Penguin Refrigeration makes changes as founder steps down

The founder of Penguin Refrigeration, Ian Gorringe, is stepping down from the company after 20 years. The firm has confirmed the fresh appointment of an operations and marketing director, and a new technical support engineer.

Penguin Refrigeration is a leading European supplier of specialist refrigeration and air conditioning systems for the marine, vehicle and hotel-minibar sectors.

“I would like to thank Ian, who founded Penguin and has been my business partner for the past 15 years, for all he has done for the business and I am proud of what we have achieved together,” says managing director Zeb Elliott. “While of course, we will miss Ian, Penguin has many new opportunities to focus on and we have a truly fantastic team of dedicated staff who are excited about the prospects to further grow and develop this great company over the next 20 years!”

The Penguin Refrigeration workshop. Image courtesy of Penguin Refrigeration

In order to ensure a smooth transition and handover of his main accounts, the firm says Gorringe will continue to support the company and provide technical backup for a further twelve months.

New operations and marketing director Chris Feibusch has 35 years of marine industry experience, with senior roles at Jack Holt, Lewmar, Halyard M&I, CJR Propulsion and most recently as group marketing director at Wescom Group.

“It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to join a business with the exceptional reputation that Penguin has. I hope that I will be able to do justice to Ian’s legacy and help Zeb and the team continue to build on this platform of success,” Feibusch says.

Also joining the company is Jake Edmonds as technical support engineer, to further improve Penguin’s backup and support services and expand its in-house refit and repair capability. Edmonds was most recently with Aquawaves, based in Southampton.

Penguin offers a complete range of standard 12 and 24 volt DC fridges and freezers from 16 to 400 litres capacity, right the way up to full custom refrigeration and air conditioning systems, freezers, wine coolers, ice makers and cold rooms for superyachts and commercial vessels in AC and 3 phase power.

The firm is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary and says it is looking forward to its “next exciting new phase”.