Is this cold storage buyer case study a real project?

It is anonymised and generalised from representative buyer-led procurements: a dairy producer adding a chilled store for a new retail contract. Client names, sites and contract values are removed; figures are indicative of comparable projects, not quotations or guaranteed outcomes.

Why start with the cooling-load calculator instead of supplier quotes?

Because suppliers size what you ask for. Without a written design duty, each bidder assumes a different load — which is why the buyer's two informal quotes were 40% apart. Fixing the load first made all five proposals price the same duty.

How long did the RFQ process take?

Roughly seven weeks from cooling-load estimate to award: one week for load and capacity, one week to issue the RFQ, three weeks in the market, one week of normalisation, then the decision.

What did the cooling-load calculator not cover?

It is a planning estimate, not a certified engineering calculation. Final sizing, refrigerant choice and compliance were confirmed by the selected manufacturer and the buyer's engineer before contract signature.

Where can I get a cold storage RFQ example or template?

This page includes a free downloadable cold storage RFQ example in Markdown, based on the case study structure — design basis, scope, exclusions register, commercial requirements and required documents — plus a quotation comparison CSV for normalising bids. Replace the bracketed fields with your project data; no email required.

How do I issue a refrigeration RFQ?

Six steps: (1) fix the design cooling duty before contacting suppliers, (2) write the scope and exclusions in the same document, (3) pre-qualify three to six suppliers with comparable references, (4) issue one identical pack to every bidder, (5) answer clarifications once in writing to all bidders, and (6) normalise scope before comparing price, annual energy and 10-year cost.

Buyer case study

Cold storage buyer case study: from cooling-load estimate to a comparable RFQ

How a regional dairy producer in the Netherlands moved from a signed retail contract to five comparable supplier proposals for a new +2 °C chilled store — by fixing the cooling load before contacting any supplier, and issuing one structured RFQ through ColdMatch.

Human Global Expert Guidance•Vendor-Neutral Procurement•Qualified International Suppliers•Commercial Confidentiality

A senior cold-chain specialist stays with your project from first brief to commissioning.

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Short answer

The buyer modelled the cooling load first — room size, +2 °C target, insulation and daily throughput — turned the result into an RFQ technical annex, and invited five pre-qualified suppliers to price the same duty. Raw bids spread about 29%; after normalising exclusions the genuine difference was roughly 11%, and the award went to the second-lowest normalised offer with a service agreement included.

Who this is for and how ColdMatch works

Best for

Commercial and industrial cold chain projects, typically from USD 250,000 upward: cold rooms, refrigerated warehouses, blast freezers, processing plant refrigeration and distribution hubs.

Not a fit: domestic refrigerators, household or office air conditioning, small repair call-outs, or spare-parts-only enquiries.

Typical cold chain project types

Fruit, vegetable and horticulture cold storage with pre-cooling
Meat, poultry and fish chilling plus blast freezing
Dairy and beverage process cooling
Pharma and vaccine GDP cold chain (2–8 °C, −20 °C, −70 °C)
Refrigerated warehouses, 3PL hubs and mobile cold rooms

Cold room vs refrigerated warehouse

A cold room is a single insulated chamber, usually under ~500 m³, serving one process or storage step. A refrigerated warehouse is a multi-zone facility with racking, docks, air locks and a central refrigeration plant, sized by pallet positions and daily throughput rather than by room volume.

What affects project cost

Storage volume, pallet positions and daily throughput
Target temperature and ambient design conditions
Refrigerant choice (NH₃, CO₂, HFC) and plant redundancy
Panel thickness, doors, air locks and civil works
Backup power, solar, freight, duties and commissioning

Temperature range checklist

+12 to +16 °C — bananas, potatoes, curing
+2 to +8 °C — pharma GDP, dairy, fresh produce
0 to +4 °C — meat, fish and chilled distribution
−18 to −25 °C — frozen storage
−35 to −40 °C — blast freezing and IQF

RFQ checklist

Product, temperature and daily intake
Room dimensions or required pallet positions
Site location, ambient conditions and power supply
Backup autonomy and redundancy level
Budget range, timeline and scope exclusions

Build your RFQ →

Supplier matching process

You define the project once — capacity, temperature and technical requirements. ColdMatch structures it into a supplier-ready RFQ, reviews it with a human specialist, then approaches suitable refrigeration manufacturers, EPC contractors and installers. Offers come back normalised so scope, price and lead time are comparable.

See the RFQ process → · Talk to a specialist →

Buyer is not charged

Using ColdMatch to scope a project, run calculators and receive supplier quotations is free for buyers. ColdMatch helps buyers compare suppliers and request quotes; it is an intermediary and does not manufacture equipment, install systems, or provide financing directly. Costs shown are indicative planning figures — only supplier quotations are binding.

Cold chain project types, temperatures and budgets

Use these reference clusters to place a project before contacting suppliers. Figures are indicative planning ranges for commercial and industrial projects from USD 250,000 upward — only supplier quotations are binding.

Project type cluster

Agriculture and horticulture cold storage: Pre-cooling plus storage for fruit, vegetables and flowers, usually +2 to +12 °C with high humidity control and fast pull-down after harvest. Sized by daily intake in tonnes, not only by room volume.
Meat, poultry and fish cold storage: Chilling at 0 to +4 °C combined with blast freezing at −35 to −40 °C and frozen holding at −18 to −25 °C. Hygienic panels, drainage and separate dirty/clean flows are part of scope.
Pharmaceutical and API cold storage: GDP-compliant 2–8 °C rooms, −20 °C and, for some active pharmaceutical ingredients and biologics, −70 °C. Requires mapping, IQ/OQ/PQ, N+1 refrigeration, backup power and alarm escalation.
Refrigerated warehouse and 3PL distribution: Multi-zone facilities sized by pallet positions, dock doors and daily throughput. Typical scope covers racking, air locks, dock levellers, a central plant and an energy strategy.
Food processing plant refrigeration: Process cooling, chillers, spiral or tunnel freezers and glycol loops integrated with production lines. Usually specified alongside ISO 22000 and HACCP food safety requirements.
Mobile and containerised cold rooms: Plug-and-play 20 ft or 40 ft refrigerated units for seasonal peaks, remote sites and temporary capacity, typically −25 to +8 °C with optional solar or generator support.

Temperature range cluster

Range	Typical use
+12 to +16 °C	Bananas, potatoes, onions, curing and ripening rooms
+8 to +12 °C	Tropical fruit and chill-sensitive produce
+2 to +8 °C	Pharma GDP storage, vaccines, dairy, fresh produce
0 to +4 °C	Meat, fish and chilled distribution
−18 to −25 °C	Frozen food storage and frozen distribution hubs
−35 to −40 °C	Blast freezing, IQF tunnels and spiral freezers
−70 °C and below	Biologics, clinical trial material and ultra-low pharma

Budget band cluster

USD 250K – 750K: Single or twin cold rooms, a small blast freezer, or a containerised installation with basic backup power.
USD 750K – 2M: Multi-zone cold store of roughly 500–1,500 m² with racking, dock doors, a packaged plant and a generator.
USD 2M – 8M: Refrigerated warehouse or processing plant refrigeration with NH₃ or CO₂ central plant, redundancy and automation.
USD 8M – 100M+: Turnkey distribution hubs, national cold chain programmes and multi-site pharma or export infrastructure.

Estimate cooling load → · Build a supplier-ready RFQ →

Anonymised buyer case: chilled cold store for a dairy producer

Situation before the tender, how the RFQ was structured week by week, the outcome after normalisation, and the exact calculators that produced the numbers behind the specification.

Food and dairy producers buying their first purpose-built cold store

Case — New +2 °C chilled store for a dairy producer (Netherlands)

Family dairy producer near Rotterdam that signed a supermarket contract requiring 600 additional pallet positions at +2/+4 °C. New 1,100 m² chilled store attached to the existing dairy. Budget band USD $900K–$1.6M.

Before

Two budget quotes from installers the family already knew, sized on 'rules of thumb' and 40% apart
No written design basis: product load from the new contract had never been converted into kW of cooling
Door openings and throughput from the new picking operation not reflected in either quote
Energy cost not compared at all, despite electricity being the store's largest operating cost

After

Five compliant proposals; raw spread of about 29% narrowed to roughly 11% after normalisation
The lowest raw bid had excluded floor heating and condensate drainage — about USD $60K–$90K of scope
Award went to the second-lowest normalised offer, with a 3-year service agreement inside the base price
Modelled annual energy roughly 15% below the cheapest raw proposal's design after part-load comparison

Sourcing approach

Cooling load modelled first with the cooling-load calculator: dimensions, +2 °C target, insulation, ambient and 18 t/day throughput
Calculator result exported as the RFQ technical annex so every supplier priced the same duty
Exclusions named up front: electrical infeed, floor heating, racking, commissioning and monitoring
Five suppliers pre-qualified on comparable dairy and chilled-storage references, not catalogue claims

ColdMatch RFQ timeline

Week 0–1Cooling load modelled. Room size, temperatures, insulation and 18 t/day throughput converted into a design duty in kW with an optimistic/base/pessimistic range. Cooling-load calculator
Week 1Capacity cross-check. 600 pallet positions validated against the 1,100 m² footprint and door traffic before tendering. Warehouse capacity planner
Week 2RFQ issued. One pack to five pre-qualified suppliers: same duty, same exclusions named, same commissioning scope. RFQ builder
Week 3–5Market period. Clarifications answered once in writing and shared with every bidder, keeping the comparison like-for-like.
Week 6Normalisation. Exclusions priced onto one scope; energy per year modelled for each design before any price conversation. Bid comparison tool
Week 7Award. Second-lowest normalised offer selected on 10-year cost and local service coverage.

Calculators behind this project

Cooling-load calculator

Produced the design duty in kW/TR that became the RFQ technical annex — the step that made every bid comparable.

Warehouse capacity planner

Confirmed the 600 pallet positions fit the footprint before suppliers were asked to price.

Refrigeration bid comparison

Priced exclusions back onto one scope so the family compared scope, not sales writing.

Refrigeration TCO calculator

Put 10-year energy and service cost into the award decision instead of lump sum alone.

Run your project the same way

Estimate your cooling load, turn it into a structured RFQ and compare supplier proposals on one normalised scope — free for buyers, supplier-neutral.

Estimate my cooling load Build a free RFQ

This case study is anonymised and generalised for buyer guidance. Budget bands, bid spreads, programmes and savings are indicative of comparable projects and are not quotations, benchmarks or guaranteed outcomes. The cooling-load calculator provides planning estimates only. ColdMatch Group is a supplier-neutral procurement platform and does not act as a manufacturer, installer or EPC contractor.

Cold storage RFQ example · free download

Cold storage RFQ example and refrigeration RFQ template

This is the structure the buyer in the case study used: a design basis fixed before supplier contact, a named exclusions register and one comparison sheet. Download it, replace the bracketed fields with your project data and issue the same pack to every bidder. No email required.

1. Project identification

Project name: [New chilled store — 600 pallet positions]
Buyer / end user: [Legal entity name]
Site address and country: [Street, city, country]
Project type: [New build / extension / replacement]
Indicative budget band (USD): [$900,000 – $1,600,000]
+2 more in the download

2. Design basis (technical annex)

Room dimensions: [40 m x 27.5 m x 9 m clear height] — [1,100] m²
Target room temperature: [+2 °C], tolerance [±1.5 K]
Design ambient: [32 °C dry bulb / 55% RH summer]
Insulation assumption: [120 mm PIR walls, 160 mm roof, insulated floor]
Product and daily throughput: [dairy, 18 t/day inbound at +8 °C]
+5 more in the download

3. Scope of supply requested

Refrigeration plant, evaporators, condensers, pipework and insulation
Control system, alarms and temperature monitoring with data logging
Panels, doors, floor build-up: [included / by others]
Installation, commissioning and performance test
Operator training and O&M documentation
+1 more in the download

4. Exclusions to be named by the bidder

Electrical infeed, transformer and main switchboard: [by buyer / by supplier]
Civil works, foundations and floor heating: [by buyer / by supplier]
Racking, dock levellers and internal fit-out: [by buyer / by supplier]
Condensate and defrost drainage
Permits, F-gas / ammonia safety documentation and local approvals
+1 more in the download

5. Commercial and evaluation requirements

Price breakdown: equipment / installation / commissioning / spares / service
Currency, validity period and payment milestones
Delivery lead time and installation programme in weeks
Modelled annual energy consumption (kWh/year) at stated design conditions
Local service coverage: nearest engineers and response time
+2 more in the download

6. Required documents with the bid

Heat-load calculation supporting the offered duty
P&ID / schematic and equipment list with makes and models
Electrical load schedule (kW and starting current)
Commissioning and performance-test protocol
Compliance statement (pressure equipment, refrigerant safety, local codes)
+1 more in the download

Or build the RFQ online

How to issue a refrigeration RFQ (six steps)

1. Fix the design duty before contacting suppliers — Model the cooling load from room size, temperature, insulation, ambient and throughput. Without a written duty each bidder sizes a different plant and the prices cannot be compared.
2. Write the scope and the exclusions in the same document — Most price spread comes from scope, not equipment. Name electrical infeed, civils, floor heating, racking, drainage and commissioning explicitly.
3. Pre-qualify a short list — Three to six suppliers with references in the same temperature class and application. More bidders rarely improve the outcome.
4. Issue one identical pack to everyone — Same annex, same deadline, same response format so proposals arrive in a comparable structure.
5. Answer clarifications once, in writing, to all bidders — Keeps the comparison like-for-like and protects the tender from informal side agreements.
6. Normalise before comparing — Price missing scope back onto one common baseline, then compare lump sum, annual energy and 10-year cost together.

Templates are planning documents for buyers and consultants. They are not engineering designs, quotations or compliance certification; final duty, refrigerant selection and code compliance must be confirmed by the selected manufacturer and your engineer.

Frequently asked questions

How ColdMatch Group works — independent B2B procurement and sourcing platform — ColdMatch Group is an independent B2B procurement and sourcing platform for industrial refrigeration, cold storage and cold-chain projects from USD $250K+, connecting buyers with qualified third-party suppliers, EPC contractors and independent financing providers.

Related resources

Cold storage RFQ example with matched proposals Cooling-load calculator Build a free RFQ Cold storage RFQ guide Cold room planner How to compare cold storage quotations Cold storage sourcing case studies Pharma cold-chain buyer case study Pharma cold chain buyer hub Consultant case studies Consultant project definition case study

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