 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | HVAC |
| Founded | 1883 |
| Founder | Ed Friedrich |
| Headquarters | 10001 Reunion Place San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
Key people | Chuck Campbell, President |
Number of employees | 194 |
| Parent | Rheem |
| Website | friedrich |
Friedrich Air Conditioning is an American privately held company that manufactures commercial-grade room air conditioners and specialty cooling products for residential and light commercial applications. The company is based in Uptown, San Antonio, Texas.
The company was founded in 1883 by Ed Friedrich as a manufacturer of handcrafted furniture and other goods such as billiards tables, 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 toward 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 its headquarters to the Pan Am Expressway on San Antonio's Near East Side, once part of Fort Sam Houston. The San Antonio, TX production plant was shuttered on November 16, 2007, bringing an end to U.S. manufactured Friedrich products. Beginning in 2008, the company moved the bulk of its production to Monterrey, Mexico; citing increasing U.S. production costs as well as an influx of low-cost brands, who employed overseas production, as reasons for doing so. [1] [2] However, all engineering and warehousing remains in San Antonio, TX. In 2010, the company moved its headquarters again to a building in Uptown San Antonio, to the immediate west of the city's airport. The company was acquired by Corinthian Capital in December 2012. It was then acquired by Monomoy Capital Partners, and once again acquired by Rheem in 2021. [3]
Friedrich is now focused on manufacturing room air conditioners. [4] Their products include window, thru-the-wall, portable and ductless air conditioners, as well as dehumidifiers. [5]
After nearly 40 years of continuous production, Friedrich replaced its long-running QuietMaster line with the professional-grade Kühl series in 2010. The Kühl series retains the former S/M/L chassis setups and much of the engineering of the QuietMaster series, however, it introduced an all-new design, Wi-Fi capability (initially via a separate controller, later models are integrated), and improved efficiency. "L" chassis models are advertised as heavy duty units. Furthermore, a version that features both heating and cooling capabilities is also available, which employs either a heat pump or electric strip heating depending on the unit's BTU rating. In 2012, the company introduced the Kühl Q as an addition to the Kühl series. The Kühl Q is a direct replacement for the former Q/K/X-Star and TwinTemp models; it still retains the professional-grade slide out "Q" chassis of the previous models but with a revamped design, similar to the design of the larger Kühl units. [6]
In 2012, the entry-level Uni-Fit (thru-the-wall units) and Chill (window units) lines of room air conditioners were introduced. The Uni-Fit and Chill were manufactured by LG and produced in China. However, both lines were revamped in 2019 and 2021, respectively, at which point TCL began to produce them. They are low-cost alternatives to the Kühl/Kühl Q and WallMaster series. Additionally, at the time of their 2019/2021 redesign, Wi-Fi capability, electric heating capability (on select versions), and QuietMaster technology began to be offered; with the Chill line having been rebranded to Chill Premier. [7]
For 2023, Friedrich introduced its first line of inverter room air conditioners, also manufactured by TCL, as an addition to the Chill Premier lineup. These new units only share a namesake with the existing Chill Premier line, as the design is all-new. Lastly, it also debuts Friedrich's Library Quiet technology, which according to Friedrich can be as silent as 42 dB. [8]
For 2025, the Kühl and Kühl Q lines received several updates to bring them in line with other Friedrich products. Inverter compressors, running on R32 refrigerant, are now standard across the entire line; they utilize Friedrich's "Precision Inverter" technology as seen on the Chill Premier. Another update is the introduction of Friedrich's "Soft-Start" technology; it allows for energy-efficient compressor startups. Notably, several BTU sizes were cut from the model line, as the Kühl Q is now only offered as an 8,000 or 10,000 BTU variant. Lastly, new single speed variants of the Kühl and Kühl Q are available in sizes between 8-36,000 BTU and also as a 10,000 BTU heat pump. [9]
Source: [10]
