Introduction:

It’s always nice when a local company makes a big splash in the world. CoolIT has done just that. Pretty much every tech blog and magazine around couldn’t get enough of their USB drink cooler. Then when they released their Freezone and Eliminator coolers, they proved that they could actually deliver a unique and very desirable high end product.

Virtual-hideout has had a great relationship with CoolIT, and while just discussing their latest products, I realized that I was only a short drive away from their headquarters. It seemed an obvious idea to see if CoolIT would agree to give us a 10 cent tour. At the time though, they were just in the process of moving to a new location. Now that they’ve pretty much moved in, I got to go take a look at CoolIT’s inner workings, and get a first hand look at how they tick.

When I first drove up to their building, It wasn’t the easiest location to find. The only indication that it was the right place, was the parking signs outside the offices. While CoolIT might be up and running, they are still dealing with some approval issues for getting up a sign.

Non Descript

In the right spot though

A work in progress

The only room that CoolIT hasn’t quite finished moving into; is the main reception area. However, I was met at the door by Nick Dolphin, the head of Marketing and after a brief introduction, whisked around the corner and shown a standard NDA form. This is a good and bad thing. On the good side, it meant I was going to be shown things that haven’t been made public… On the other side, it meant I wasn’t allowed to change that status *drat*! 

But of course, who am I to listen to a little NDA, and threat of lawsuits or beatings from hired goons?! No not me, so let me tell you about the ******************* and the **********. Of course I can’t forget about that new ********** and ********************************** with the ***********. Which leads into the ******** !!! Amazing isn’t it!?

(Thankfully they have announced one of the best new products and I can talk about it!)

Seriously though, if CoolIT has a slightly empty reception area, they make up for it spades with the rest of their offices and workshops. They tried to tell me that their old offices were only 1500 square feet, and I’m not really sure if I believe them. The new building is 8000 square feet, and it still feels like they need more room, even if they think they could still hire a few more people. 

The Interview:

[VH]: Who are you, and what do you do for CoolIT?

[CoolIT]:Geoff Lyon, CEO for CoolIT Systems

[VH]: When was CoolIT Systems Founded, and who started it?

[Geoff]: CoolIT Systems was founded in 2001 by Jason Myers, Sandy Scott, and Brydon Gierl

[VH]: How many people are working for CoolIT right now?

[Geoff]: 20

[VH]: What is CoolIT's Modus Operandi? What are your goals?

[Geoff]: To be the premier Liquid Cooling supplier to the semi-conductor industry, from the enthusiast right through to server applications

[VH]: What was the initial draw into peltiers? What got everything started?

[Geoff]: Sandy’s original [now patented] idea was to harness the power of thermo electrics combined with Liquid Cooling to deliver an overall lower operating temperature.

The opportunity was available for CoolIT to create  the first efficient commercial grade solution since at that time there were no such options available to the industry.  By using multiple Thermoelectrics combined with liquid cooling ,  CoolIT Systems was able to commercialize the first truly efficient thermoelectric solution.

[VH]: Could you describe again the creation of the drink cooler?

[Geoff]: The USB Beverage Chiller was created by the inspiration caused at a meeting at CoolIT, when someone remarked “it’s a shame that our coolers don’t chill beer, because we’d make a lot more money”  This joke inspired CTO [Chief Technical Officer] Sandy Scott to go home that night and create a prototype  (as a joke).   After the laughter subsided, the idea of using it as a promotional vehicle crystallized and the rest is, as they say, history.

[VH]: Everybody knows about the Freezone and your other coolers, the performance that has been seen.. Well, the over clock you can get from some CPU's, outstrips what some motherboards can handle. Why isn't everyone else doing this?

[Geoff]: Aside from it being proprietary, patented technology, the time and engineering to develop this solution was in no way trivial.  What we're finding is that now that more companies are pursuing liquid cooling, our phone is ringing more and more each day.

Good exposure

[VH]: CoolIT came out with the USB drink cooler, as a novelty item self admittedly, but it got a lot of press. Did that press translate into sales of your other products?

[Geoff]: It’s hard to give specific metrics to measure that, but it certainly gave increased exposure to us.

[VH]: In the near future, are we going to see completely new setups, or more evolutions of the Freezone?

[Geoff]: CoolIT is an innovative company and is constantly developing new solutions, some as new variations of existing solutions plus broader offerings and new product developments, like the software solution provided by our new MTEC Control Center.  In addition, VGA Cooling and Chipsets cooling are coming soon.

[VH]: Tell us a little about the new ATI/AMD Reference cooler for the X 2900XT, what are it's stats?

[Geoff]: Developed with close collaboration with AMD's thermal engineering group, it is a  Dual Drive-bay  Radiator based solution without TECs that is self contained, factory sealed, and maintenance free  employing microchannel technology that reduces the full solution to single card height.

[VH]: How long have you been working with ATI/AMD on the cooler? And how long did it take to develop?

[Geoff]: We’ve had a long running relationship with AMD.
The cooler itself is more of an evolution that a specific development but we're looking forward to many such announcements in the near future.

Dell

H2C

[VH]: Aside from Dell and ATI/AMD, who else is CoolIT working with?

[Geoff]: We are under Non Disclosure with many companies but what we can say is that besides Dell and AMD/ATI we are working with many companies that include [but aren’t limited to] Alienware, Maingear, BioHazard, War Machine, Ultra, Radioactive PC, and Silverstone

Boreas

Inside a Silverstone

Not 100% final layout

[VH]: What else are you working on?
[Geoff]: Besides new iterations of our current cooling, we have new technology solutions being developed for  PC Cooling and are looking forward to these projects turning into products that our customers can take full advantage of.

John McColman

Nick Dolphin

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