Digitalization of the Aquarial line of evaporative coolers

The industrial cooling sector

The industrial cooling sector for production environments is currently experiencing a crucial phase of technological evolution.
Manufacturing companies are seeking solutions capable of reducing energy consumption and environmental impact while ensuring comfort and productivity.
Evaporative cooling technologies are emerging as sustainable alternatives to traditional systems, with the challenge of integrating into Industry 4.0 frameworks to enable remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, and continuous optimization.

The client

Socaf S.p.A. is an Italian leader with over 40 years of experience in workplace air quality.
Since 1982, it has provided professional cleaning solutions, and in 2004 it expanded its offering with the Aquarial line of industrial evaporative coolers, positioning itself as a reference point for ecological and sustainable climate-control solutions.

Needs

Socaf needed to digitalize its product line to remain competitive.
Traditional coolers lacked connectivity and monitoring sensors, limiting the offering of advanced services such as predictive maintenance and remote control. The company sought a modular and scalable solution to support future growth.

The solution: Integrated ODM approach

FAE Technology developed an integrated technological platform that completely digitalizes the Aquarial line thanks to its capabilities as an Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) overseeing the entire value chain.

Competenze End-to-End

The system enables smart weekly scheduling, real-time monitoring, anomaly notifications, and preventive maintenance, reducing downtime and intervention costs.

Additionally, Socaf is a partner in the European project ReLife4PCBA, led by FAE Technology, which develops an integrated system for the recovery and regeneration of electronic boards.
Within this initiative, Aquarial serves as a pilot case by testing the entire circular-economy cycle: digital traceability of boards during cooler maintenance, fault diagnostics, and end-of-life component regeneration.
This further strengthens this commitment, positioning Socaf as an ideal partner for companies seeking to combine productivity and sustainability within a circular-economy model.

Benefits and results

Completed digital transformation

Socaf is now positioned as a provider of advanced technological solutions, offering remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, and continuous optimization services.
Remote diagnostics have drastically reduced downtime, while usage data enables continuous improvement strategies based on evidence.

Sustainability and Efficiency

The solution amplifies the advantages of evaporative cooling: reduced energy consumption, no refrigerant gases (only water), lower installation and maintenance costs, improved air quality, and a concrete contribution to ecological transition

The Value of the ODM Approach

The partnership demonstrates FAE Technology’s distinctive capabilities: a systemic vision of customer needs, end-to-end expertise from hardware design to cloud services, solution customization, and accelerated time-to-market thanks to the integration of Group competencies.

Conclusions

As Gianmarco Lanza, President and CEO of FAE Technology, stated:
“The solution expresses the breadth of the Group’s vertical know-how, which covers the entire operational perimeter from hardware design to software development and Cloud integration. The combination of competencies made it possible to create an integrated, advanced, and secure platform that enhances a low-impact, high-efficiency system.”

The Aquarial project confirms FAE Technology’s ability to act as a strategic technological partner for digitalization and sustainable innovation, delivering complete solutions that integrate hardware, software, and cloud.
The collaboration serves as a replicable model for other industrial sectors.