A perfect storm has arisen in the niche cold storage market that, if managed well, could mean a boon to owners. Smart general contractors will be prepared to help them seize the opportunity—and establish themselves as the go-to partner for these businesses as they scale to meet demand.
The drivers behind the growth prospects range from shifts in consumer behavior that are informing storage customer distribution strategies to new regulations and unexpected product storage bottlenecks due to global tariff wars.
Forecasts for cold storage to support burgeoning food businesses in U.S. urban markets in particular are consistently positive. The reason? Ever-increasing consumer desire for more fresh food, faster.
Diners demand more fresh food menu choices from their local restaurants. Families now take delivery of fresh-ingredient meals they can make at home from supplied recipes multiple times a week. Time-constrained shoppers expect grocers to carry ready-to-serve meals in refrigerator cases in-store as well as in refrigerated coolers and freezers for curbside pickup and home delivery. These shifts in food demands and delivery increase the need for nearby cold-stored produce, dairy and meats.
Beyond food, online shopping with home delivery has impacted the need for well-placed cold storage for everything from vitamins to medicines.To protect consumers in this new, must-have-it-now consumption paradigm, new regulations have arisen that increase the frequency of inspections to ensure right temperatures remain constant at every transfer point, during storage and at point of sale. Cold storage companies must be able to count on their general contractors to be knowledgeable about strategies to help them manage temperature and power to ensure product quality and regulatory compliance.
Unfortunately, the search for ideal storage space remains a challenge. Development in urban areas means once-light industrial areas are increasingly being demolished to make way for multi-family construction and mixed-use retail, edging out cold storage businesses for whom the land becomes too pricey.
While real estate brokers may find vacant, un-air-conditioned warehousing that could be leased and retrofitted for cold storage, most owners are reluctant to invest their capital expenditures into a landlord’s asset.
Contractors can help their cold storage customers achieve their goals within the many constraints they face by understanding how to leverage temporary equipment solutions as one of their sub-contractor strategies to keep themselves more competitive in this arena.
Temporary solutions provide relief and reward
Site-specific, engineered temporary power, temperature and moisture control solutions address a variety of circumstances.
1. Temporary equipment supports seasonal sales.
To bolster sales growth, temporary cooling can make close-in warehouse leasing a viable and profitable option that helps cold storage clients win lucrative, short-term contracts. When Easter chocolate season comes around, cold storage facilities are able to quickly and properly power and chill a cheap-but-otherwise-unfit facility so they stand ready to profit from the seasonal business. The contractor who brings proven expertise for solutions that requires no upfront capital outlay will be the cold storage company’s hero.
2. Planned-in protection preserves profits and customer trust.
Contingency plans for immediate restoration of power with a pre-engineered backup power supply and temporary cooling protect stored customer product during severe weather events, permanent systems failures and other unplanned emergencies. General contractors are in the ideal position to bring in a proven partner to ensure readiness.
3. Inspection-ready sites ensure ongoing operation.
As the government has funded more inspectors who are making increased, unannounced site visits, cold storage owners must more intensely monitor and manage temperature and moisture levels. Temporary equipment solutions allow cold storage facilities to maintain standards in the event of anomalies; and corrective actions are being implemented to reduce the risk of fines—or worse, a site shutdown by an inspector. Contractors on the jobsite can help their clients avoid costly inspection issues by offering temporary equipment solutions that show the contractor understands and helps reduce the client’s risks.
4. Permanent systems upgrades can be accomplished without disruption.
While there are countless million-plus square feet cold storage sites across the United States, many of these facilities’ aging HVAC and mechanical systems are prone to frequent failures and require replacement. Well-informed contractors introduce specially-engineered temporary power and temperature and moisture control equipment specialists to replicate permanent systems and keep environments ideal and operations uninterrupted while system upgrades are underway. Savvy contractors avoid succumbing to the temptation to attempt DIY assemblages that could prove quite costly to the client’s and contractor’s businesses.
5. Expansion can occur without operational disruption.
As the market grows, so must the cold storage facilities to support that growth. However, adding space to existing facilities introduces risks to products as walls and roofs come down and new building sections are added. Tarps do little to protect cold-stored product from exposure to the elements, which increases the risk of out-of-compliance temperature and moisture levels. Contractors can bring in complex-system specialists to design temporary systems that replicate the ideal permanent conditions, thereby eliminating the expense and disruption of relocating product and reducing the risks associated with product remaining onsite.
6. Temporary solutions protect owners from product liability claims.
When systems fail, cold storage owners face the risk of significant product liability claims that likely will not be covered by their insurance policies. A trusted contractor can introduce a known, trusted temporary solutions partner with proven experience in the cold storage business that can immediately stabilize the situation—which could mean the difference between uninterrupted operations and a total loss of product for the cold storage business.
When selecting a temporary solutions provider to join a contractor’s trusted sub-contractor roster, know what matters. A qualified supplier will have:
- case studies showing a track record involving a variety of applications in the cold storage business;
- a solid engineering team to design site-specific systems, which tend to be more complex and require far more than a DIY attempt;
- a well-distributed fleet of equipment for fast deployment to sites throughout the world;
- remote monitoring capabilities to ensure the temporary solutions perform as intended, and can be addressed immediately if issues arise; and
- trained and skilled technicians experienced in complex systems maintenance, supported by service centers located in proximity to key markets.
Becoming a well-informed general contractor with the foresight to engage a temporary solutions partner long before the need is urgent sets the stage for seizing sales opportunities as well as solidifying the cold storage client relationship for the long-term.
