40+ jaar expertise in laboratoriumapparatuur
Service & onderhoud door gecertificeerde specialisten
A historic brand with lasting impact in cold storage. Poly Temp Scientific has been connected to the Revco brand since 1984 and was one of the first distributors in EMEA.
Revco Scientific was founded in 1938 as the 'Refrigerated Equipment Vending Company' and started out selling refrigerated vending machines. During the Second World War, Revco built its first -40°C freezer for the aviation industry. After the war, demand for high-quality ultra-low temperature (ULT) freezers grew so rapidly that Revco shifted its full focus to the life sciences and industrial laboratory market. Since the late 1940s, Revco has been a driving force in the design, production, technology and service of cold storage equipment.
In 2005, Revco was acquired by Thermo Scientific together with Kendro. By 2024, the Revco brand has been fully absorbed into the Thermo Scientific brand. For those familiar with the market, the Revco name continues to carry significant historical value. Today's state-of-the-art freezers owe much of their development to Revco's engineering legacy.
With more than 85 years of experience serving the life science and industrial laboratory world, Revco has built valuable expertise in understanding the working conditions of the lab environment. Through collaboration with customers, research institutions and regulatory agencies, Revco made a significant contribution to the development of standards in safety, storage control and temperature monitoring.
With the goal of minimising the environmental impact of hydrofluorocarbons, Revco maintains an active programme to use CFC-free insulation materials. The first CFC-free freezers were delivered as early as 1992, with careful verification that reliability and performance fully met Revco's standards.
Poly Temp Scientific was one of the first distributors in EMEA to represent the Revco brand, operating at that time under the name RHEEM Scientific Europe. The first order dates back to 1984 and involved a ULT-1185 of 300 litres. In over 40 years, much has changed, but the Revco brand continues to hold an important place in the history of our organisation.
Revco's history is one of continuous innovation. Each decade brought new products and new markets, but the core principle remained unchanged: delivering the best refrigeration technology for every application.
Revco developed the first successful coin-operated ice vending machine. It was the very first step in what would grow into one of the most influential refrigeration technology companies in the world.
After the war, Revco played a pioneering role in the home freezer market. Driven by the rapid growth of frozen food, Revco produced the first chest freezers for consumers, laying the foundation for an entirely new product category.
Revco introduced built-in refrigeration and in doing so set the tone for the entire refrigerator-freezer industry. The product range expanded to five modular series, covering every conceivable application from the domestic kitchen to professional settings.
Revco introduced the Heat Pump, a unit that cools in summer and heats in winter using refrigeration technology. At the same time, Revco articulated its long-term strategy: to specialise in refrigeration while continuously exploring new applications. The company had consistently added new products as part of a broader plan to "diversify and specialise."
Poly Temp Scientific placed its first order for a Revco ULT-1185 of 300 litres, at the time still operating under the name RHEEM Scientific Europe. This made Poly Temp one of the first distributors of the Revco brand in the EMEA region, a partnership that would last more than 40 years.
With the aim of reducing the environmental impact of hydrofluorocarbons, Revco delivered its first CFC-free freezers, with careful verification that reliability and performance continued to fully meet Revco's exacting standards.
Revco was acquired by Thermo Scientific together with Kendro. The knowledge, technology and product development legacy of Revco form the foundation for the modern Thermo Scientific ultra-low temperature freezers that are used worldwide today.
Revco's manufacturing facility was located in Deerfield, Michigan, strategically positioned in the industrial heartland of America, close to Toledo, Ohio and Detroit, Michigan. A New York Central rail spur ran directly to the factory's loading dock, enabling fast and cost-effective delivery to customers around the world. Revco described its location as situated in "an area famous throughout the world for its achievements in engineering and production."
At Revco, engineering consistently ran months, sometimes years, ahead of the production schedule. Director of Engineering E.J. Von Arb and Long Range Development Engineer H. Tenniswood developed new products in the model shop, where skilled workers built prototypes by hand. Only after thorough testing and refinement, during which numerous changes were made, was a design frozen for tooling and pilot production runs. This disciplined approach was the foundation of Revco's reputation as an industry trendsetter.
Good products start with good parts, and good parts can only be made with good tools. Revco's precision tool room, where much of the production tooling originated, was maintained at the highest level of efficiency. Accuracy and technical expertise were the cornerstones of Revco's quality standards.
Welding crews completed a freezer shell in just a few minutes using the latest jig and spot welding equipment. One of Revco's signature innovations was the shell condenser, a housing design that eliminated condensation, noise and dust. The skid rails fitted to the base made levelling on uneven floors straightforward and prevented damage to soft flooring, a practical feature that was highly valued in laboratory and industrial environments.
All shells passed through a continuous conveyor system and bonderising process, a chemical metal treatment applied in preparation for painting, after which a baked enamel finish was applied. Following the enamelling process, every Revco product was carefully inspected for flaws under ideal lighting conditions. Any product that did not meet the standard was returned to the paint preparation area and completely refinished before proceeding to the final assembly line.
The outer shells were sealed airtight and then pressure-tested to ensure complete integrity. This sealing process was critical: it prevents the transfer of moisture from outside air into the insulated product. The heart of every Revco unit was its patented tubing-to-liner lamination process, a low-heat bonding method that eliminated the softening of aluminium and flux damage associated with electric bonding. By joining like metals, equal expansion and contraction were guaranteed, ensuring bonds would never break.
Electronic freon leak tests could detect leaks so small that it would take more than seven years for the refrigeration system to be affected. Hundreds of hook-up stations, coupled to master control boards, provided complete testing of every finished product. Each unit had to cycle through its full operation multiple times before receiving approval. A final visual inspection, covering literature, parts and accessories, was carried out at the last checkpoint before products left the factory by truck or rail car.
Revco maintained a dedicated team of technicians who continuously tested new improvements and evaluated production samples for efficiency and quality. The testing facilities included climate-controlled test rooms at 70°F, 90°F and 110°F, supplemented by a humidity chamber and specialised equipment for recording running time, energy consumption, temperature and humidity conditions, airflow and noise levels.
This safety margin of more than 50% above the danger threshold was a clear reflection of the Revco philosophy: not merely meeting the standard, but exceeding it by a considerable margin. It was precisely this mindset that set Revco apart from its competitors and built the trust of laboratories worldwide over many decades.
Revco was founded by Howard D. White and G.F. Forsthoefel. Under their leadership and active management, the company grew into a widely recognised name in the industry for trend-setting refrigeration products. The company's brochure materials from that era captured its guiding principle clearly: "The measure of any company is translated from the abilities, goals and accomplishments of its people."
A distinctive feature of Revco's structure was that shares were held by directors, managers and employees alike. This shared ownership fostered a collective pride in product quality that directly benefited the customer. At Revco, quality was not a department; it was a shared responsibility across the entire organisation.
Co-founder of Revco. Under his leadership, the company grew from a regional vending machine supplier into an internationally recognised name in refrigeration technology.
Co-founder and driving force behind Revco's strategic growth. His active involvement in management established the culture of product excellence for which Revco became known.
The pages below are taken from an original Revco company brochure from approximately 1959, titled "People and Facilities." This rare document offers a unique glimpse into how Revco presented its products, people and processes to the market at the time. Click on any page to enlarge it.
Do you still have a Revco freezer in use and are you considering a replacement? We have extensive experience replacing older Revco equipment with modern equivalents from the Thermo Scientific portfolio. Get in touch and we will help you find the right replacement model.
Poly Temp Scientific was one of the first distributors in EMEA for the Revco brand. Our first order dates back to 1984. This long history makes us the ideal partner for everything related to Revco and its successor Thermo Scientific equipment.
We continue to provide preventive maintenance and specialist services for existing Revco freezers. We are active in the pharmaceutical industry, medical diagnostics, life science logistics and more. Get in touch for a no-obligation consultation or call +31 515 575 105.
Our advisors are happy to help you, whether it concerns maintenance of existing Revco equipment or finding a modern equivalent.
'%3E%3Cpath d='M0,0 v30 h60 v-30 z' fill='%23012169'/%3E%3Cpath d='M0,0 L60,30 M60,0 L0,30' stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='6'/%3E%3Cpath d='M0,0 L60,30 M60,0 L0,30' clip-path='url(%23t)' stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='4'/%3E%3Cpath d='M30,0 v30 M0,15 h60' stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='10'/%3E%3Cpath d='M30,0 v30 M0,15 h60' stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='6'/%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/svg%3E)