By Eamonn Ryan
Refrimate expands with new Randfontein warehouse to support growing HVAC market. This is part one of a two-part series.
© RACA Journal
FS Oil, trading as Refrimate, has opened a new warehouse at 33 Steyr Street and is planning a future manufacturing facility in Randfontein, consolidating its operations and creating room for further growth in the HVAC and refrigeration sector.
Owner Faizal Patel says the move from rented premises to a company-owned property is a strategic step to improve security, and to simplify control over stock, logistics and customer service across South Africa and the wider region.
“Refrimate started 12 years ago in a modest 170m² facility. The company has since grown to occupy approximately 10 200m² of land, with about 3 600m² on the ground floor and additional mezzanine space. Two further buildings of around 1 200m² each have also been completed.
“This expanded footprint allows Refrimate to bring what used to be five separate warehouses into a more centralised operation,” says Patel.
A key driver behind the move has been stock availability and lead-time reduction for HVAC and refrigeration contractors and OEMs. Refrimate supplies domestic and commercial refrigeration components and parts nationwide, and into neighbouring SADC countries. Customers include:
- Refrigeration and HVAC contractors
- OEMs and panel manufacturers
- Franchise outlets and independent distributors
From the new Randfontein hub, Refrimate dispatches an estimated 20–30 courier shipments per day, supplying customers throughout South Africa and into Botswana, Zambia, Swaziland and other southern African markets.
The larger, consolidated facility is intended to:
- Hold deeper and broader stock of key refrigeration and HVAC components
- Improve order turnaround times
- Support country‑wide and regional delivery from a single, better‑controlled site
Refrimate’s core business lies in supplying components and parts for refrigeration and HVAC applications, rather than complete systems. The company offers a wide range of domestic and commercial refrigeration spares and components, and acts as an agent for several major international brands, including Danfoss, Bock and Spain-based Cubigel. In addition, Refrimate sources components from large global manufacturers such as Huawei, one of the world’s largest producers of domestic compressors.
The company positions itself as a high-availability, trade-focused supplier, aiming to provide competitively priced alternatives without compromising on quality. Patel is critical of historically high margins in the market and says Refrimate’s model is based on modest mark-ups and long-term relationships with both suppliers and customers, rather than on short-term profit.
In practice, this means Refrimate often offers cost-effective alternatives to branded products, including items manufactured by the same factories that produce for global labels but supplied under different branding.
Service philosophy: emergency support and contractor focus
Beyond pricing, Patel stresses service and responsiveness as central to Refrimate’s value proposition. The company supports contractors who are bound by strict service-level agreements with national retail chains and other clients, often requiring response within five hours.
Refrimate has a reputation for after-hours assistance: Patel recounts instances of opening for emergency collections on public holidays and even assisting customers located 400km away at 2:00AM to prevent major stock losses, for example in poultry operations.
The business supports around 72 independent franchise-type outlets across South Africa. These are not Refrimate-branded branches, but partners that purchase from Refrimate and are encouraged to build their own businesses in local markets. This contractor- and partner-focused model is positioned as a way to strengthen the broader HVAC and refrigeration ecosystem, especially smaller businesses and technicians.
With the Randfontein warehouse providing the space and logistical backbone for this contractor-focused model, Refrimate is now using the new facility as a springboard for product innovation and future manufacturing aimed squarely at African operating conditions.
© RACA Journal