Handcrafted in America since 1945
True Manufacturing is recognized as the leading manufacturer of commercial refrigerators and freezers in the world for the foodservice and soft drink industries. The path to that leadership position began in 1945, when Bob Trulaske and his father, Frank, and later his brother, Art, developed a refrigeration company in their house on Lenox Avenue in St. Louis. From their garage, they built the first 40 cu. ft. upright freezer on the market. Soon after, they began manufacturing Wrapped Rail Roll-Top Bottle Coolers for beer and beverages in a multi-story warehouse on Pine Street in downtown St. Louis, Missouri.
This is a True story.
One of the Trulaske’s very first refrigerators was used to keep beverages cool in a neighborhood bar, where an exhausted traveling 7UP salesman stopped for a drink. He noticed the refrigerator behind the bar and, after finding out that it required no unwieldy, expensive blocks of ice, told the bar owner he had to know who built it for him.
In 1948, the 7UP company purchased its first order of True Roll Top Bottle Coolers, and the True legacy was born. That legacy has grown over the course of 65 years and now includes—in the True Professional Series—commercial refrigeration refined for the home.
“True Manufacturing is a commercial fridge heavyweight. If you ever stepped into a restaurant’s kitchen or bought a soda from a convenience store, there’s a good chance you’ve unwittingly encountered a True fridge. But what are the chances of getting one of them for your own kitchen?”
Refined for the home
We call that the True Test. Whether you’re in an urban center in New England or in rural Asia, look at the refrigerators in the restaurants, groceries, and convenience stores you visit. You won’t make it far without seeing the True logo. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to go three stops without seeing our name.
For 70 years, we’ve been an industry leader in refrigeration. We’re respected and sought-after by the culinary community, our refrigerators appearing in some of the most prestigious restaurants and hotels around the world. Now, we’ve taken our decades of refrigeration leadership and expertise and refined our refrigeration line for the home, bringing the performance and quality of commercial refrigeration to your kitchens and outdoor entertaining spaces. We call it True Residential,
Though the process of refining commercial refrigeration for the home happens in the minds and the hands of our engineers and craftsmen, the results are on display for discerning architects, designers, and homeowners everywhere:
- Strict dimensions that accommodate all modern kitchens, indoor or outdoor
- Noise-conscious engineering that balances commercial performance with residential environments
- Style features—like our streamlined handles, TruLumina® lighting, and steel-encapsulated glass
Prepared for tomorrow
True’s pledge: To reduce our carbon footprint to minimize the environmental impact of our products and our operations.
Over 70 years of commercial refrigeration focus have enabled us to become experts in the design and development of our systems. While energy efficiency has always been part of our design process, we continue to utilize new technologies to improve our systems to be the most efficient in the industry, without sacrificing the performance that ultimately provides food safety for our customers throughout the world.
Since our founding, True has been committed to being leaders in cold, but that commitment spans the entire footprint of our company, from raw materials to finished product.
Our Facilities and People
Energy Conservation
- Replaced rooftop air conditioners with more efficient Economizer units. The units use fresh air virtually free for cooling during the fall, winter, and early spring
- Solar water heating
- Reduced office lighting load by 30%
Recycling Program
- Paper, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, cardboard, clear plastic, mixed metals
- Cumulative savings of 5,339 tons of material out of landfills since January 2008—the equivalent of removing the annual CO2 emission of 994 homes.
Sustainable Alternatives
- Installed automated water faucets and hand dryers to regulate water usage and reduce paper towel waste
- Cafeteria switched from Styrofoam plates and bowls to environmentally friendly paper products
Our Processes
- Implemented the Box-on-Demand machine for all part shipments. This machine custom-makes boxes to the shape and size of each part sent out, thereby reducing the amount of cardboard used for these shipments. Additionally, any scrap produced by this machine is shredded and re-used as packaging material, reducing our reliance on Styrofoam
- Closed loop water systems to conserve water
- Printing with UV inks to eliminate solvents
- Pioneering the use of Ecomate® foam insulation (0% GWP/ODP)
- Material recycling, including lumber for our custom palettes
In just the last 15 years, we have achieved the following:
- Reduced water usage by 40% per sq. ft.
- Shown a 99.97% reduction in TRI (Toxic Release Inventory) reported chemical releases
- Reduced the release of CO2 by 136,000 metric tons—the equivalent of removing 28,333 cars from the road
- Reduced natural gas consumption by 60% per sq. ft.
- Recycled 100% of scrap metal
Our Products
True is committed to producing high quality products that are manufactured in the USA. True manufactures each cabinet using an industry-leading combination of high-quality metals and components designed to optimize cabinet performance.
- Fan motors: True uses a balanced system with commercial-grade componenets, which produces a large volume of air at a slow rate passing across the evaporator, which allows for faster recovery and uniformity of temperature through the refrigeration unit.
- Consumption: By matching and balancing oversized compressors, evaporators, and condenser coils, True engineers environmentally friendly refrigeration systems with shorter run times, lower energy consumption, and the industry’s coldest holding temperatures.
- Evaporator coils: True’s evaporator coils have 20-40% more surface area than the industry standard, resulting in faster pull-down of product temperatures and quicker recovery times.
True is meeting and exceeding CEC and DOE energy standards—without sacrificing quality—through the following methods:
- Utilizing green materials and components such as recycled composite materials and Ecomate, a foamed-in-place, high-density, CFC-free polyurethane insulation with a Global Warming Potential (GWP) of Z Zero and an Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) of Zero. Developing refrigeration equipment operating on Natural Refrigerants (near “0” GWP).
- True equipment meets RoHS (“Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances”) compliance in electrical and electronic equipment. We reduced the use of major hazardous substances—such as lead, mercury, and cadmium—by 99% in the production of True products.
