A Toast to Niche Markets

You're doing a comfortable business servicing refrigeration systems for convenience stores, supermarkets, and restaurants. But, you just know there's more out there waiting to be tried, and you want to explore it. That's where niche markets come in. Niche markets are nothing new to the business world, but they're often ignored by refrigeration contractors who are too focused on the primary bill-paying services, or too busy to investigate them seriously.

However, once you become established in a niche market, you can use it as a way to keep technicians busy, expand the business, and create a hedge against declines in the core business. If the niche really takes off to become a core business, all the better.

The key niches we found to be most popular among refrigeration contractors are wine cellar construction and cooling, and ice arena projects.

ARC Mechanical Contractors, Bradford, VT, has been in business since 1947. President/owner Will Buskey says ARC was introduced to residential wine cellar projects by way of the HVAC installations it performed in the high-end home market. Its commercial wine cooler business grew from its association with an exclusive resort nestled in the woods of Vermont. It also performs wine cooling for supermarkets.

Buskey advises refrigeration contractors to know and respect the demands of high-end homeowners and wine collectors, and be prepared to customize the project.

“High-end homeowners — those who often entertain, and are wine enthusiasts — are very particular. Equipment has to be concealed, and décor is very important. Some might prefer a brick interior, like something from the Middle Ages. We've installed others with white plaster walls, to resemble an Italian décor.

Buskey says the most particular group are wine collectors or wine investors, who'll purchase high-priced wines, and hold onto them for resale later. “They're not interested in the décor but they do care about temp and relative humidity,” Buskey warns.

Buskey uses two main types of cooling:

• A Trane or York ducted system, with a Copeland or Tecumseh condensing unit as the exterior unit.

• For a wine investor or commercial resort or hotel, the system would consist of a refrigeration coil inside the cooler to maintain temperature.

“In some cases, we use low velocity, which doesn't take very much humidity out of the room.”

Buskey insists that precise controls integration is an essential part of wine chilling. “If you're controlling the pressure, you're controlling the temperature,” he says. “We have to install refrigeration pressure controls in the coolers in order to maintain temperature. The condenser will operate at whatever temperature setting has been programmed.” He prefers to use Sporlan controls.

“We're also very fussy about humidification,” he continues. “We use electronic steam humidifiers, to maintain 55% to 65% relative humidity. If you used some type of humidification that wasn't 100% pure steam, you could end up with some mold issues; 100% pure steam reduces the likelihood of mold.”

Other considerations:

• The cooler must be built correctly. You must include a vapor barrier, and include proper insulation.

• Consider the materials used in the interior construction. If you're using brick or stone, the size of the humidifier may have to be increased. Brick or stone absorb moisture.

• You have to know how to work with general contractors. Be sure your installers can handle custom sizes. And of course, your technicians have to know refrigeration.

Establish an Internet Presence

Bill Almquist, president, Almcoe Refrigeration, and the 2009 Contracting Business Commercial Refrigeration Contractor of the Year, has completed multiple wine cellar projects. He says buyers of new, high-end homes frequently surf the Internet to find wine cellar contractors. He also recommends home builder shows as a way to strike up relationships with general contractors.

And frankly, you have to know what you're doing.