Cowley Refrigeration is proud of its leading presence in the New Zealand Refrigeration and Airconditioning Industry.

At Cowley Refrigeration we specialize in the design, manufacture, installation, service and planned preventative maintenance of commercial refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment and systems for supermarkets, Food retail, Food manufacturing, Storage, and Distribution sectors.

Company History

D & S Cowley Limited was established in 1956 by Doug and Stuart Cowley to supply and service commercial refrigeration equipment.

From its beginnings, in Wellington, the company has strengthened and branched out until it now also operates from Palmerston North, New Plymouth, Hastings, and Auckland.

During this period the name has altered to its present form of Cowley Refrigeration.

Stuart Cowley was killed in an aircraft accident in Honolulu in 1962, leaving Doug Cowley operating the business.

Doug Cowley was a founding director of Snowline Industries, who developed and manufactured the first Tyler supermarket display refrigeration equipment in New Zealand, under license to Tyler America, as well as a range of package cabinets for the smaller retail outlets of their own design. Snowline Tyler was subsequently taken over by McAlpine Industries.

Glynn Cowley joined the Company in 1978, and along with Doug, they continued to develop and enlarge the Company. Glynn has now taken the position of Managing Director, following Dougs’ retirement from the day to day operations in 1990.

In October 1997 Cowley Refrigeration joined forces with Australian refrigeration company Austral Refrigeration. Austral Refrigeration also owns and operates the Kysor Warren supermarket cabinet manufacturing company.

Cowley Refrigeration’s range of work has also changed, and now, whilst commercial refrigeration still makes up a large section of our work, we also undertake to work in industrial refrigeration, engineering, air conditioning, heating and ventilating, scientific refrigeration equipment manufacture, the importation of refrigeration cabinets and equipment and the marketing of these products in New Zealand, the supply and construction of coolrooms.

Cowley Refrigeration can today undertake to design, supply, install, service and/or maintain a complete range of new or existing equipment on a 24 hour, seven days per week basis, in all regions.