Turnkey cold storage vs multi-contract procurement

What should be inside a turnkey cold storage price

A turnkey number is only meaningful when the inclusions are listed. Ask for the boundary explicitly.

• Refrigeration plant, pipework, evaporators, condensers and heat rejection
• Insulated panels, doors, floors and vapour sealing
• Electrical distribution, motor control centre and controls
• Civil works, foundations and plant room construction
• Freight, duties, installation, commissioning, performance tests and training

Typical package split in a multi-contract project

Each boundary is a place where two contractors can both believe the other is responsible.

• Civil and building shell
• Insulated envelope, panels and doors
• Refrigeration plant and pipework
• Electrical supply, distribution and controls integration
• Racking, dock equipment and warehouse automation

The interface list that decides the outcome

Write these boundaries before choosing a structure — they are where the money and the weeks disappear.

• Foundation loads and plant room slab tolerances
• Panel penetrations for pipework and cable routes
• Power supply point, cable sizing and earthing responsibility
• Controls integration between plant, doors, dock and automation
• Who owns final commissioning, and who signs system acceptance

How to keep competitive tension in a turnkey route

Turnkey does not mean a single price with no reference. Structure the enquiry so components remain visible.

• Require a priced breakdown by package inside the turnkey offer
• Ask for a named exclusions list, not a general disclaimer
• Request the same design basis and duty from every bidder
• Ask for annual energy consumption at the stated operating profile
• Keep the option to novate one package if a bidder's pricing is uncompetitive

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 →

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.