104 It can be seen on the streets and roads, at ports, in cities, and the countryside! The refrigerated transport implement segment has grown a lot in recent years, in technological terms and from a commercial point of view. More sophisticated, technological products, and customer demand have driven up quality and, of course, business, for manufacturers of the implements and partners in the component supply chain. Recent data clearly illustrate the booming refrigerated transport implement market. In 2024, 2,377 refrigerated truck and van bodies were sold, up no less than 32% year on year. Furthermore, this is the best result in more than a decade, since 2013, when sales reached 2,530 units. The numbers are just as striking, or even more so, for customized refrigerated truck bodies. Last year, 4,421 units were sold, up by 29% on 2023, which had seen growth of more than 30% on 2022. In fact, in this decade alone, sales of customized refrigerated truck bodies have grown by no less than 90%, doubling since 2020. There is, then, a virtuous cycle spreading throughout the production chain, for implement makers and suppliers of refrigerated equipment. Betina Borchard, managing director of HC Hornburg, shares the expectation of more double-digit growth in 2025. This is after 1,193 products were sold last year, up by 25% in 2023. This forecast for continued growth has led the company to step up work to increase production capacity at its factory in Guaramirim, Santa Catarina state. Borchard says the strong forecast is to a large extent a result of booming urban commerce and, especially, cold chain operations. Another factor that has contributed to business growth in recent years, according to HC Hornburg’s general director, is increasingly strict sanitary requirements. “This has a positive influence. Transporting refrigerated and frozen products is an extremely responsible task and we, in the industry, achieve the levels of excellence necessary for the production of equipment that guarantees these operations,” says Borchard. In addition to current markets such as Paraguay, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Ecuador, Hornburg has been working to increase its presence in Central America. It has taken part in business rounds with logistics operators through the MoveBrazil program, a partnership between ANFIR and ApexBrasil. Frigo King, a supplier of refrigerated systems, also based in Guaramirim, has a similar strategy. “We have merged sales expansion with the expansion of the partner network through the MoveBrazil program and attending events such as AHR, in the USA, a hub for cold chain logistics operators in Central America and the Caribbean,” says Marcos Augusto de Paula, director- general of Frigo King. The company celebrates its latest numbers and envisions an even better 2025 than 2024 when it sold more than 1,100 units, 13% up on 2023. For this year, growth of around 10% is forecast, driven by increased sales in regions and cities where the cold chain operates. Another supplier of refrigeration systems for the segment, Thermo Star, offers numbers that underscore the good phase refrigerated implements are going through. In 2024, business was up by no less than 26% year on year. “Our goal for 2025 is to repeat that,” says Raphael Kanzler, commercial manager at Thermo Star. He nevertheless warns of the risk represented by high interest rates on business. Slaughterhouses are a hot bet! The refrigerated transport implements market is growing year after year and will remain promising in the coming years MERCADO | THE MARKET | MERCADO
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