TEFCOLD Commercial Refrigeration: The Complete UK Brand Guide (2026)

TEFCOLD is a commercial refrigeration supplier and exporter founded in 1987 in Viborg, Denmark, now exporting to 100+ countries across Europe, the UK, and beyond, with a group turnover exceeding €120 million. In the UK, TEFCOLD trades through TEFCOLD UK (formerly Interlevin Refrigeration, founded 1967) — giving the brand over 55 years of combined UK commercial refrigeration heritage and the UK’s largest commercial refrigeration wholesale operation. This guide covers the full brand story, product range, natural refrigerant technology, energy efficiency, warranty, and where TEFCOLD sits in the market.

The TEFCOLD Story: From a Single Workshop to 100 Countries and Counting

TEFCOLD was founded in 1987 in Viborg, a market town in central Jutland, Denmark, by Frede Christensen — later joined by his son Torben Christensen. Their founding philosophy was straightforward: supply commercial refrigeration that performs consistently to professional standards, without the premium price tag of the established brands. It was a gap in the market that, nearly four decades later, has turned into a €120 million business with owned operations across Europe and export routes to more than 100 countries worldwide.

The Viborg headquarters today spans 17,000m² and houses one of TEFCOLD’s major European warehouse operations, an in-house testing laboratory, a spare parts centre, and a showroom. Every product range TEFCOLD supplies must pass through that testing facility before it goes to market — temperature stability under load, energy consumption, door-seal performance, ambient-temperature tolerance. The testing happens at Viborg regardless of where the unit was produced. That distinction matters: TEFCOLD is a developer, specifier, and quality controller of commercial refrigeration, not a contract OEM reseller. Their engineers write the specification; their lab signs off the product.

The UK story is older than TEFCOLD itself. Interlevin Refrigeration was founded in 1967 — twenty years before TEFCOLD — and built up a strong position as a UK commercial refrigeration wholesaler based in Castle Donington, Derbyshire. By the time TEFCOLD and Interlevin started working together (nearly three decades before acquisition), Interlevin was already moving approximately 40,000 plug-in refrigeration units per year through the UK trade. In February 2018, TEFCOLD acquired Interlevin outright. In January 2022, Interlevin officially rebranded as TEFCOLD UK — giving the Danish brand a UK operation that predates it by twenty years.

The pace of growth since then has been extraordinary. Since 2018, TEFCOLD has completed seven strategic acquisitions across Europe, establishing owned operations in every major commercial refrigeration market:

The result is a brand now headquartered in Denmark, with owned operations in the UK, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, and beyond — a genuine pan-European supplier with the infrastructure to back it up. Torben L. Christensen serves as Group Chairman; UK day-to-day operations are led by Managing Director Tom Lewington from Castle Donington.

Built Commercial, Not Converted Domestic

The most common mistake buyers make is treating commercial refrigeration as a scaled-up version of domestic equipment. It isn’t. A domestic fridge is designed to be opened a handful of times per day in a stable home environment. A commercial unit in a convenience store is opened hundreds of times per day, in a room that fluctuates between the cold of a winter morning and the heat of a summer afternoon, running continuously for 16 hours straight or longer. The components, tolerances, and thermal mass required are fundamentally different.

TEFCOLD engineers products from the commercial specification outward. Their Galaxy+ multideck range uses compressors and evaporators rated for constant operation in ambient temperatures up to 43°C (Climate Class 4 rating). Their cold rooms are engineered for daily stock loading, not occasional home freezer restocking. Their blast chillers are built to cycle food from 65°C to 3°C within 90 minutes, every service, every day.

This matters in practice because the upfront cost difference between commercial and domestic equipment is recovered in reliability and running cost within the first 12–18 months of operation. A domestic fridge running in a commercial environment typically fails within 18 months and voids its warranty. A TEFCOLD unit running in the same environment is designed to last 10–15 years with proper maintenance.

Natural Refrigerants: Why TEFCOLD’s Refrigerant Choices Matter

TEFCOLD has made a deliberate commitment to natural hydrocarbon refrigerants across its range. The majority of the commercial range — multidecks, blast chillers, chest freezers, ice cream freezers — runs on R290 (propane). Smaller units such as wine coolers and minibars typically use R600a (isobutane). Both are near-zero GWP natural refrigerants; the specific refrigerant used varies by product type and is confirmed on each product datasheet.

That might sound counterintuitive at first (propane is what fires a barbecue), but R290 is now the refrigerant of choice for commercial refrigeration suppliers who understand where UK and European regulation is heading, and why natural hydrocarbon refrigerants are simply better.

The numbers make the case:

R290 has a GWP of 3 — compared to 3,922 for R404A, the refrigerant that was standard in commercial refrigeration until recently. The UK is continuing the trajectory of EU F-Gas Regulations post-Brexit: high-GWP HFCs face continuing phase-down, and new equipment using legacy refrigerants will face tightening restrictions on servicing and recharge.

Buying TEFCOLD equipment today gives your business a genuine headstart on compliance for the future. TEFCOLD’s commitment to natural hydrocarbon refrigerants across the range means your equipment is aligned with the direction of travel in UK and EU F-Gas policy — not just where it currently sits. As HFC phase-down continues and high-GWP refrigerants face tightening restrictions on servicing and recharge, businesses running R290 and R600a equipment will be significantly better positioned. That future alignment has real monetary value for any UK food business planning equipment that will still be running in 2030 and beyond.

Beyond compliance, R290 is simply more efficient. The thermodynamic properties of propane mean it absorbs heat faster and achieves temperature recovery more quickly than HFC alternatives — delivering approximately 7–12% better energy efficiency compared to legacy HFC refrigerants such as R404A, depending on application. On a unit running 365 days a year, that adds up.

The TEFCOLD Product Range: 850+ SKUs, Every Category Covered

TEFCOLD markets itself as offering the most extensive range of quality plug-in refrigeration products in Europe — and the claim holds up. No other single commercial refrigeration brand covers the breadth of application that TEFCOLD does from a single wholesale relationship. For a UK food business, that means one supplier, one warranty structure, one service network, across every piece of refrigeration on site.

Beyond these categories, TEFCOLD also supplies professional kitchen equipment including gastronorm undercounters and uprights (G-Line), pizza counters, saladettes, cooling wells, and ice makers. The 2025 Serrco acquisition added premium keg coolers and back bar systems to the UK range. For a business equipping a kitchen, a bar, and a retail display from scratch, TEFCOLD can supply the entire refrigeration spec from one distributor relationship.

The Galaxy+ Multideck: TEFCOLD’s Flagship and Why It Matters

The Galaxy+ range is TEFCOLD’s premium multideck chiller series and the unit that most UK convenience stores, delis, and farm shops encounter first. It’s worth understanding what makes it different, because the specifications reveal the engineering philosophy behind the whole brand.

The Galaxy+ was designed around a specific insight: most multideck displays waste space at the top and sacrifice shelf depth for a slimmer profile. TEFCOLD reversed both compromises. The Galaxy+ features an ultra-low front canopy that provides an extra 100mm of internal height — fitting a fifth shelf plus base within a standard 2005mm total unit height. The shelves are 400mm deep rather than the 350mm common on budget units. The total footprint is 750mm deep — narrow enough to pass through a standard door during a shop fit-out.

The Galaxy+ is available in four configurations:

• Open Front (GP range) — no door, air curtain, maximum product accessibility. GP10 (1m), GP14 (1.33m), GP20 (2m). From £2,457 ex. VAT
• Glass Door (FGD range) — frameless self-closing double-glazed doors. GP10FGD, GP14FGD, GP20FGD. From £2,566 ex. VAT. View FGD models →
• With Night Shutter (MCX range) — integrated roll-down shutter for 24/7 retail and petrol forecourts. From £2,895 ex. VAT
• Compact (PC range) — slimmer profile, 1.25m–1.5m, for smaller retail environments. PC1250B from £1,736 ex. VAT

All Galaxy+ models run on R290 refrigerant, maintain −1°C to +5°C display temperature (compliant for meat, dairy, fish, and sandwiches under the Food Hygiene Regulations 2013), and are available in white, black, or stainless steel finishes. Shelves adjust to 7° or 15° angles for merchandising flexibility.

Where Does TEFCOLD Sit in the Market?

TEFCOLD operates clearly in the professional mid-market — above light-commercial budget brands, positioned as a value alternative to established premium names. Here is how the tiers compare in practice:

The 2025 Warranty Upgrade: What Changed and Why It Matters

From 1 July 2025, TEFCOLD UK upgraded its standard warranty for all new products. The new standard is:

• 2 Years — Parts: All electromechanical components replaced free of charge if they fail due to manufacturing defect. Replacements are identical or compatible components.
• 1 Year — Labour: The cost of a TEFCOLD-authorised engineer carrying out the warranty repair is covered for the first 12 months.

An optional upgrade to 2 years parts + 2 years labour is available at a reduced rate compared to previous years. Products supplied before 1 July 2025 carry the previous standard of 2-year parts with no labour cover.

All warranty work is carried out by TEFCOLD-authorised engineers covering the UK mainland and Ireland (Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland). The service network is TEFCOLD’s own, not a third-party arrangement — which means consistent standards and direct accountability. If your site is in the Scottish islands, Channel Islands, or other offshore locations, please confirm labour warranty coverage with FridgeSmart at the point of purchase.

TEFCOLD UK: The Infrastructure Behind the Product

One of the less visible but genuinely important aspects of buying TEFCOLD through FridgeSmart is what sits behind the transaction. TEFCOLD UK operates as the UK’s largest wholesaler of commercial refrigeration and catering equipment — a position built over 55+ years via the Interlevin lineage, not assembled overnight.

The Castle Donington base in Derbyshire is not just a sales office. It is a working distribution hub, and the TEFCOLD group holds over 70,000 units in stock across its European operations at any given time — meaning that in the vast majority of cases, units are available for fast UK despatch from Castle Donington rather than being ordered from overseas against a lengthy lead time. For a food business that needs a unit quickly (a failed fridge during peak trading, a new shop opening to a deadline), that depth of available stock is worth as much as the product specification itself.

TEFCOLD UK also maintains a spare parts stock and operates a nationwide engineer network. This matters at year 3, year 5, and year 8 of ownership — when the question isn’t “which unit to buy” but “can we get a replacement compressor and an engineer here this week.” The answer, with TEFCOLD, is consistently yes.

TEFCOLD UK also distributes alongside its own branded products: Interlevin, Arcaboa, Elcold, Elstar, Framec, ISA, and Staycold — making it the single largest source of plug-in commercial refrigeration in the UK market.

Why FridgeSmart Stocks TEFCOLD

At FridgeSmart, we’ve made a deliberate choice to make TEFCOLD the backbone of our commercial refrigeration offer. It comes down to three things.

First, the range covers everything. We can supply a convenience store multideck, a restaurant blast chiller, a bakery cake display, a bar bottle cooler, a butcher’s serve-over counter, and a catering cold room — all from one brand, all with natural hydrocarbon refrigerant, the same warranty structure, and the same nationwide service network. That’s a simpler life for our customers and a more coherent recommendation for us to make.

Second, the energy data is honest and published. TEFCOLD publishes kWh/day figures for every unit in their range. Not estimated, not theoretical — tested figures from their Viborg laboratory. When we tell a customer that the Galaxy+ GP10FGD will cost them £320/year to run vs £1,069/year for the open-front GP10, that’s not our estimate. That’s TEFCOLD’s tested data at 29p/kWh UK commercial rate. We can defend every number we quote.

Third, the support actually works. We’ve had TEFCOLD in the range long enough to know what happens when something goes wrong — because things always eventually go wrong in commercial refrigeration. The parts are available. The engineers are on the network. The warranty gets honoured. For a food business, that reliability is worth more than the sharpest possible buy price on day one.

Frequently Asked Questions About TEFCOLD