Industrial Refrigeration Pros has partnered with Prairie HVAC/R, establishing its first Canadian operating company and adding refrigeration manufacturing, low-charge ammonia technology, and cold-climate expertise to a platform that has served more than 1,450 facilities. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The deal represents IR Pros’ first expansion outside the U.S. and gives the Sawmill Capital-sponsored industrial refrigeration platform an operating presence in the Winnipeg area.
Prairie HVAC/R has more than 20 years of experience providing refrigeration, artificial ice plants, mechanical systems, controls, automation, alternative-energy systems, and electrical infrastructure.
From its manufacturing facility in Grande Pointe, Manitoba, the company designs, manufactures, installs, and services systems for industrial, commercial, municipal, and community infrastructure customers.
Prairie also manufactures ENVIROFREEZE low-charge packaged ammonia chillers and RINK LINK remote ice-plant control systems.
Its technology has been used in arenas and curling facilities, including for championship-level ice at the Grand Slam of Curling Players’ Championship.
The combination gives IR Pros additional manufacturing capacity while adding specialized expertise operating refrigeration and mechanical systems in demanding cold-weather environments.
IR Pros contributes broader capabilities spanning refrigeration engineering, construction, controls, compliance, cold-storage construction, and insulated metal panel systems.
Its technology portfolio also includes RefrigAgent, an AI-enabled compliance platform designed to convert piping and instrumentation diagrams into IIAR 6 mechanical-integrity plans.
The combined organization plans to pursue customers across food and beverage processing, cold storage, data centers, industrial facilities, arenas, municipalities, and community recreation infrastructure.
The companies see opportunities to support larger cross-border projects involving new facilities, refrigeration upgrades, plant expansions, controls modernization, and energy-efficiency investments.
Prairie HVAC/R will retain its name, leadership team, and existing employees.
IR Pros and Prairie plan to triple manufacturing capacity over the next several years and add approximately 20 to 30 employees in Manitoba and elsewhere in Canada.
The transaction follows IR Pros’ broader model of partnering with established refrigeration companies while allowing local businesses to preserve their identities and customer relationships.
The platform provides participating companies with shared engineering, compliance, controls, technology, and operational resources.
IR Pros’ U.S. operating companies serve cold storage, food and beverage, data center, and industrial customers.
Together, the platform has served more than 1,450 facilities.
Adding Prairie gives IR Pros a Canadian manufacturing base and creates a foundation for future expansion across the country.
KEY QUOTES:
“We did not enter Canada simply to put a pin on a map. We entered with a company that knows how to engineer, manufacture and service mission-critical systems in one of the world’s most demanding climates. Prairie HVAC/R gives us the people, technology and credibility to create real value for customers on both sides of the border.”
Curtis Czemeres, CEO of IR Pros
“Prairie HVAC/R was built around a simple promise: show up, solve the problem and do the work properly. Joining IR Pros protects that promise while giving our team access to deeper engineering, compliance and controls resources. It means we can take on more complex opportunities without losing the practical, people-first approach our customers know us for.”
Albert Steinbach, Co-Founder of Prairie HVAC/R
