From Humble Beginnings to the World Leader in Seamless Outdoor Fiberglass Walk-In Coolers, This Family-Owned Company Continues to Put Customers First.
The year was 1978 and brothers Joe and Vince Tippmann, who were already producing fiberglass hockey boards, took notice of small oil rigs encased in fiberglass and set off on what would be a four-year mission to perfect the adaptation of this seamless technology for walk-in refrigeration and freezer units. Polar King International debuted at the 1982 National Restaurant Association trade show with great fanfare, and the success story began.
The Tippmanns initially manufactured and shipped their state-of-the-art outdoor fiberglass commercial walk-in coolers and freezers from a modest 12,000 square-foot facility in New Haven, Indiana. With escalating demand, Polar King scaled up operation and relocated production to its current 204,000 square-foot facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana. In the past two years, the company has added additional manufacturing and warehouse space to keep up with accelerated sales.
For 40 years, Polar King has been revolutionizing the industry while maintaining its family roots and unwavering commitment to customer service and its community. The company has provided thousands of one-piece walk-in outdoor refrigeration and freezer units to single unit operators, chain restaurants, schools, health care facilities, government agencies and many others.
In recent years, Polar King added two complementary business units: Polar Leasing Company and Polar King Mobile. Polar Leasing offers standard refrigerated walk-in rentals. Polar King Mobile was created to meet North America’s needs for a commercial-grade, affordable solution to refrigerated transport. These operations are making a positive impact during the global COVID-19 pandemic by providing storage for vaccines and test samples, as well as fulfilling requirements for emergency refrigeration/freezer storage in response to disasters.