Air Conditioning Newcastle, Refrigeration & Catering Equipment | Installation, Repairs & Servicing

Coles Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Pty Ltd was founded by the late Sidney Harold Cole in 1939. Mr Cole was the son of a British mechanical engineer who came to Australia in the 1880’s to establish Adelaide’s first ice works and meat chilling plant.

The 1920’s saw (our founder) the late Mr Cole construct New South Wales’ first dairy cool room. This came as a response to refrigeration in Sydney becoming more popular for small shops and homes. In 1931 Mr Cole opened the Newcastle branch of ‘New Systems Telephones’ (later to become Email Limited) at 91 Hunter Street, Newcastle. Between 1933-1938 Mr Cole was appointed engineer/ manager. [Upon Mr Cole’s arrival to Newcastle & The Hunter there were less than thirty (30) commercial refrigeration installations.]

When ‘New Systems Telephones’ Newcastle branch closed, Mr Cole decided to venture into his own business (Coles Refrigeration). His first customer became BHP Shipping, a valued client continuously maintained until the closure of the Newcastle BHP Steelworks. A refrigeration cabinet factory was opened, at Broadmeadow in 1946, and it produced commercial refrigeration for sale all over Australia.

In March 1964 the business was sold to two (2) of Mr Cole’s senior staff. Always a leader in technical fields, Sid Cole used this early example of “worker participation” to good effect. The company grew and expanded. This model of worker participation has continued to this day.

Today, Coles Refrigeration & Air Conditioning is proud to continuously trade for 80+ years, still 100% locally owned and managed, and offering quality, energy-efficient, commercial and home / residential air conditioning, commercial refrigeration, commercial catering equipment / kitchens & mechanical ventilation services.