Catching Up With Chris Frye—Keeping Cool With Cruise N Comfort USA
If there’s one that’s clear upon meeting Chris Frye, the owner of Cruise N Comfort USA in Tempe, Ariz., it is that he cares about quality. Quality when it comes to his products and the components—as many U.S.-made ones as possible—the company uses to construct its robust marine air conditioners. Quality when it comes to the assembly of said products that are built to withstand the rigors of military use. Quality in the form of in-house testing prior to delivery to ensure a nearly non-existent failure rate. And quality in the way business is conducted in terms of both operations and customer service.
Look for Cruise N Comfort USA owner Chris Frye at a boat show or poker run near you this year. Photos courtesy Cruise N Comfort USA
When the Speedonthewater.com team caught up with Frye during a rainy Saturday morning in Central Missouri during the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout—we had display booths next to each other—Frye was eager to show off the company’s MES ICEBOX-R, a lightweight 48-volt system designed to keep race, or pleasure, boats cool. Not only is the system popular in boats such as the 450R Factory Stock-class canopied MTI catamarans, it’s becoming more appealing to pleasure boaters with center console and catamarans.
In 2010, Frye purchased the company, which was established in 2006 out of the need for a marine air conditioner that could run exclusively from batteries, and began expanding its original line to meet the needs of military clients. The new line, Frye said, contained one of the most robust and durable rotary compressors on the market. And because it was built to withstand the rigors of military use, it was a perfect fit for offshore raceboats, pleasure boats and sailboats.
During Performance Boat Center’s Lake of the Ozarks Shootout Welcome Party, the Cruise N Comfort USA team was able to answer questions about its products.
“We make these units serviceable and most components replaceable, which is especially helpful for those powerboat customers who have accidents in their quest to be champions,” Frye said. “Our units are built tough, but they don’t work well under water. Since we build our units ourselves, customers can send them back to us to replace those waterlogged electronics and get them back in time for the next race.”
Although he loves offshore racing and the reactions from boat racers who truly appreciate the air conditioning, Frye has been focused on getting more units into pleasure boats around the country. It’s why he went to the Lake of the Ozarks; it’s also why he’ll be attending the Desert Storm Poker Run in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., in April and other events this coming season. It’s also why he caught up with Speedonthewater.com after spending some quality time with his family over the holiday season. Again, all about the quality. Joking aside, here’s what Frye had to say.
If you could use two or three words to sum up the year for Cruise N Comfort, what would they be and why?
Amazing, challenging and rewarding, to say the least. It was amazing because our company has grown incredibly in the last five years, which makes it exciting to be a business owner. We have added more employees, expanded our product line and upgraded our shop. It’s challenging because of the supply chain issues all over the world. These issues have made it hard for small businesses to compete with large companies to procure supplies. There have been many late nights, not to mention working on weekends and holidays to keep the business running. But with these challenges comes great rewards. Cruise N Comfort is a family-owned business spanning three generations of the Frye family, from my father, our engineer, all the way down to our 13-year-old twins sweeping the shop and bagging hardware for some of our accessories. It is rewarding to look back and see how far Cruise N Comfort has come and how much we will continue to grow in the future.
Check out the slideshow above for more images of Frye and his team, including his granddog, Sabrina.
You all seemed to enjoy yourself—and have the company’s biggest presence yet—at the Lake of the Ozarks Shootout in Missouri last August. How did that go?
We don’t typically do events, but being avid boaters, going to the events is exciting…even though I had to leave my Fountain at home. We had a fantastic opportunity to display at Performance Boat Center because of both the great guys there and John Hice of Gulf Coast Marine Service. John has great ties with the crew at Performance Boat Center and Captain Ron’s, which allowed us to meet great people and get to know others in this community. He specializes in our 48V systems and has been working closely with the performance boat manufacturers to integrate our products.
Do you all try to attend or promote at other performance boat events around the country?
We have not in the past, but in 2024 we have plans to attend more boating events…more along the lines of poker run events and shootouts. We already have plans for the Desert Storm Poker Run in Lake Havasu City, which we haven’t attended in years.
Has customer demand been stronger for a particular one of your systems over others?
Our original MES self-contained unit has been our top seller, but we have introduced more options in the last year for those customers who are more limited on space and need something broken into smaller components. These seem to be a great fit for race boats and center consoles. Our original marine systems were only water-cooled, but we have now adopted marine versions of our air-cooled systems, also. These are great for customers who don’t want to use a thru-hull fitting. Or, as we’ve found out, for those customers who want to keep cool while “cruising” the waters at almost 100 mph—or for the ones who spend more time in the air than the water (laughs).
The Cruise N Comfort USA team is ready for a big year.
Do you have any goals for 2024—and beyond?
Our immediate goal is to produce more “how to” videos and side-by-side comparisons of our products. With as many marine options as we now have, we want to educate our customers to help them easily decide what unit will be best for them. Our long-term goal is to continue and grow this business with our family and teach them (and the next generation) the importance of quality, integrity and customer service when running a business and delivering a high-end product.
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