Experts in refrigeration, electrical and solar work, and heating and cooling products and services, Refrigelec has been supporting Goulburn Valley businesses in the residential, commercial and industrial sectors since 2017.
Owners Olivia and Marcus Fantig started the business from their garage and within six months had hired their first apprentice.
“It was daunting but from day dot it just took off,” Mr Fantig said.
“We're now one of the largest contractors in the area which is what I always envisioned.”
Fast forward to today and the business now employs 18 staff members.
“We've got a really good team and everyone gets along really well — they have fun but they get the job done,” Mrs Fantig said.
“We are flexible and offer four day work weeks which means there's more productivity on site.
“We also offer dual trades as well, where some of the electricians want to start doing their refrigeration apprenticeships and vice versa.
“Our staff love the diversity of work we offer across the different sectors.”
The couple said the key to the success was the hours of work put in.
“You get out of it what you put in — you have to communicate well and build relationships,” they said.
As an essential service, it has been "business as usual" during coronavirus lockdowns.
“We've been lucky, people are still spending money and there's heaps of government funded projects that are in the pipeline,” Mr Fantig said.
Both born and bred in Cobram, Mr and Mrs Fantig attended Cobram Secondary College and have been together for 10 years.
Their two young boys Lucas, 4, and Leo, 2, love seeing how the business runs and may follow in their parents footsteps one day.
“We want to make it fun for them and not like a chore, so they want to be involved later,” Mr Fantig said.
“If they want to get into it, we're building something for them,” Mrs Fantig said.
The business owners are looking to expand to a larger location in the next five years and are on the hunt for three to four apprentices to join the team.
“There's definitely a shortage of qualified trades in the area, everyone is struggling to find good tradesman,” Mrs Fantig said.
“We're looking for some people to move up through the ranks.”