In this article, you'll learn:
• How Coreco has evolved over the past 40 years.
• What values have guided the way you work and manufacture products?.
• How it interacts with distributors, installers, and customers.
• What challenges and future prospects does the company see in the professional field?.
In 1985, in Lucena (Córdoba), Coreco was founded with a simple idea: to manufacture professional refrigeration equipment that could keep up with the real-world pace of bars, restaurants, and food stores. There were no grand marketing plans or grandiose speeches; there was craftsmanship, steel, welding, insulating foam, and a keen focus on what customers wanted—but one very clear goal: to make Coreco a top-tier professional refrigeration manufacturer.
Forty years later, Coreco’s equipment can be found in all kinds of businesses: from small neighborhood stores to supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, central kitchens, and gourmet shops. Much of this equipment is located in storage areas and kitchens; other pieces are on display for customers, showcasing products that have become part of each business’s identity.
This 40th anniversary is not seen as an ending, but rather as a good time to pause for a moment, look back, and ask ourselves: How does one get to this point after four decades of professional cold weather?
1. From Lucena to the World
Over time, Coreco, a manufacturer of professional refrigeration equipment It ceased to be just a name associated with his immediate circle and began to appear in hospitality and food projects in many other cities.
Coreco was founded as a company seeking to establish itself in the HORECA sector within the field of professional refrigeration, also known as industrial refrigeration. The first units were not designed to impress, but rather to meet very specific needs:
- keep food in good condition,
- maintain the cold chain,
- and make it easier to work in bars, restaurants, butcher shops, fish markets, and grocery stores.
Over time, the brand expanded beyond the Lucena area and began to appear in other parts of Spain. Later, it crossed borders and reached dozens of countries. It did so gradually, always relying on distributors and installers who recommended the brand because they had tried its products firsthand.
Today, Coreco operates in more than 70 countries, but the foundation remains the same: a factory in Lucena, a stable team, and an approach to the business that is closely tied to the region and the local industry.
2. A Way of Life: A Community-Oriented Industry and Work Ethic
More than just a slogan, Coreco has a philosophy about business that has stood the test of time.
The company has been built on a few simple ideas: doing things right, paying attention to detail, listening to customers, and providing a stable work environment where people can grow professionally without sacrificing their personal lives.
This forms the basis for some very specific principles:
- Manufactured in Spain, using our own resources and managing the processes.
- Design with... in mind What Really Goes On Inside Closets, Display Cases, and Showcases, not just in the technical specifications.
- Listen to distributors, installers, and users and make adjustments when something can be improved.
- Taking care of the team and the environment in which they work.
- Maintain a clear line of quality, practical innovation, and environmental responsibility.
These aren't just empty words: anyone who visits the factory sees blueprints, steel, automated processes… but also gets the sense that this is a project that has gradually taken shape little by little, through perseverance.
3. What We've Learned After 40 Years of Cold Weather
Over the past four decades, the industry has changed significantly—regulations, gases, energy efficiency, design, digitalization… but there are three ideas that come up again and again when talking with people at Coreco.
3.1. Proper preservation is just as important as proper display
Professional coolness isn't limited to the kitchen. A large part of Coreco's work takes place on the front lines, focused on refrigeration for cooling and preservation, cabinets, display cases, counters, and equipment that almost no one sees, who work behind the scenes but ensure the product's quality day after day.
Another very important part is facing the public:
- display cases,
- fresh produce displays,
- wine cellars,
- open-view aging cabinets.
Whether in a supermarket, a gourmet shop, or a restaurant bar, these units do more than just cool and preserve: they tell a story. The way the lighting is set up, how the products are arranged, the glass, the sense of cleanliness and order… all of that influences the customer's perception.
As a professional refrigeration manufacturer serving the HORECA and food industries, Coreco has learned to work with these two aspects of refrigeration:
- the one you can't see (where every degree and every hour of operation matters),
- and the one you see (where, moreover, trust, appeal, and the business's image matter).
3.2. There is no single type of “professional cold”
Forty years ago, the focus was primarily on service equipment for traditional hospitality establishments. Today, the landscape is much more diverse:
- organized restoration,
- specialty stores,
- gourmet spots,
- hotels,
- supermarkets and grocery chains,
- central kitchens,
- hybrid businesses (store + tasting + delivery),
- projects where the cold is very noticeable in the room.
That diversity has made it necessary to design very different solutions: back-office cameras, display cases that make a strong visual impact in the dining room, refrigerated wall displays, and wine coolers that are part of the interior design, blast chillers that keep kitchen operations running, etc.
The lesson is clear: every type of business uses refrigeration in a different way, and the manufacturer's job is to adapt the technology for that purpose, not the other way around.
4. Growing Without Losing Your Craft: Evolution in Stages
Coreco's history as a manufacturer of industrial refrigeration can be viewed almost as a continuous timeline in Spain.
4.1. The 1980s and 1990s: Learning Firsthand
In its early years, Coreco primarily manufactured products for the hospitality industry and small businesses. The relationship with customers is very direct: many improvements stem from a visit to a customer or installer, from analyzing a recurring problem, or from a display case that could preserve products better or be more convenient to work with.
These are years of learn the trade:
- understand how each detail affects performance,
- improve insulation,
- standardize processes,
- continue refining the ranges.
Expansion is happening gradually: first, a greater focus on the domestic market, then the first steps abroad.
4.2. The 2000s: Laboratory, Efficiency, and More Markets
At the turn of the century, the company strengthened its industrial focus:
- launches a in-house testing laboratory,
- measures fuel consumption and performance more accurately,
- and begins designing equipment with energy savings as a specific goal.
At the same time, Coreco is strengthening its international presence. Many of its devices are beginning to appear on billboards, in storefronts, and in business premises that are no longer just a few hours away from Lucena, but thousands of kilometers away.
4.3. The 2010s: New Regulations, New Refrigerants
The 2010s bring with them stricter regulations regarding efficiency, energy labeling, and refrigerants. The entire industry must adapt; it is not optional.
Coreco is responding by reengineering its product lines and introducing gases with a lower climate impact and adapting designs to comply with the guidelines of Ecodesign and Energy Efficiency, without compromising the durability that characterizes the brand.
These are years in which decisions are made that do not yield immediate results, but that prepare the company for a more regulated environment that is more sensitive to energy issues.
4.4. 2018–2025: Digitalization and a More Connected Factory
As a professional refrigeration manufacturer serving the HORECA and food industries, we have also experienced changes behind the scenes:
- more automated production lines,
- integration of management systems (ERP, traceability, technical documentation),
- monitoring of energy consumption,
- use of 3D design, simulation, and 3D printing in prototyping,
- first steps toward a smarter factory, with real-time data and more proactive maintenance.
From the customer's perspective, this translates into better-controlled equipment, more available information, and the ability to integrate some commercial refrigeration into projects where connectivity is becoming part of everyday life.
5. People, Equipment, and Work Methods
Behind every display case or showcase are hands, decisions, and a wealth of accumulated experience. For Coreco, talking about quality also means talking about how things are done behind the scenes.
5.1. Craft, Continuity, and Development
At the Lucena plant, employees who have spent half their professional lives at the company work alongside those who have just joined. There are stories of people who started out doing very basic tasks and now coordinate teams, train new colleagues, or participate in improvement projects.
The company is committed to:
- stable employment,
- ongoing training in technology, safety, and processes,
- internal promotion when the opportunity arises.
- work-life balance
It's not presented as some extraordinary achievement, but rather as a sensible way to build an industrial project: giving the team reasons to stay and grow.
5.2. A Diverse Workforce and Work-Life Balance as a Matter of Course
If there’s one thing we’ve learned over the past 40 years, it’s that stable teams aren’t sustained by good products alone, but by a sensible way of working. At the Lucena factory, people from different generations work side by side—men and women, people who started here when they were very young and now share the production line with those who have just joined the company.
Over the years, we have gradually implemented work-life balance measures, adjustments to work schedules, and flexible arrangements that allow work to fit into different stages of life: for those with young children, those caring for family members, or those continuing their education. We don’t present this as an achievement, but rather as a logical step if you want people to stay, grow, and feel like they’re part of the project.
Today, Coreco's workforce is clearly mixed, in offices as well as in production and technical departments. It is increasingly common to see women in manufacturing, engineering, quality control, administration, logistics, and middle management.
The company has Equality and Work-Life Balance Policies officially recognized—such as the Andalusian Seal of Excellence in Equality (MAEI)—but behind closed doors, what is truly valued is that these policies translate into something concrete: a work environment that combines professional standards with respect for people and their lives outside the factory.
6. Customers, Distributors, and the Industry: Growing Together
If there's one thing that comes up a lot at Coreco when talking about the 40th anniversary, it's the word trust.
Over the past four decades, the company has been fortunate to work with:
- retailers who believed in the brand when it wasn't yet very well known,
- installers who have set up hundreds of cameras, display cases, and display units with the Coreco logo on the door,
- end customers—ranging from small businesses to large corporations—who have chosen this equipment to store and display their products.
Much of what is now part of the company's product lines stems from that relationship:
- from a technical service call,
- a visit to see why a system works one way or another,
- from a distributor that proposes an adjustment,
- a store that wants its mural or display window to look different.
The company also collaborates with vocational training centers and universities, participates in industry associations, and gets involved in local initiatives. The basic idea is simple: Coreco hasn't gone it alone. It has grown within an industrial and hospitality ecosystem of which it is a part and to which it strives to contribute responsibly.
7. Looking Ahead: Cold Weather, People, and Constant Change
Coreco, a Spanish manufacturer of professional refrigeration equipment for the HORECA and food service sectors, is celebrating its 40th anniversary—a milestone that encourages us to look back, but at the Lucena plant, the focus is, above all, on what lies ahead:
- new requirements for energy efficiency and sustainability,
- more connectivity and digitization in cameras, display cases, murals, and display stands,
- HORECA business models that will continue to evolve (delivery, retail + tasting, experiential spaces, etc.),
- Customers who are looking for equipment that uses less energy, preserves food better, and integrates more seamlessly into their establishments.
Coreco's goal for the coming years is not to reinvent itself every five minutes, but rather continue to hone one's craft:
- improve the efficiency of conservation and exhibition solutions,
- to make the work of distributors and installers easier,
- nurture relationships with those who trust the brand,
- and maintain a work environment where people can continue to say, “I’ve been here for many years… and it’s worth it.”.
8. A 40th anniversary celebrated through hard work
Summarizing Coreco’s 40 years as a manufacturer of professional refrigeration equipment in just a few pages means leaving out many anecdotes, names, and projects. But there is one idea that runs through this anniversary from start to finish:
- It can be done industry from a specific perspective,
- You can bet on the commercial refrigeration as a serious profession,
- You can grow while continuing to listen,
- And we can take care of people while setting up cameras, display cases, wine coolers, and display stands that support the work of thousands of businesses every day.
Coreco is celebrating its 40th anniversary without straying from its core mission: manufacturing professional refrigeration equipment, preserving and displaying products, supporting distributors and customers, and keeping its factory in Lucena thriving.
The best way to celebrate is probably the same as always: continue working, make any necessary adjustments, and live up to the trust that so many people have placed in the brand over the past four decades.
As a professional refrigeration manufacturer serving the HORECA and food industries, we are proud of our contribution to the sector by supporting all initiatives and associations that lead to improvements for the entire industry.
Look at the career of Coreco, a manufacturer of professional refrigeration equipment On its 40th anniversary, it is, in essence, also a look back at the evolution of commercial refrigeration for the hospitality and food industries over the past four decades in Spain.
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