Cold and Dry
“When Krinova came into the picture, the wall turned into a staircase”
Simply having a good idea is not enough. This is something that Roger Gilistrand, founder of Cold and Dry AB, knows all too well. You need tools, support and networks to enable your idea to blossom and develop the potential to become a successful business.
Roger’s idea was born eight years ago. The precise nature of Roger’s idea is still a bit of a secret, as he is in the process of developing and designing his invention. But it is technology that can save energy in cold rooms.
“In 2020, I conducted a test in a grocery store in Helsingborg using a large and clumsy test machine,” says Roger Gilistrand. “It enabled their walk-in freezers to maintain the temperature much better and not have to be defrosted as often.”
In other words, it was a very successful trial that showed that the idea had potential. But that did not help Roger Gilistrand to take his company to the next level.
“In 2021, I was feeling overwhelmed,” he says. “There was so much I didn’t know. I understood what I needed to do with the machine. It was everything else I needed help with.”
Roger Gilistrand could not forget the positive feedback he received from the first trial and decided to give his idea one last chance by visiting a business fair at Everöd Airport in 2022. It was there that he met representatives from Krinova.
“I didn’t have very high expectations for that day – maybe that I would come across something that could help me move forward.”
It turned out better than he could ever have imagined.
Roger Gilistrand describes it as if the way forward for Cold and Dry was blocked by a high wall that he did not know how to get over. When Krinova came into the picture, the wall turned into a staircase.
“Now I didn’t have to get over the whole wall at once. I could divide up the path and take one step at a time.”
For the past 18 months, Roger Gilistrand has been part of both Krinova START and then Krinova INCUBATOR. Thanks to this, he now has a toolbox full of tools that he can use as he navigates the business world.
“They’ve helped me match up with stakeholders, they’ve been a sounding board and given me tips and advice,” says Roger Gilistrand. “It’s great to feel the support and that someone believes in your idea.”
Massimiliano “Max” Pattara is the business designer who Roger Gilistrand works with at Krinova. Max emphasises that it is not him and his colleagues who do the work for the entrepreneurs. It is the entrepreneurs who have to put the work in.
“Roger has done a fantastic job and he has shown that he has the qualities needed to become a successful entrepreneur,” says Max Pattara. “He listens and is both stubborn and flexible at the same time.”
Through Krinova, Roger has also been able to get help from another incubator: Ideon in Lund. Ideon has the technical expertise needed to develop a prototype for Roger’s machine.
“Krinova has extensive experience and knowledge in the food sector, but building a device with all that it entails is not directly in Krinova’s wheelhouse. It is, however, in Ideon’s, which has contributed its technical expertise and contacts in the field.”
The next step for Cold and Dry is to develop a trial prototype that will be a model for a scalable prototype. A lot of work remains to be done before the product can be made available for sale. Nevertheless, Roger Gilistrand is satisfied.
“When you ask someone on their deathbed what it is they most regret, it is often what they didn’t do rather than what they did. If I hadn’t had the courage to take a risk and test this idea, I would have really regretted it.”