Knowledge/Brands and suppliers
Brands, owners, and who actually sells what
Who owns which brand, where it's registered as being made, what the warranty really says, and who stocks it here.
Everything in this section
- Where are Australian air conditioners actually made?Every air conditioner sold here is on a government register that records its country of manufacture. Most Japanese brands are registered as made in Thailand.
- The warranty trap on commercial workResidential warranties look generous. Commercial collapses to two or three years. And one brand's headline warranty depends on where you bought it.
- Who owns which air conditioning brand?One Japanese group now controls GENERAL (formerly Fujitsu) and Rheem. Bosch owns Hitachi air con. Carrier owns the Toshiba brand.
- Braemar: Australian made and imported at the same timeSeeley makes its evaporative coolers and gas ducted heaters in South Australia. Its Braemar refrigerative range is imported, and registrations point to Gree.
- Who actually supplies HVAC equipment in Victoria?Two groups run most of Victorian HVAC supply. Reece Group and Beijer Ref have most of the branches, plus a handful of independents. Here's who carries what.
- The warranty clauses that will actually void the coverWhat the warranty cards actually say about unlicensed installs, opening the case, caravans and boats, moving the unit, and who pays to reach one up high.
- The servicing intervals that are warranty conditionsOne brand needs a service every 12 months on residential and every 3 months on commercial. Another needs a year-four evaporative service it charges for.
- Extended warranty, and what it ties you toWho offers an extension, what it costs you in scheduled servicing, the short registration windows you have to hit, and which ranges offer nothing.
- A Solar Victoria rebate can upgrade the warrantyOn one brand's heat pump, a Solar Homes hot water rebate brings a five-year parts and labour warranty, well above that product's standard cover.
- Mitsubishi Electric and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries aren't relatedTwo separate Australian companies with separately listed Japanese parents, two ABNs and two warranty contacts. Not parent and subsidiary, not related.
- Fujitsu air conditioning in Australia is now GENERALThe brand's changed but the warranty paperwork hasn't caught up. What we could confirm from the cards, and three gaps we're not filling with guesses.
- Who actually builds the house brands your supplier sellsOn 32 of its 51 government registrations, one wholesaler-only house brand names a Chinese factory's website. What that shows, and what it carefully doesn't.
Rather just ask someone?
Kevin has been in this industry for 30 years. If the answer isn't here, or you want it applied to a job you're quoting, have a chat.