Cold Storage Warehouse in Canada: Rates & Benefits

If you are on this page to learn about the cost and the benefit of renting a cold storage warehouse in Canada, you might already know what it is. It is hard to define a cold storage warehouse in just a single sentence as it is used for various purposes. 

Cold storage warehouses have extreme temperature conditions which are maintained using special equipment. Like any other service, there are different types of cold storage warehouses, and the cost differs based on the requirements. These warehouses are an essential part of the food supply chain. 

Before finding out about the benefits and the rates, you need to figure out if you require a cold storage warehouse. The following are products or goods that can be stored in a cold storage warehouse. 

What can you store in a cold storage warehouse?

As the name implies, a cold storage warehouse differs from the other warehouses. Extra attention is paid to temperature maintenance and surveillance of heat exchange to ensure safe storage of the goods. 

Listed below are a few of the things that can be stored in a cold storage warehouse so there is no worry of damage:

Food Products

The food products that we buy on a day-to-day basis and store in our refrigerators might have been stored at a cold storage warehouse before hitting the shelves. Some common products like ice cream, beverages, vegetables and dairy products are stored under specific temperatures so that they reach the end customer fresh and without damage. 

As the retail shops or supermarkets are located at a distance from the manufacturers’ warehouse, in order to preserve the freshness of the products they are stored at nearby cold storage warehouses, and are delivered to retail stores using temperature controlled vehicles. A few of the products include the cost of the cold storage warehouse, and that is why they are more expensive when compared to others. 

Plants or Flowers

The cold storage warehouses also have various sections suitable for the storage of fresh flowers and plants. You might have ordered live plants, saplings, or fresh flowers online. Though these come from the farm, they are stored in a cold storage warehouse to preserve their freshness and enable easy delivery. 

Artwork

The demand for artwork has been increasing, and so has its production. In the case where sculptures are made using natural fibers or colors, it is important to preserve them till they reach their final destination. Cold storage warehouses are used to store such artwork at the specified temperature to avoid moisture or mold. 

Medicines

Certain medicines are to be stored cold or frozen, therefore cold storage warehouses are used. Be it supplements or vaccines, the pharmaceutical companies and hospitals use cold storage warehouses for the storage of them. 

Now that you know what a cold storage warehouse can be used for, you might be wondering about the temperatures inside. The temperature of a cold storage warehouse depends on the requirements. The temperature at which vegetables are stored is quite different from that of plants or medicines. This is why these warehouses have different sections to store different types of products. In the case of bulk product storage, a whole warehouse can dedicated to storing that particular product at the required temperature. 

The benefits of a cold storage warehouse:

A cold storage warehouse not only keeps items fresh, but provides other benefits too. A few of them are listed below:

Prevents product damage

Perishable goods need to be kept a certain temperatures or they spoil. Imagine the losses companies might have if these warehouses weren’t operational or did not exist. 

Create job opportunities

Cold storage warehouses employ a skilled workforce to manage the stock, oversee the operations and to handle the inventory. In this way, these warehouses generate a lot of job opportunities. 

Efficiency

Not every company can have its very own cold storage warehouse as it not only consumes a lot of space, but energy too. So 3rd party warehouses are used by businesses to save money and time. 

Easy to manage the supply chain

Cold storage warehouses are an essential part of the food supply chain as perishable goods or items can be stored without hassle for a short period of time. 

What are the rates for a cold storage warehouse rental in Canada?

Now that we understand that cold storage warehouses can be of any size or type, the cost can vary based on the space you require. One of the major issues businesses find is that it is hard to calculate exactly how much a cold storage warehouse rental would cost before they see the agreement. 

The basic factors that are considered when calculating the cost include: the square feet of space needed, the monthly rental and the operational expenses. There are also other costs to  consider like electricity and water. 

You can ask the following questions to have a basic idea of the cost of cold storage warehousing rental in Canada:

– Who pays for the maintenance of the warehouse?

– Who pays for the repairs if any are required?

– Who would replace the equipment when it’s leased?

– Do I also need to pay for the common area or just for the square footage of the area being rented?

– Can I place signs?

– Will the landlord or the warehouse owner be pay for any improvements made? 

It is important to know these answers as you will have an approximate estimate of the rental. Make sure you ask them before you sign the dotted line.

Conclusion

Now that you are aware of the benefits, as well as the cost associated with cold storage warehouse rental in Canada, make sure you do a little homework to choose the right one.