Seeley International US

PROUDLY AUSTRALIAN AIR CONDITIONING SOLUTIONS

INNOVATIVE AND EVAPORATIVE

A proud manufacturer for half a century, Seeley International’s evaporative air conditioning systems are redefining cooling. We discover this ground-breaking technology with Executive Chairman, Frank Seeley

Writer: Jack Salter | Project Manager: Kierron Rose

For the first time in decades, the Australian public is keen to buy goods manufactured in their own country.

Fortune favors the brave, and there are rich rewards for those who are prepared to go after these opportunities.

One company capitalizing on this strong, resurgent preference for Australian made products is Seeley International (Seeley), the country’s largest and most coveted air conditioning manufacturer.

Today, Seeley manufactures more than 80,000 products and 1.5 million components in Australia every year, sold through more than 300 independent dealerships and a worldwide network of distributors.

“We are in the process of bringing manufacturing from overseas, not only for ourselves, but also for other manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and end users,” reveals Executive Chairman, Frank Seeley, who founded the company just over 50 years ago in 1972.

“We are very vertically integrated, making many of our own motors and virtually all of our injection molded plastic products, components and filter materials.”

Frank is a joint shareholder in the business along with his wife, Kathy, whose role has been instrumental to the longevity and success of Seeley and its Australian cooling and heating products.

Kathy Seeley

“My wife’s part in this business is critical. She has always supported the company and believed (even more than I did!) in my capability. Without her, I simply could not have done it,” he smiles.

THE STORY OF TECHTOP AUSTRALIA

Techtop Australia Pty Ltd, founded by well-respected Directors, Rohan Pollard and Jeff Aird, entered a joint-venture partnership in 2013 with Shanghai Top Motor Co, the largest manufacturer of aluminum electric motors in China. From humble beginnings back in 2013, Techtop Australia has grown substantially to become a significant player in the electric motor market. At the start of this business venture the path was not easy, with three employees based in a small warehouse in Rowville, Victoria, Australia. Managing Director, Rohan Pollard commented, “we had a passion to succeed, we were a jack of all trades when we started, and we attended to every aspect of the business from processing orders to packing motors for customers. On occasions we would make pallets to save money and work weekends to make sure customers’ demands were met.”

Techtop Australia’s philosophy was quite simple: provide quality products along with outstanding customer service, and go the extra mile for the customer. The first couple of years were a struggle, recalls Sales Director, Jeff Aird. “Building an unknown brand in a fickle Australian market was a huge challenge, but we could see our customer base growing at a solid rate, which gave us the drive to keep moving forward.”

In July 2014, we opened our Queensland facility with a staff of three people, doubling the workforce of Techtop Australia. It was a bold move at the time, but one that has provided great results. We followed this by opening our NSW branch in January 2016, and by July 2017

we had also established offices in both South and Western Australia, as we were becoming a national company.

During this period back in 2015, Jack Gringlas AOM joined the board of Techtop Australia as Chairman. The board comprising these three directors has knowledge of the Australian electric motor market spanning back over more than 40 years.

In addition to electric motors, Techtop Australia is proud to be the exclusive distributor of Varvel gearboxes, Motortronics soft starters and Techtop variable speed drives.

The combination of a leading motor manufacturer and Australia’s most experienced sales team provides our customers with quality products, excellent service and technical knowledge.

Techtop Australia forms part of a global organization with Techtop’s leading partners in America, Canada, Europe and the UAE.

Techtop’s revenue shows an average growth over the past eight years of 47 percent per annum. This growth could not happen without great suppliers, our competent staff and, of course, our customers.

Our market strategy from the beginning was to focus on the HVAC industry, one that we knew well, and our products were a perfect fit for the industry.

Since 2016 we began supplying to Seeley International, a partnership that becomes stronger every year. We acknowledge and thank Seeley International for being part of our journey.

Despite the rising popularity of goods manufactured in Australia, Seeley nevertheless plans to build its own manufacturing facility in the US, as well as multiple smaller sites across the globe to speed up production.

Set to happen over the next three years, this will subsequently expand the business in Australia as a number of proprietary sub-assemblies are supplied to other plants.

“We’re already doing some manufacturing in the US, but that is going to increase significantly in the future,” Frank informs us.

RECORD ORDER

Employing more than 500 people in Australia and overseas, Seeley dominates the Australian evaporative cooler and ducted gas heating market and is a world leader in state of the art cooling products which, in many instances, can fully replace refrigerated air conditioning with power savings of up to 80 percent.

It’s therefore no surprise that high quality air conditioners made by Seeley with Australian materials are also exported around the world, to destinations such as Europe, the UK, the Middle East, and the US.

In 2018, the company successfully completed the world’s largest order for evaporative air conditioners, resulting in around 50,000 of Seeley’s Australian made Breezair conditioners being installed in the tent city of Mina Valley, Saudi Arabia.

Evaporative air conditioners, as the name suggests, use the principles of evaporation to help cool the air. As hot and dry outside air is pumped through water-soaked cooling pads, the water evaporates and the heat in the air is absorbed, which lowers the temperature.

The bulk order provided state of the art cooling for Mecca pilgrims during their stay in the tent city, a fascinating logistical exercise involving more than 100,000 tents and houses for

SEELEY BRANDS –AT A GLANCE

BREEZAIR – Advanced technology for fixed evaporative cooling for the entire home, and the quietest running and most energy-efficient evaporative cooler on the market.

BRAEMAR – The full series of high performing and world leading heating and cooling air conditioning solutions.

COOLAIR – A range of affordable, high performance fixed evaporative air conditioning for the whole home.

CLIMATE WIZARD – Patented indirect evaporative technology that covers an exceptionally large range of flexible configurations to provide for all commercial and industrial applications.

approximately three million people.

A three year tender evaluation process saw the Breezair brand and other contenders tested on site over several months, in all conditions and seasons, including comparative tests done during a pilgrimage to assess performance under real-world conditions.

The built-in safety mechanisms, economical use of water, ease of control and compact design were critical in Breezair being successfully selected.

“We were among 900 companies asked to quote, and we understand our products were actually the most expensive, however they were without question the most effective and long lasting,” acclaims Frank.

“Through our Saudi distributor, we got those messages across to the Ministry of Hajj. We started early and were able to supply all their needs over two years without adversely affecting any of our global customers, which was a remarkable feat!”

“WE’VE BEEN WORKING ON CLIMATE WIZARD TO MAKE IT BETTER AND BETTER FOR OVER 20 YEARS, AND I BELIEVE IN ANOTHER 20 YEARS’ TIME WE WILL STILL BE IMPROVING IT”

– FRANK SEELEY, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, SEELEY INTERNATIONAL

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CASTING A SPELL

Built to withstand Australia’s hot and dry climate, Breezair is one of four brands under which Seeley’s products are sold, along with Braemar, Coolair, and Climate Wizard - the latter of which offers ground-breaking new technology throughout its wide range of models within its series of indirect evaporative air conditioning products.

Climate Wizard’s patented indirect evaporative technology delivers unparalleled levels of cooling, and

NORTH AMERICA OUTLOOK: WHAT CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PRACTICES HAVE YOU PARTAKEN IN?

FRANK SEELEY, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN: “Our employees recently donated to the victims of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

“They donated AUD$7,500, which we matched from our charitable fund. Prior to this, they did something very similar in relation to the Ukraine crisis.

“We also have two charitable funds from which we distribute monies to various worthwhile causes that benefit the poor, hungry, sick and destitute in Australia and many countries around the world.”

has now been successfully adopted worldwide.

The technology uses a heat exchange core that provides hyperefficient cooling, generating fresh air at temperatures that can rival, or even surpass the performance of refrigerated systems which in many situations can provide 80 percent lower energy costs.

“We’ve been working on Climate Wizard to make it better and better for over 20 years, and I believe in

another 20 years’ time we will still be improving it,” Frank affirms.

“There is nothing else in the world to compare it with, and we intend to continue its development and protect every new breakthrough that we make along the way.”

At the forefront of developing ingenious, energy-efficient cooling and heating products, Climate Wizard demonstrates Seeley’s mantra – the need to innovate, automate, and accelerate like there’s no tomorrow.

“We’ve been doing these things for much of our 50 years in manufacturing, and I hope we’ll always be doing them because we know that the day we stop, is the day we’ll start to die. Innovation is not a destination, it’s a journey – a never ending journey!”

There is naturally a strong focus on R&D at Seeley, to deliver on its vision of leading the world in creating

Meridian test laboratory

climate control solutions which continue to be highly innovative, of premium quality, and inspirational in the delivery of energy efficiency.

Frank is an innovator himself, and as Executive Chairman, he looks after Seeley’s special R&D group, Imagineering, which continues to work on “over-the-horizon” products which outperform the competition with newer technologies.

“We’re never short of projects and its these opportunities that keep me wanting to go to work every single day,” says Frank.

“Many of my targets and goals are centered around Imagineering, to provide ever-better and cheaper heating and cooling products in Australia and throughout the world for the greater good.”

GOLDEN JUBILEE

Seeley celebrated its golden jubilee in 2022, a milestone moment marking 50 years of pioneering climate control products.

“On the face of it, 50 years is only a number, however for those who have traveled the distance it’s an incredible achievement,” Frank beams.

“So many of our people have been with us for so much of the journey, that I would not for a moment take the credit for us still being here. I want to acknowledge all the wonderful people who, over the past half a century, have contributed to making Seeley the vibrant company it still is today.”

With strong supplier relationships amassed over a number of years,

Seeley, from day one, was at pains to advise its suppliers upfront about anything out of the ordinary it would be requiring.

This modus operandi has characterized the company throughout its 50-year history and has continued to pay untold dividends.

For the next 50, Seeley remains committed to Australian designed, made and owned air conditioning products, world leading climate control solutions, and an ongoing relevance in an everchanging world.

Albury factory