Starting in 1994, Polar Technology a US based refrigerant recycling company, founded by Ted Atwood, built 11 refrigerant recycling plants in the United States & abroad, including in New Hampshire, Texas, California, Budapest Japan, and China.

From designing and building large reclaim equipment to pioneering cylinder exchange programs, the goal was always to reduce refrigerant emissions and create better refrigerant tracking for corporate sustainability.

The team at Polar had a purpose and focused on creating a richer experience for everyone in the re-supply chain, and realized we were not the owners of used refrigerant material but caretakers.

Our experiences helped us to gain unique insights into the refrigerant market forces, including environmental software providers.
Polar used this insight to reduce mixed gas volumes, increase yields and improve each user`s experience.

We understood that a full recovery cylinder of refrigerant was worth less to contractors than an empty cylinder.

The empty cylinder offered service people an opportunity to keep working while a full cylinder meant they needed more cylinders, and work would have to stop until they had them.

By 2011, Polar offered the first online refrigerant banking experience to wholesale suppliers and their clients.

In 2015 we shifted gears and sold the reclaim business, using the proceeds as seed capital for Trakref, a software corporation with regulatory compliance software and environmental compliance calendar software, taking our experiences, technology, a small team of core people, and 20 years of know-how with us to found a software company intent on delivering compliance and environmental sustainability solutions globally.

Improving User Experience at Trakref with Julie B. - Video