When it comes to deciding which type of on-site temperature controlled storage is best suited for your business, the options are often greater than your might expect. Here, Cook:Chill offer some advice on the positives and negatives of each type.
Over the last decade a container-type cold storage unit is probably the most common type of facility used by UK businesses due to the speed at which they are delivered and installed. As companies have expanded, a unit arriving on site preformed is a major plus. There are even inflatable products that are now being offered as a variation to this norm boasting cheaper transport costs and faster installs. Due to the size of these units, they will usually need to sit externally to the premises, with the container-type having to be craned into the final position. Whilst these options both will generally have a larger capacity, you will be restricted by set sizes and location to which they can be delivered. The inflatable option does offer the ability to get into restrictive locations. However, we presume it will still need space to be rolled out pre-inflation and it looks like security is a definite issue. Although the marketing material for the inflatable does suggest that it can be easily sited indoors. A pallet truck is the largest product moving device that can access these types of unit utilising vital manpower. If sited on grass, as per the picture on the right, the inflatable could turn out to be a nightmare on a wet day as it doesn’t come with a floor as standard.
Parking up what is usually mobile refrigerated transport, is also an option. By this we mean taking refrigerated trailers and rigid trucks off the road. This is usually a last resort, utilised by companies over a short term in the run up to a busy period or in an emergency. In this scenario, it is easily the cheapest option, however, they are very expensive assets to have stood still over an extended period. Access and stock rotation can also pose major headaches as they either need to be backed up to a loading bay or a combination of forklift and pallet truck are required. You know that the pallet of product required will also be furthest one from the back doors making it a logistical nightmare. There are also a Health & Safety and staff cost considerations. For smaller operations, the hire of a towable cold room is the most obvious solution, but again, access and storage volume is it’s greatest downfall.
The panel built modular cold storage solution, in our opinion, is certainly the most flexible as it eliminates the restrictions present in the other varieties mention previously. They can be built to the very last millimetre of available or allocated space, maximising the benefit to the business. They can be sited either inside or outside a premises and are scalable, which means they have the ability to grow and be altered in line with requirements. Modular cold rooms have the ability to be accessed by forklift, pallet truck or just humans, with as many access points as is required and can be segregated into compartments with differing temperature applications. The only downside, when comparing to the other solutions is build time but 000’s of companies are happy with the short term disruption when they realise the potential. Starting from scratch, these panel build rooms can be designed for any industry specification requiring temperature controlled solutions.
Cook:Chill offer 92 different size configurations in our standard modular cold room as well as limitless configurations in our made-to-measure offering. Through our solution focused consultancy, design and installation service Cook:Chill always maximises value for money. That’s the reason local, national and multi-national organisations turn to our team for their temperature controlled storage requirements. For more information please head over to the refrigeration section of our website, or contact one of the team.