David Saliba and Lino Debono have been in business together for over 25 years. They had been fitting air conditioning units by other manufacturers for many years, when they decided to add their own brand into the mix – the Coolabah, with over 1000 of these now produced.
Their business, MVM Auto, first began fitting air conditioning units to trucks in the 1990s. Saliba quickly became the go-to product developer for many air conditioning companies. He helped to design and build models that included the Viesa Compressor and Koolkat.
The duo then decided to design and build their own product which they believed could service the market in an entirely new way.
“As time went along, we had been assisting with the design of air conditioning units by other manufacturers, looking at existing issues and how they could be resolved. Eventually, we went on to design our own – the Coolabah,” explained Saliba.
The first Coolabah unit was produced about five years ago, at their facilities in Newcastle, Sydney. It underwent rigorous testing for about 12 months before going into full-scale production.
In early April 2021, Coolabah produced its 1000th unit.
“It’s a major milestone for us reaching 1000 units out on the roads, we have an amazingly loyal customer base and without them, we wouldn’t be where we are. A huge thank you needs to go to them,” Saliba added.
The Coolabah was designed to be a leap forward in air conditioning technology. It was designed with three key goals:
• To keep it light and compact, using NCM lithium battery technology and stainless steel construction to make it the lightest system available, thus increasing payload capacity;
• To keep maintenance costs low by ensuring minimal servicing costs and requirements, together with minimal running costs to save operators money; and
• To also be an efficient fatigue management solution, building the unit to make virtually no noise. It runs for more than one night on one battery charge with the new 6.5kwh battery, which comes with a five-year warranty for added peace of mind.
Unlike some other units on offer, the Coolabah unit heats and cools. The unit itself also comes with a two-year warranty.
Saliba added that there has been a lot of interest from the mining sector and looking ahead, Coolabah also plans to venture into the caravan and machinery market too.
For more information, please call 02 9833 1900 or visit coolabahdcac.com.