HCR Inc. – Business is red-hot for Lewistown, Montana company specializing in doorless refrigeration systems

Consider the doorless entryway to Costco’s massive walk-in refrigerator. It’s wide enough to pass two mega-sized carts through, tall enough to accommodate a 10-foot forklift.

At the cooler’s opposite end is an equally large exit, also sans door. It’s cold enough inside to send a mother ranting about loose penguins, indoor snow, while we gape for chilled treats.

Yet the cold air isn’t escaping. Warm air isn’t rushing in. There’s no fog of condensation as an endless train of sample-nibbling Saturday shoppers pull their jackets closed and step into the chill room.

Pete Smith knows how Costco pulls it off. Nearly 40 years ago his father figured out how to keep a refrigerator’s cold air in and and the warm air out. You could say it blew the doors off the refrigeration industry. It also launched HCR Inc.http://www.hcr-inc.com/ , an anchor to a surprisingly strong manufacturing economy in Lewistown.

By TOM LUTEY [email protected]

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