West Sacramento-based Integrated Comfort Inc. has been purchased by Australian air conditioner manufacturer Seeley International for an undisclosed amount.

Integrated Comfort, which makes energy-efficient cooling systems and accessories, will continue to operate under its existing brand and management team under the terms of the agreement.

Integrated Comfort’s core product, called DualCool, helps commercial rooftop cooling units operate more energy efficiently.

The company has about a dozen full-time employees.

Integrated Comfort agreed to the sale, in part, because CEO Dick Bourne is interested in retiring, chief financial officer Steve Short told the Business Journal. The deal could also help the company expand sales of the DualCool product “as aggressively as possible,” Short said.

“It’s really a desire to have some combination of additional resources from a financial perspective, but also we really are excited about the fact that we’re not just under new ownership, but strategically positioned by acquisition of Seeley International to be under the umbrella of a really, really powerful international company that provides a fast track to international distribution and explosive growth for DualCool products, and some of our other products as well,” Short said.

Integrated Comfort hopes to expand its manufacturing capacity in the Sacramento area, and in the near term may outgrow its 840 Embarcadero Drive location in West Sacramento, Short said. The growth could also mean hiring more full-time employees or additional manufacturing and distribution, although it remains to be seen how large that expansion could be.

“A lot of those details are not yet fully defined because we want to give ourselves an opportunity to get fully acquainted with the new company that we are now aligned with,” Short said.

Jon Seeley, Seeley International’s group managing director, said in a news release that the purchase presents an opportunity to “fast track” Seeley International’s expansion into the U.S.

Founded in 1992, Integrated Comfort moved from Vacaville to West Sacramento last year. One of the company’s biggest customers is Wal-Mart Stores Inc., having installed its pre-cooling technology at more than 380 Walmart and Sam’s Club stores nationwide, according to Integrated Comfort’s website.

Seeley International produces the Climate Wizard, a system that uses 80 percent less electricity than traditional compressor-cooled air conditioning. That technology has been previously tested in the region by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.

Additional brands in Seeley International’s product line include Breezair, Coolerado, Convair, Coolair and Braemar.

CONTACT ABOUT MISSION TEAM PRODUCTS PROJECTS NEWS