Friedrich Air Conditioning
Encyclopedia
Friedrich Air Conditioning is a privately held company
which manufactures commercial grade room air conditioners and specialty cooling products for residential and light commercial applications. The company is based in San Antonio, Texas
.
and other goods such as billiards table
s, store fixtures, and other cabinetry. He later turned towards refrigeration
and developed products to enhance food preservation
.
After initially focusing on optimizing ice as a coolant, Friedrich looked towards mechanical refrigeration.
By 1950, the company was a large manufacturer of commercial refrigeration equipment. It entered the relatively new field of air conditioning in 1952 with its first window air conditioning units. The company is credited with several innovations, including introducing the first refrigerated display case for food retailers.
In 1971, the company moved to its present location on the Pan Am Expressway in San Antonio, once part of Fort Sam Houston
. In 2008, the company moved the bulk of its production to Mexico.
Privately held company
A privately held company or close corporation is a business company owned either by non-governmental organizations or by a relatively small number of shareholders or company members which does not offer or trade its company stock to the general public on the stock market exchanges, but rather the...
which manufactures commercial grade room air conditioners and specialty cooling products for residential and light commercial applications. The company is based in San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
.
History
The company was founded in 1883 by Ed Friedrich as a manufacturer of handcrafted furnitureFurniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
and other goods such as billiards table
Billiards table
A billiard table or billiards table is a bounded table on which billiards-type games are played. In the modern era, all billiards tables provide a flat surface usually made of quarried slate, that is covered with cloth and surrounded by vulcanized rubber cushions, with the whole elevated above...
s, store fixtures, and other cabinetry. He later turned towards refrigeration
Refrigeration
Refrigeration is a process in which work is done to move heat from one location to another. This work is traditionally done by mechanical work, but can also be done by magnetism, laser or other means...
and developed products to enhance food preservation
Food preservation
Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food to stop or slow down spoilage and thus allow for longer storage....
.
After initially focusing on optimizing ice as a coolant, Friedrich looked towards mechanical refrigeration.
By 1950, the company was a large manufacturer of commercial refrigeration equipment. It entered the relatively new field of air conditioning in 1952 with its first window air conditioning units. The company is credited with several innovations, including introducing the first refrigerated display case for food retailers.
In 1971, the company moved to its present location on the Pan Am Expressway in San Antonio, once part of Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas.Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the first President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston....
. In 2008, the company moved the bulk of its production to Mexico.