Mumbai: In a bid to grab a chunk of the commercial regreigeration segment in the Indian market, Chinese consumer electronics and home appliances group Haier has unveiled a aggressively-priced new range of deep freezers in the Indian market.

Haier has extended its range to refrigeration products in the Indian market with an entry in the commercial refrigeration segment for the first time. The deep freezers, mainly for use in commercial refrigeration, are available in two variants - hard-top and opaque, and with glass-top with sliding door.

The freezers are available in the capacity range of 100 to 500 litres, with pricing starting at Rs12,000.

Haier plans to leverage the changing lifestyles that have resulted in the increased widespread use of frozen foods, which have in turn led to growth in demand for freezers. Moreover, the growth in the organised retail sector and the mushrooming supermarkets coupled with changing preference in dining have together resulted in the increased consumption of frozen food products.

Pranay Dhabhai, whole time director and COO, Haier Appliances India says, ''This new range of freezers marks a step forward our endeavour to bring in innovative products to the Indian market and create new need focused categories. These new freezer models are energy-efficient and CFC-free and therefore they save power and cut-down on the electricity bills. The retail industry is in a boom and as it gets more and more organized the growth in demand for cold retail chains is bound to increase.''

Haier anticipates the air-conditioning and refrigeration market in India to witness a spectacular growth in the near future, with much of it coming from the commercial sector, as the process of storing, transporting and displaying food at appropriate temperatures gains greater significance. Haier estimates the annualised production of refrigerated cabinets to be around 2 lakh units comprising of chest freezers, display cabinets, bottle coolers and visi-coolers.

The highlight of Haier's freezers is that its tropicalised compressor is tested at 43 degrees Celsius to 53 degrees Celsius ambiences that give it a wide climate zone designed suited to Indian weather conditions. Models available span the 100 litre to 500 litre capacity range, and have a temperature range between 17 to 23 degrees centigrade. During the first phase of the launch, all of the current models will be imported, and would later be manufactured in India at Haier's manufacturing facility in Ranjangaon near Pune.

Haier says the power consumption of its deep freezers is among the lowest in the category as compared to available freezers, helping in notching up savings of around 40 per cent in electricity bills.

Haier says its deep freezers are even more relevant for the Indian market as they are built in a way that maintains the interior temperature of the freezer even without electricity for as long as 5-6 hours in case of power failures. The freezer's deep and quick freezing facility also helps cool quicker, consuming less electricity and lowering power consumption and bills.

Other features include mechanical temperature control with power indicator, and a high pressure foam cover for efficient temperature preservation. The freezer can be easily moved from one place to another on its castor wheels.