in every aspect of refrigerants, such as sampling for testing or customs clearance, gas recovery, tube testing, valve replacement, adapter manufacturing, tank rental, tank transport pallet manufacturing, and the design of filling system projects.
Just as we entered the pandemic period, we are continuing in the same manner post-pandemic. Our corporate culture and business approach essentially remain unchanged, but various aspects of our company have come to the forefront during the pre-pandemic, during, and post-pandemic periods. Before the pandemic, our focus was on customer relationships, with ease in product sourcing and abundant options, along with service and financial conveniences. However, during the pandemic, the extended supply times and increased shipping costs in global trade highlighted the benefits of our extensive stock and diverse product inventory. This led to the acquisition of new business partners. The challenging economic climate post-pandemic is once again providing a positive outlook for our company, emphasizing the importance of stock capacity and prompt product sourcing with short delivery times.
During the pandemic, irrespective of the pandemic itself, we successfully executed many structural and operational innovations that were part of our investment plans. These included the completion of projects such as the filling facility, increasing our refrigerant gas storage capacity, and transitioning to a barcode-based warehouse system. While our business approach remained consistent before and after the pandemic, numerous improvements and updates were implemented in the background
The HVAC industry in our country has reached an advanced stage on the international level. I am sure we all take pride in being members of such an industry. We have a highly organized, experienced, and quality-producing sector. Our successes in exports are undeniable proof of this. In my personal view, beyond keeping pace with the world, we should go further and lead innovation, an area where many companies in our sector are already active.
We are in an era where even the phrase 'we are in the internet age' has become outdated. The internet has already permeated every aspect of our lives. Now, we are talking about artificial intelligence, automation, remote access, and data collection. Perhaps the most crucial aspect we could say is lacking in HVAC applications within the country is the absence of a control mentality. While we cannot overlook the economic conditions we are currently facing, I can also say that the difficulty lies in changing user mentality to some extent. Despite knowing the difference in investment and operating costs, we have yet to fully internalize this, or the difficulty in foreseeing the future and planning for the long term, a capability present in many industries, makes us somewhat skeptical in our country.
In an ideal world, systems providing real-time data flow remotely, capable of storing work data for an extended period, and smart automations, even utilizing artificial intelligence, could lead to more efficient system operations. This includes anticipating possible issues before they occur and optimizing maintenance, ensuring a more cost-effective use of the country's capital. While these systems and technologies may already be in use, we believe that affordable solutions, similar to some products in our current portfolio, which are also available, can be implemented for small businesses, from local grocery stores to butchers, both now and in the long term.
At Frigoduman, we genuinely believe in the importance of vocational training and non-governmental organizations. To this end, we collaborate with vocational high schools on student internships. We strive to support education by providing equipment to vocational schools and universities where HVAC training is provided through the NGOs we are part of.
Additionally, I am a member of the Aegean Cooling Industrialists Businessmen Association and serve on the Board of Directors as a company representative. Simultaneously, we are members of the Cooling Industry Businessmen Association both as Frigoduman Cooling and Frigoduman Kimya, where we also participate in various commissions. Although not specific to the sector, I am a member of the Aegean Young Business People Association and serve on the Board of Directors. We try to contribute to the events organized by EGİAD as sponsors, aiming to engage in activities that will benefit our city, region, and the overall development of our country.
2024 is a year of continued change and development for us. In the past two years, we have experienced a busy period with investments in e-commerce, governance systems, and refrigerants to adapt to the modern world. While 2023 may not have been a year of significant commercial growth, we evaluated it as a time to adapt ourselves to the future. In 2023, we added many new brand representations to our portfolio, and I believe we will see the commercial reflections of these in the coming periods.
As we look ahead to the next five years, I don't think Frigoduman will have a quiet year. As a company open to innovation and development, not hesitating to reinvest in the sector, you can always expect news of new products, brands, systems, and investments from us.
The Turkish HVAC industry is highly organized and continues to develop rapidly. I believe that the increase in local production will lead to more initiatives that contribute value and brand awareness to our country. We have hope that foreign investments will come to our country in the long term, considering our strategic position and the healthy rise in domestic demand. However, for these to happen, we hope for an increase in legislation and control by the public sector, taking into account the country's conditions and world standards, as well as a swift transition of regional factors affecting our country from negative to positive.
At Frigoduman, we trust ourselves, our industry, and our country, looking to the future with hope.
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