Cold stores
Cold-room and freezer-room installers form a B2B project market — no retail SKU catalog. Al Hasawi was the market leader in cold rooms five years ago. A new Top 5 has since emerged — driven by product quality and, most importantly, execution. Execution plays the major role in securing clients: on-time delivery, finishing standards, and the professionalism of the installation crew outweigh headline price. Field intel from 40 conversations 2026-03-24 → 2026-04-13 confirms Al Hasawi is no longer named in the Top 5.
What's included in this segment
The new market leaders in cold-room installation
#1Frieze Wataniya
شركة فريز الوطنيةLarge companies, restaurants, hospitals, pharmacies. Concentration: Al Ardiya.
#2Iesco Engineering
شركة ايسكو الهندسية الصناعيةUp to 2,500 m projects. Restaurants, warehouses, hospitals, ministries. Factory + offices in Al Rai.
#3Ice Cube
شركة ايسكيوبClients: Al Humaidhi, McDonald's, KDD, KD Cow.
#4Model System
شركة مودل سستمLebanese engineer, popular among Kuwaitis. Restaurants, hospitals.
#5Reliance Technical
شركة ريلاينس تكنيكالMany Indian customers. Sources Al Hasawi panels 'بسبب الاوضاع'.
4 actual quotes received for the same brief · Al Hasawi benchmarked against 3 Top-5 installers
All four vendors received the same RFQ from the same buyer(Mr. Abu Abdulla) within a 5-day window (8 - 13 April 2026). The ask: a turn-key cold-store package — 1× freezer room (-18 to -20°C) + 1× chiller room (+2 to +4°C), target dimensions 3.5×4×3 m, 100 mm sandwich panel, hinged door ≈ 80×190 cm, supply + install + refrigeration equipment + controls + testing & commissioning, 1-year parts & labour warranty. This is the only way to compare prices fairly — same specification sent to every vendor, no hidden variables.
| Vendor | Quote ref | Total (KWD) | Rooms | Panel | Proposal |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Mulla (trucks) Al-Mulla | — 2026-04 | 6,700 | Refrigerated truck body 4.3×2.1×2.1 m · -18 to +10°C | Carrier Kareer 260 chassis | — |
| Reliance Technical Reliance Technical | RTC-NR/6450-26 2026-04-13 | 7,050 | Freezer (-20°C) + Chiller (+2/+4°C) · 3.5×4×3 m | PIR 100 mm · MAKE: AL HASAWI KUWAIT | View PDF ↗ |
| Al Hasawi Al Hasawi | MS/250/26 2026-04-13 | 7,200 | Freezer (-18°C) + Chiller (+4°C) · 3.5×4×2.9 m · w/ floor panel | 100 mm PU-foam 40 kg/m³ · K=0.018 W/m·K · DIN 4102 B3 | View PDF ↗ |
| Iesco Engineering Iesco Engineering | 4393-JM-2026 2026-04-08 | 7,430 | Chiller + Freezer · 3.5×4×3 m · Central Kitchen Ardhiya | FM-approved PIR · EN 13501-2 · 40 kg/m³ · UAE origin | View PDF ↗ |
| Ice Cube Ice Cube | AK223 2026-04-13 | 10,950 | Freezer (-20°C) + Chiller (+2°C) · 7×4×3 m (2× volume) | Sandwich 100 mm · FM approved · UAE (Turkey line, Germany components) | View PDF ↗ |
Source: original vendor quote PDFs dated 8 - 13 April 2026, stored verbatim in docs/private/raw/quotes/ (Al Hasawi ref MS/250/26, Reliance RTC-NR/6450-26, Iesco 4393-JM-2026, Ice Cube AK223). Among the 3 comparable-spec vendors, Al Hasawi is 2nd-lowest at 7,200 KWD — within 2.1% of Reliance (7,050) and well below Iesco (7,430) + Ice Cube (10,950, 2× volume room).
Reliance's OWN quote names Al Hasawi as the panel manufacturer
DENSITY: 40 - 45 Kg/m²
THICKNESS: 100mm
CLADDING: 0.5mm thick white Pre-painted GI Sheet (RAL 9003)
MAKE: AL HASAWI KUWAIT
This is documentary proof — in a competitor's own tender document — that the only Kuwaiti panel maker recognised by the Top 5 cold-room installers is Al Hasawi. Every other Top-5 vendor (Iesco, Ice Cube, Frieze Wataniya, Model System) imports panels from the UAE. Al Hasawi's panel business is already embedded inside Reliance's bill of materials — the opportunity is to move up-stack from component supplier to Relianceinto preferred panel for the other four.
Every Top-5 vendor uses the same German + Italian components. The panel is the only thing that differentiates.
| Component | Al Hasawi | Reliance | Iesco | Ice Cube |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandwich panel | 🇰🇼 Al Hasawi (PU-foam 40 kg/m³, DIN 4102 B3) | 🇰🇼 AL HASAWI KUWAIT (PIR 40-45 kg/m³) | 🇦🇪 UAE (EIP · FM-approved PIR · EN 13501-2) | 🇦🇪 UAE (line in Turkey, components Germany · FM fire) |
| Compressor | Copeland (USA) | Bitzer (Germany) via Rime UAE | Bitzer (Germany) via Rime UAE | Bitzer 4TES-8Y + 2CES-4 (Germany) |
| Evaporator | LUVE (Italy) | Karyer (Turkey) / Enzo (India) | Alfa Luve (Italy) | Roenest (Italy) |
| Control panel | (not specified, local assembly) | Sub Zero (India) | Pego (Italy) microprocessor | Pego + Siemens (Italy + Germany) |
| Hinged doors | Al Hasawi (in-house) | MTH Italy / RIME UAE | Egypt | Italdoor or IDIF (Italy) |
| Refrigerant | R134A | (unspec in quote) | R134A chiller / R404A freezer | R404A freezer / R407C chiller |
| Fire certification | DIN 4102 B3 (self-extinguishing, older std) | Fire retardant (unspec std) | FM approved + EN 13501-2 (European) | FM approved |
| Floor insulation | 100mm PU-foam panel (in scope) | 7.5 cm normal-density foam only | 2× 50mm XPS 35 kg/m³ ship-lapped | 100mm polystyrene |
Every Top-5 vendor converges on the same component stack: Bitzer compressors (Germany), Italian evaporators (Alfa Luve / Roenest / LUVE), Italian controls (Pego). The differentiator is panel origin + fire certification: Reliance uses Al Hasawi, the other three import UAE panels with FM / EN 13501-2 certification. Al Hasawi's DIN 4102 B3 spec is valid but predates the European EN 13501 standard — an upgrade to FM-approved PIR would close the one remaining gapbetween Al Hasawi's panels and the UAE imports that the Top 4 currently prefer.
Payment · delivery · warranty · validity — same brief, very different terms
| Term | Al Hasawi | Reliance | Iesco | Ice Cube |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payment schedule | 70% on contract + 20% on delivery + 10% on T&C | 90% on PO + 10% before commissioning | 60% on order + 20% on panel delivery + 10% install + 10% T&C | 50% advance + 50% before commissioning |
| Delivery / lead time | 30 working days from order + advance receipt | (not specified) | 21 - 30 working days | 14 working days (fastest) |
| Base warranty | 1 yr full system | 1 yr — manufacturing defects ONLY | 1 yr comprehensive | 1 yr comprehensive |
| Compressor warranty | 5 years compressor (one-time change) — UNIQUE | 1 yr | 1 yr | 1 yr |
| Emergency support | (not specified in quote) | (not specified) | 3-hour response · 24/7 | (not specified) |
| Offer validity | (not specified) | 8 days | 7 days | (not specified) |
| Cash collected by T&C | 90% (70 + 20) | 90% (upfront) | 90% (60 + 20 + 10) | 50% (50 held until commissioning) |
Al Hasawi's strength: the 5-year compressor warrantyis unique in the set — no other vendor offers more than 1 year. Combined with the 1-year full-system warranty, this is the most generous warranty package among the 4 vendors. Al Hasawi's weakness:the 30-day delivery is 2× Ice Cube's 14-day quote, and the offer letter says nothing about after-sales response time — Iesco explicitly commits to 3-hour emergency response 24/7. Two quick fixes would materially lift Al Hasawi's win rate:(1) shorten lead time to 14-20 days for inventory items; (2) add an explicit emergency-response SLA to the quote template.