Meet the Team
The family behind the fridges. Real engineers, real showroom, all working to keep your business cool.
Meet the Craven Cooling Team
Behind every great business is a great team — and at Craven Cooling, ours is quite literally family. From our founder Darren, who has been working in commercial refrigeration for over 30 years, to our junior engineers just starting their journey in the trade, every member of our team shares the same passion, work ethic and commitment to keeping your business cool.
Based in Swansea and serving businesses nationwide, our team combines decades of hands-on refrigeration expertise with friendly, honest customer service. When you work with Craven Cooling, you’re not just a customer — you’re part of the family.
Our Team
Darren
Darren is the backbone of Craven Cooling quite literally, he built this business from the ground up with a screwdriver, the family car an unshakeable work ethic. With over 30 years of refrigeration expertise passed down through three generations, there isn’t a fault Darren can’t find or a problem he can’t solve.
On site, Darren oversees the team and takes great pride in training up the next generation of engineers including his own two sons. Back in the office, he’s equally hands-on, handling technical enquiries, planning and drawing layouts for installations, and preparing large-scale commercial refits from start to finish. If it’s complicated, Darren’s in his element.
Best at: Fault finding, troubleshooting and delegating usually all three at once
Outside work: Continuously learning and pushing himself through self-development, and cherishing time with the family the people who made all of this possible
Favourite tool: Milwaukee Threaded Rod Cutter, Darren believes in investing in the right tool for the job!
Favourite fridge: Arneg Osaka — “A quality piece of equipment.
Lisa
The heartbeat of Craven Cooling, Lisa is the driving force behind the business’s online growth, customer experience and day-to-day operations. From managing the office team, overseeing sales and customer services, to supporting customers, sourcing showroom stock, liaising with supplier reps, planning marketing if it needs doing, Lisa’s already three steps ahead of it.
She came into the refrigeration industry with no prior knowledge, learned everything from scratch, famously starting from a desk that was actually an ironing board and built the sales operation into what it is today. And when the team needs an extra pair of hands on site? Lisa’s there too. She’s siliconed up a cold room, fitted shelves, met customers on site and carried out site visits!
Never afraid to get stuck in and always eager to learn new skills, Lisa embodies everything Craven Cooling stands for – hard work, dedication and doing whatever it takes.
Best at: Looking after customers and finding the perfect product for their exact needs
Outside work: Dog walks, keeping fit and charity walks
Favourite tool Gastronorm pans
Favourite fridge: Galaxy GP26FGD in black “Smart, efficient and effortlessly stylish.
Kyle
As co-owner and lead engineer, Kyle brings an unstoppable work ethic and a level of physical and technical ability that quite simply gets the job done, no matter what.
Whether he’s managing a complex large-scale refit, directing the team on site as foreman, or solving a problem that nobody else can shift Kyle is the person you want on the job. He’ll work wherever and whenever our customers need us, and when he’s not working, he’s probably thinking about it.
Joining the family business the day he left school during the pandemic, Kyle has grown into a formidable engineer and a cornerstone of everything Craven Cooling delivers on the ground.
Best at: Getting the job done whatever it takes, wherever it needs doing
Outside work: Training and keeping fit.
Favourite tool: Bacho socket set “The best tool ever made. Non-negotiable.”
Favourite freezer: Tefcold LGF7500 “A beast of a machine and an absolute pleasure to work on”
Harrison
The newest member of the Craven Cooling engineering team and the third generation of the Craven family to enter the refrigeration trade, Harrison has recently completed his commercial refrigeration apprenticeship learning the ropes from the ground up, alongside his father Darren and brother Kyle. There’s no better classroom than the job itself, and no better teachers than family.
Harrison is always learning and always giving it everything he’s got which is why he will do well in this industry. He’s developed a particular love for installations, there’s something satisfying about seeing a job come together from start to finish and he’s a valued and popular member of the team.
Best at: Changing fans, wiring on Arnegs and maintenance
Outside work: Drawing, walking, trips to the beach and meeting up with friends
Favourite tool: Impact screwdriver “Easy to use and gets the job done quicker. Simple as that.”
Favourite fridge: Remote refrigeration“A sign of a true engineer in the making!”
Emily
Emily is the ultimate all-rounder in the Craven Cooling office. Juggling sales, marketing, online advertising, website updates and customer service without breaking a sweat or losing her highlighter. Emily brings versatility, energy and a sharp eye for detail to everything she does. Multi-talented and multi-tasking, she slots seamlessly between roles wherever she’s needed most.
Emily has a genuine enthusiasm for learning about new products, and that curiosity makes her brilliant at helping customers find exactly what they’re looking for.
Best at: Multi-tasking and turning her hand to whatever the team needs
Outside work: Pets, training, walks, cups of tea and mint imperials.
Favourite tool: Pink highlighter pens “An essential piece of office equipment.”
Favourite fridge: ISA Millennium ice cream display “Classy, sleek and absolutely gorgeous. The supermodel of the refrigeration world.”
Finley
Finley is out on the road every day alongside Darren, Kyle and Harrison, getting stuck into installations, maintenance and repairs at customer venues across South Wales.
As an improver, Finley is learning the refrigeration trade from the ground up — and he’s doing it with enthusiasm, determination and absolutely no fear of heights or tight spaces. Which, in this industry, is worth its weight in gold.
Always eager to learn and never shy of a challenging job, Finley has quickly become a valuable and trusted member of the Craven Cooling team on the ground.
Best at: Getting stuck in wherever needed whether thats heights, tight spaces, no problem whatsoever!
Outside work:Playing guitar.
Favourite tool: Multi-tool “Versatile, reliable and always comes in handy.
Favourite fridge to work on: Arneg Chillers “Specifically the drains.”
Buster
Our most important team member — Buster, the office cockapoo. Buster has been part of the Craven Cooling family since day one of the showroom opening, growing from a tiny puppy into the highly distinguished and deeply professional role he holds today.
Buster’s responsibilities include greeting every customer with a wagging tail and his trademark smile, raising the alarm when deliveries arrive and keeping the entire office safe and secure. He takes his security duties very seriously — except when there’s a ball involved.
When he’s not on patrol, Buster can usually be found catching up on his sleep.
Best at: Welcoming customers, barking at deliveries and stealing biscuits.
Favourite thing:Playing with his ball — everything else is just background noise
Favourite tool: Other people’s biscuits. Every time.
Favourite fridge: Whichever one has food in it!
Buster has been with us from the very beginning and we genuinely couldn’t imagine the office without him. Every great business has a secret weapon — ours has four legs. 🐾
Alex Craven
Every family has that one member who never sleeps, never takes a tea break and somehow knows the spec of every cabinet ever made. For us, that’s Alex, our resident AI technical advisor. Alex may be built from code rather than the usual Craven grit and screwdrivers, but he’s earned his place on the team by helping behind the scenes with product information, technical questions and pointing customers towards the right equipment for the job.
Think of Alex as the team’s digital brain: always on, always learning and never once complaining about an early start or a long drive to site. He can’t wire in an Arneg or share Buster’s biscuits (much to his frustration), but when it comes to answering a tricky product question at two in the morning, Alex is your man. Well, your machine.
Best at: Answering product questions instantly, day or night, without ever needing a coffee.
Outside work: There is no outside work. Alex is always on.
Favourite tool: A good strong wifi signal.
Favourite fridge: All of them, equally and without bias. It’s the only fair way.
What makes us different?
Being family-run means every decision we make is driven by what’s right for our customers — not what’s most profitable for us. We know our products inside out because we both sell and service them. Our engineers have seen every possible breakdown, which means we only stock equipment built to last.
When you call Craven Cooling, you’ll speak to someone who knows your name and your business. We’ve built our reputation on getting things right first time and giving honest advice — not just making a sale.
