AmeriKooler LLC is a family-owned and operated company that has been providing refrigeration solutions since 1985. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, the brand manufactures high-performance walk-in coolers, freezers, and refrigerated warehouses.
AmeriKooler LLC is committed to engineering and building the coolest products with cutting-edge features, durable raw materials, and an innovative mindset. The design and manufacturing teams closely follow the trends in the industry to meet the most demanding customer expectations.
Walk-ins are comparatively heavy, sizeable, and pricey commercial kitchen equipment. You want to make a lifetime investment. Here are 5 compelling reasons to purchase and use AmeriKooler products with your mind at peace.
1. Customized Solutions By AmeriKooler LLC
AmeriKooler LLC caters to a wide range of markets with standard and customized walk-in coolers and freezers. Since walk-ins are larger than other refrigerated equipment with unique features, they require more installation space. Besides typical factory-assembled units, AmeriKooler LLC builds field-installed models tailored to operators’ specific size and style needs. The company manufactures its own panels, doors, and floors to respond to distinct demands. Here is a brief description of the products and systems the brand delivers.
Walk-In Coolers & Freezers
AmeriKooler Inc boasts of providing the most energy-efficient, durable, and sophisticated walk-in refrigeration systems. Amerikooler walk in coolers and freezers are available in various sizes, from 6’x6′ to more custom sizes. All the models have modular design and construction, allowing easy and quick field assembly and enlargement by adding panels of 47 and 23 inches in width. The units can be installed indoors or outdoors with or without a floor. The floor heights can be customized in 1-inch increments.
AmeriKooler LLC procures its self-contained and remote condensers from the Heatcraft Worldwide BOHN refrigeration. The air-cooled system uses innovative microchannel coil technology, saving on refrigerant, energy, and operational costs. 36 x 76-inch swing doors with two adjustable spring-loaded hinges, a locking handle, and a magnetic gasket seal the walk-in cabinets. A LED light fixture and digital thermometer are on the door frame. Amerikooler walk-in freezer doors have a hater cable for better sealing and heat retention.
Besides size and floor variations, optional features include:
- Stucco-embossed white or black galvanized or stainless steel finishes
- An additional spring-assisted door hinge
- Strip curtain
- Interior and exterior ramps to facilitate product loading
- Insulated viewing windows
- Digital audio/visual alarm
Convenience Store Coolers
Convenience stores offer maximum benefits to people on the go, keeping everyday foods and beverages cool. Therefore, constructing walk-in freezers and coolers for convenience stores greatly matters to AmeriKooler LLC. The company maintains maximum cooling performance standards on all the units but offers greater customization in style, size, and finish options. The indoor glass door walk-ins are designed to enhance the merchandising effect and attract more customers. Pass-thru door models supply a double-sided entrance and improve product visibility.
Quick Ship Coolers & Freezers
Different businesses benefit from the deluxe walk-ins by AmeriKooler. However, the operators that need a more convenient and affordable alternative always turn to the brand’s New AK Series 3 quick ship walk-in freezers, coolers, and boxes.
These units are similar in design flexibility, door style, and panel construction to the custom-built walk-ins. For instance, they also come with floor and floorless options or remote and self-contained refrigeration systems. So, they are the same in terms of efficiency and excellence. Only the sizes are pre-specified, and a stucco-embossed acrylume finish is standard on the interior and exterior.
Walk-in Doors
Doors play a critical part in all the coolers and freezers. They must seal the cabinet firmly to retain internal temperatures and increase energy efficiency. Plus, they must be strong enough to withstand heavy use as they are continuously open and closed. AmeriKooler’s standard flush doors are made in-house for increased refrigeration performance. The brand also mounts different doors manufactured by recognized industry leaders to give customers greater flexibility.
- Glass door with shelf and lights
- Retrofit door and frame systems
- Double-action traffic doors
Walk-in Floors
Floors must withstand heavy use over the years, like refrigeration doors. A busy commercial kitchen needs walk-ins for bulk storage of perishables. Loaded hand trucks, dunnage racks, or carts often go in and out of these units. Therefore, floors should have sufficient durability to weigh heavy loads. Besides, excess meltwater may pile on walk-floors, so they must be corrosion-resistant.
AmeriKooler LLC delivers four structurally robust floor alternatives with various PSF (pounds per square foot) ratings, which specify the maximum weight load. You can choose your floor considering practicality, business type, traffic volume, and floor plan.
- Standard Floor: This 600-PSF floor panel with a smooth aluminum finish is standard on smaller Amerikooler walk-in boxes. It is ideal for everyday foot traffic applications. Other finish alternatives are smooth and textured stainless steel.
- Underpayment Reinforced Floor: AmeriKooler markets it as the customer-preferred model. It comes with a 1200 PSF rating to withstand loaded food transport carts. The maximum weight capacity increases to 1300 PSF with smooth stainless steel and 1500 PSF with textured stainless steel.
- Underpayment Reinforced Floor With Overlay: An aluminum diamond plate overlay further strengthens this floor panel. Rated at 1700 to 1800 PSF, it is perfect for heavy-duty operations.
- The Ultimate Floor: The 22-gauge textured stainless steel finish maintains a 2600 PSF rating. You can pick this floor if you need to use hand pallet jacks in your food transport processes.
PureKooler™
Walk-ins are fully insulated and sealed enclosed boxes that trap cold air inside and hot air outside. The trapped air becomes stagnant over time and may cause foul odors and food spoilage. AmeriKooler uses the innovative PureKooler technology by ActivTek to prevent such issues.
This ActivePure technology, developed in coordination with NASA, inactivates mold, fungus, bacteria, and viruses accumulated in the air and on surfaces. The independent laboratory tests showed a 99.99 % pollutant kill rate. Other benefits of the system include the following.
- Always fresh air free of contaminants and unpleasant odors inside the walk-in cabinet
- Air purification without using any chemicals
- Extended product shelf life, especially for fresh produce
- Easy and quick wall-mount installation
- Low maintenance
2. Reliable Walk-Ins By AmeriKooler LLC
The cold storage chain is the most crucial aspect of the commercial kitchen operation. Even the slightest mistake, delay, or neglect can cause irreversible consequences. That’s why strict codes regulate the process. Refrigeration equipment enables you to store food and beverages without bacterial contamination risk. Faulty refrigerators can close down your business due to dollars of food waste costs or hefty fines. Therefore, reliability is the utmost criterion in cold storage units. AmeriKooler LLC is renowned for developing the most reliable walk-in coolers and freezers.
Reliable refrigeration performance is more than a word. AmeriKooler bases its bar-setting quality on robust panel construction and insulation. The 4-inch modular wall, floor, and ceiling panels are constructed from top-quality raw materials and assembled through state-of-the-art robotic processes. This automatic assembly line ensures precise fit and longer life. The time-tested cam-action locking system and NSF-approved compression gaskets additionally support the assembly to form airtight joints. The panel interiors and exteriors are laminated with 26-gauge Acrylume-coated steel finished with stucco-embossed coating and corrosion-resistant acrylic paint.
Another construction strength that sets AmeriKooler LLC apart is its walk-ins’ insulation performance characteristics. Many manufacturers still use foamed-in-place polyurethane panel insulation. However, many customers have reported issues with polyurethane insulation, including failure to limit the heat flow into the system, minimize surface condensation, and maintain a consistent thermal barrier. AmeriKooler pioneered using Extruded Polystyrene (XPS) in refrigeration equipment insulation.
Insulation materials’ thermal performance is measured by the ability to prevent heat loss, specified as an R-value. Energy Independence & Security Act of 2007 mandates that walk-ins manufactured as of 2009 “contain wall, ceiling, and door insulation of at least R–25 for coolers and R–32 for freezers.” AmeriKooler’s AK-XPS4 rigid foam exceeds these R-values, with R-29 for coolers and R-32.4 for freezers. Long-life extruded XPS foam has consistently proved to have a higher R-value than polyurethane at lower mean temperatures.
A final dimension of reliability is the warranty period. AmeriKooler LLC prides itself on offering the best warranties in the industry. The brand backs up its walk-ins with a 15-year original panel warranty on walls & ceilings, 5 years on doors & floors, and a 1-year original Amerikooler parts warranty. Plus, the AK-XPS4 rigid foam extruded by The Dow Chemical Company has a void-free closed cell structure, meaning it can retain the highest possible R values over time. That’s how the company can stand behind its rigid insulation with a 50-year thermal warranty.
3. AmeriKooler’s History & Gian Carlo “Mr. Manufacturing” Alonso
Today, AmeriKooler LLC owns a reputable place in the market with so many top-of-the-line walk-in coolers and freezers, each tailored to the unique needs of different businesses. It is fair to say that this family-run enterprise represents a success story. The story was not written overnight, of course. The Alonso family wove it into the fastest-growing company, knot by knot. Renato M. Alonso made the first base when he started working in his father’s steel fabricating company in 1975.
After getting deeper into steel fabrication, Mr. Alonso took his first entrepreneurial step. He established the “Metal Equipment of Florida” company, focusing on stainless steel commercial kitchen equipment. AmeriKooler was born from this initial enterprise in 1985 in a small office with only two employees. The year 1997 marks a significant leap in the family’s history by moving the company to a new 80,000-square-foot manufacturing facility equipped with an automatic robotic router system. Thus, it started to have a say in the industry with its walk-in refrigeration.
AmeriKooler LLC was still a small player when Gian Carlo Alonso took over his father’s 60-employee business. As the young Gian watched his father grow the company into an iconic brand, he was dying for an opportunity to make his mark on it. Gian had this chance as the Senior Vice President of Sales and accelerated the growth. He made a bigger impact after becoming the President & CEO in 2014.
Gian Carlo brought AmeriKooler to the edge of innovation, setting the tone in walk-in refrigeration systems. The young Gian’s hunger to mark his imprint on the sector enabled him to reinvent walk-in box design and production.
He sharpened his ability to think out of the box during his studies in Harvard University’s owner/president management program. His manufacturing strategies forged AmeriKooler into a 300-employee company making over $100 million in annual revenue. Once he grew the business fivefold, hitting record sales for eight consecutive years, he earned the title “Mr. Manufacturing.”
Gian Carlo, “Mr. Manufacturing,” Alonso’s passionate character and dynamic approach to business carried AmeriKooler LLC to a different level. His recipe for success is creating a balance in the factory. Mr. Manufacturing believes that overall production will increase when every department has an equal capacity. With a never-ending passion and an adventurous spirit, he is motivated to bring AmeriKooler the Guinness Record as the fastest firm to build a top-class walk-in box.
4. Truly American
The increasing operational costs have forced many walk-in manufacturers offshore while AmeriKooler LLC remained home. Thus, the company could apply American-level rigid standards in all its production and assembly lines. The 200,000-square-foot facility increased capacity by 50% in 2009 after adding the most advanced and fully automatic production machinery. The plant can now churn out 400 walk-in cooler and freezer packages ranging from 6′ to 12′ in width and 6′ to 20′ in length.
5. Collaboration With Foodservice And Hospitality Leaders
AmeriKooler LLC is dedicated to providing custom solutions for the market. Blending innovative ideas with top-quality materials is not enough to achieve that. You need a strong footprint in the industry to feel each operator’s needs and design what exactly they demand.
Over the years, the brand has developed strong relationships with leading independent and chain restaurateurs in the U.S. and abroad. The prestigious customer base from various businesses, including hotels, fast-food chains, restaurants, convenience stores, and refrigerated warehouses, help AmeriKooler produce the most innovative units cut out for their unique needs.
Final Say
AmeriKooler LLC continues to grow, innovate, and customize with an understanding heart for manufacturing and deep insight into the market. Mr. Manufacturing trademarked “Taking Cool Further” as the brand slogan. Now that the company has leaped to a future level, it seems hard to predict how further this fast growth will take walk-in refrigeration. However, one thing is sure. AmeriKooler contributes considerably to the local, national, and international economy, so it is an awe-inspiring pioneer in reshaping manufacturing in the U.S.
