With over 35 years of service to the community, Matt Thurman built Advanced Refrigeration & Air into an incredibly successful business based on integrity, innovation and top-notch service. Now he turns over the reins to the new CEO, his son John Thurman.

Established in 1986 in Orlando, Advanced Refrigeration & Air is a family-owned and operated company with five locations across Florida that you can trust for all of your commercial refrigeration and air conditioning needs. The company has set the industry standards for over three decades, serving leading grocery retailers, restaurants and many other commercial businesses in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

When asking John and Matt what has made the company so successful among a sea of competing businesses, their answer is simple, “Processes, quality work, experience, and organization. We offer consistent quality in every job we do. This is why we are rated No. 1 in quality and excellence by our customers, time and time again.”

The company also adamantly believes in the power behind innovation and continuing education. “Training, training and more training by our in-house trainer and senior tech Steve Aubin who was Advanced Refrigeration & Air’s first technician hired over 36 years ago. Our on-site training classroom hails the latest and greatest in similar equipment and control systems that are needed to keep our customers’ businesses running smoothly,” John explains.

As a commercial refrigeration and air company, Advanced Refrigeration offers full service for all commercial establishments including supermarkets, breweries, hotels and various manufacturing facilities, including cold storage and pharmaceutical to name a few, that could have HVAC, chiller, Co2 and even glycol systems issues. What’s more, the company also offers custom designs on both walk-in freezers and coolers for cold storage and has assisted in many construction endeavors.

“We can help design efficient systems with manufacturers and outside engineers. From the inception of the idea to installation, we will provide service through the life of the equipment, assist with any remodels of facilities as technologies change, and even help with the removal of equipment at the end of the life cycle,” explains Matt.

It isn’t a surprise with a career spanning over three decades and a client list teeming with the largest brand name companies in the area, that top-notch customer service is an integral part of

their business model. Many companies lose that personal level of service along the way, as they expand into larger businesses, but Advanced Refrigeration has been successfully able to maintain their level of service as they themselves have continued to grow.

“The four things required for our business are our employees, materials, tools and, of course, customers. If you lose any of the four you will not have a business. That is why customer service is so important to us. It is our goal to not only gain a customer but to keep them always coming back to us for any additional needs,” both John and Matt explain.  

“We have always kept a large inventory to be able to service a customer in a good timeframe. We learned a lot during the pandemic when equipment and materials were scarce. From the customer’s point of view, they are willing to pay a little more to get a job completed in a good time frame.” 

Another one of the bigger innovations, and customer service-driven decisions that the company made over the years, was to offer a 24/7 in-house emergency call center to customers.

“It goes back to the core goal of acquiring and keeping customers. I know myself that if I call a company, especially at night and I have to leave a voicemail and wait for a return call after a few minutes, I may move on to the next company, especially in an emergency situation. If you miss that customer, you not only lose out on that job but you may never have the opportunity to acquire that customer again,” John says.

In addition to the call center, the company offers service within two hours of a received call. “Our rapid response to emergency calls for supermarkets and those customers that have perishable products in jeopardy gives our customers a piece of mind that whether it’s their refrigeration or air conditioning, we’ll keep them operating,” adds John.

With the level of passion and care for what they do, it should come as no surprise that Advanced Refrigeration isn’t just servicing commercial clients, they also now work with residential homeowners. “It was our goal from the inception to add Advanced Air Conditioning as our residential division to give central Florida residential customers the same quality job for the best price that we have been giving our commercial clients for the last 37 years,” says John.

While the company has had an incredible history, it is the future of Advanced Refrigeration and Air that is really exciting. With its current résumé, innovations and dedicated service, John says the foundation and the values the company was founded on will only get stronger.

“We believe much of our success comes down to three things. First, faith in the Lord. Second, faith in people—our employees have been essential in our success. And third, always remember that you are a consumer as well. Our golden rule is to treat the customer as if you were in their shoes and what your expectations would be given the circumstance.”

Advanced Refrigeration & Air | 

Orlando | (407) 679-044 | AdvRef.com