Bushman family sales trip 1987

About Us

This photo says alot about Bushman. It’s our first sales trip around Australia in 1987, with the family in tow. Look closely; you can see the fridges in the trailer!

Some things have changed since then (the fridges are way better), and some remain the same (we’re always here for our customers). The kid on the left, Paul, is now our managing director.  Pauls dad, Gary, who started the company more than 37 years ago, still works here.

As you can see, we’re not going anywhere in a hurry. So if you want to know something, just ask. We’re happy to take your call or email. Now, or in another 10 years time, cause we’ll still be here.

Welcome to Bushman.

The Bushman Fridge Trifecta

  • Reliable shield icon
    They're Super Reliable
    • 37 + years of experience in every fridge
    • Australia wide backup service
    • Local customer service 🙂
    • Simple electronics
    • Strong construction
    • Worlds best components
  • Low power and efficient icon
    Light on Power
    • Unique Bushman designed cooling systems
    • Bigger cooling units
    • More extensive ventilation
    • Low run times
    • Low amp draw
  • Easy to use fridges icon
    And Easy to Use
    • Practical storage spaces
    • Room for larger bottles
    • Easy installation options
    • Simple controls

Keeping it Simple

We believe that simplicity is the key to reliability.

We think that a fridge should stay cold regardless of what you throw at it, and should always be at the temperature you set it to. That’s why we build all our fridges out of steel. We don’t make them out of plastic, and we certainly don’t include unnecessary gimmicks like wifi or bluetooth.

History

Our business began in 1982 Melbourne Australia, when Gary Kottman began DP Refrigeration. With a background in engineering and a passion for genuine customer service, DP Refrigeration grew quickly. Within a couple of years, Gary had developed a national distribution network for Consul gas fridges in Australia.

Over the subsequent 17 years, DP Refrigeration became one of Consul/Whirlpools largest gas fridge global distributors. We offered customer support to customers and distributed high quality gas fridges and freezers to some of the most remote parts of this great land.

In 1989, Bushman Portable Fridges was established as a division of DP Refrigeration. Bushman developed The Original SC 35 over 2 years from 1989 to 1991. During this time the Bushman was subjected to all manner of abuse in a wide variety of off road applications and any weaknesses assessed and modified until the final prototype was achieved. In essence, this is the same fridge we sell today.

In 2011 Consul stopped making LPG fridges. We launched the brand Arcticold to design and import offgrid fridges into Australia. But a few years later, decided it was easier for our customers if we had just one brand name, Bushman Fridges.

Since then, our product range has grown to a point where we now stock a range of mobile and offgrid products, as well as accessories. We have a national independent dealer network for Bushman, which covers all major towns and cities in Australia.

Our goals going forward are simple; make the best quality offgrid fridges and accessories possible and continue to support our independent retailers and customers. The last 35+ years have been great; the next 35 might be even better.

What Next?