GEA Refrigeration Technologies Is German developer, manufacturer and supplier of industrial heating & refrigeration technology and heat pumps headquartered in Berlin. The company has been a subsidiary of the GEA Group since 1991.
GEA Group is divided into five divisions. The GEA Heating & Refrigeration Technologies division manufactures products including reciprocating compressors, screw compressors, chillers, heat pumps, valves and dryers.
History
The foundation for GEA Heating & Refrigeration Technologies was laid by Willem Grasso in 1858 with his forge Willem Grasso Stoomsmederij in 's-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands. There he initially manufactured steam engines and tools, and later steam hammers and butter churns. His son Henri took over the company in 1894.
The invention of margarine in 1896 gave the company a success boost and made it famous for its special margarine machines. In the same year, Grasso founded a separate division for refrigeration technology. The Second World War had taken its toll on the factory, so that Grasso had to cease production of margarine machines. After the war, Grasso concentrated on refrigeration technology.
The company has been part of the GEA Group since 1991. Step by step, it expanded its product range and services through several acquisitions: in 1993, GEA Heating & Refrigeration Technologies acquired GEA Grenco, a Dutch manufacturer of refrigeration technology for the food and shipping industries, and one year later the compressor specialist Kühlautomat Berlin GmbH (KAB, formerly VEB Kühlautomat Berlin).
In the following years until the GEA Group's reorganization in January 2009, the company acquired the current specialist for industrial refrigeration technology FES, Inc. (now GEA FES, Inc.), USA; Morris & Young Ltd, London, UK; the German valve manufacturer AWP (now GEA AWP GmbH).