AHT Cooling Systems Supermarket (UK) Ltd is part of the Austrian group AHT Cooling Systems GmbH - a market leader in the supply of integral glass lid freezer and chiller cabinets.
A global operation, AHT currently services customers in 73 countries with products designed and built at its two manufacturing centres in Rottenmann, Austria (which also serves as the corporate head office) and China – a new facility that serves the fast growing Asian market.
Service
AHT offer a wide range of shop floor freezers and chillers all of which are supported by comprehensive after sales services and a nationwide distribution service.
Values
At the heart of AHT are four core values that have driven the business forward for the last 25 years. These are value for money, energy efficiency, environmental considerations and quality in terms of design and build.
AHT’s energy efficient designs are recognised and approved by the UK Government’s Enhanced Capital Allowance scheme. This enables AHT’s customers to claim 100% of the capital cost of each unit against taxable profits.
Quality promise
AHT’s commitment to quality has played a large part in the company’s ongoing success. Every cabinet undergoes a strict seven point test procedure. A further 5% of production is tested in an audit area for five hours. That’s why AHT’s failure rate is 0.03% and why, when you install an AHT cabinet you can be confident it will deliver the AHT quality promise and peace of mind.
Design innovation
AHT is committed to using glass lids on its entire range. Not only do they deliver significant energy saving, but they allow more for more storage capacity.
Consumer reaction suggests lids are becoming an increasingly popular option. Consumers are environmentally aware and understand the energy saving benefits that a lid provides. Research has shown that the presence of a lid on a freezer unit reassures consumers that the products will be in a proper frozen condition, unlike those in many open island units. Lids are also proven to make the ambience of a frozen food section more pleasant. The temperature in the area is warmer than islands with open units and therefore consumers browse for longer. That’s why most retailers see a 9% uplift in sales after installing AHT cabinets.
AHT designs it products in response to customer needs. Its design programme incorporates extensive market analysis and direct customer involvement. This continuous focus on product development and design innovation is the reason our products are so popular across the world.
Case study – The Award Winning Athens Design
Take the Athens model as an example. Retailers of frozen food are facing a major challenge. They are under pressure to reduce the energy costs and carbon footprint of their frozen food area, whilst at the same time they need to increase the selling space to meet the growing demand for frozen food.
The Athens was designed in response to these challenges. It is the first commercially viable jumbo cabinet to use Propane as the refrigerant. Propane delivers a number of benefits - it is both CFC and HCFC friendly so it does not affect the ozone layer or add to global warming. It is also 25% more energy efficient, which equates to an energy saving of 25% over other integral lidded cabinets or 69% when compared to an open island unit.
The Athens has also been designed to provide the maximum amount of product facing capacity and volume. It gives on average 20% extra volume compared to an open cabinet of comparable size. It can be used as a standalone unit or built up into an island and operates using a standard 13amp power supply.
Other design features include that fact that it is 85% recyclable, has a nearly silent operation, very low heat emissions and there is no ongoing mechanical maintenance requirement.
That is why AHT won the International Pro-Cool award for its ecological benefits.
