A refrigerated warehouse is a separate building with refrigerated chambers for storing products, as well as auxiliary premises for various purposes. Structurally, refrigerated warehouses have much in common with conventional dry warehouses, but differ from them in terms of thermal insulation requirements and greater energy intensity.

Classification of refrigerated warehouses depending on their main purpose

According to their main functional purpose, all refrigerated warehouses can be divided into three categories:

• Industrial type refrigerators
• Distribution type refrigerators
• Refrigerators for short-term storage or port refrigerators

Industrial-type refrigerated warehouses are used for cooling and freezing products and their subsequent storage for a short period of time. Such warehouses usually belong to various food enterprises and are built on their territory. Despite the fact that the refrigerated rooms of such warehouses cannot boast of a large area, they are equipped with sufficiently powerful equipment for refrigeration processing.

Distribution-type refrigerated warehouses have the largest area as they are used to store seasonal products that are regularly consumed by the population of cities and metropolitan areas.

Inside such warehouses there are also small commercial-type refrigerated premises, which are characterized by a fairly impressive cargo turnover, due to the fact that they are used mainly for short-term storage of products that are regularly distributed to various retail outlets.

The huge area of distribution-type refrigerated warehouses allows them to accommodate not only a variety of refrigeration facilities, but also entire production workshops. Such warehouses belong to the class of cold storage plants.

Refrigerators for short-term storage or port refrigerators play the role of a so-called “transshipment point” when transporting products and, as a rule, are located in close proximity to transport routes and communications - these are airports, railways, sea and river ports.

The specific use of such warehouses implies the presence of the following characteristic features:

• Ability to carry out large volumes of cargo operations in a short period of time
• Availability of spacious refrigeration chambers
• Availability of premises for inspection and sorting of cargo
• Availability of quarantine facilities

Classification of freezer warehouses depending on the type of stored products

Refrigeration processing and storage implies strict adherence to certain norms and standards in relation to certain types of products. For these purposes, various types of refrigerated warehouses are used, among which it is worth noting:

• Warehouses - refrigerators for storing meat products
• Freezing warehouses for storing dairy products and semi-finished products
• Refrigerated warehouses for storing vegetables and fruits
• Flash freezers
• Chambers used for ripening fruits and vegetables
• Cooling chambers

Key points to pay attention to when building a refrigerated warehouse

Before constructing any refrigerated warehouse, it is necessary to clearly determine the answer to a number of the following questions:

• What are the main functions assigned to the refrigerated warehouse and what types of products will it be used to store?
• How much product needs to be stored?
• What volume of cargo turnover needs to be carried out?
• In what area should the construction take place?

It is these criteria that determine what the future warehouse will look like, what characteristics and design features it will have, as well as how much money will be invested in its construction.

Regardless of the type, area and purpose, all refrigerated warehouses consist of fundamental elements that must have certain technical characteristics and meet the necessary quality and safety standards. These elements primarily include: foundation, floor, frame, roof, gates and doors.

Thermal insulation, and everything connected with this term, is of great importance in the construction of any refrigerated warehouse. That is why there must be a ventilated space under the base of the floor, which will eliminate the possibility of freezing of the soil under the freezing rooms. This design will save money on the purchase of thermal equipment.

The floor covering must easily withstand the planned loads, have the necessary resistance to low temperatures, and also have good waterproofing and thermal insulation characteristics.

Today, in the construction of modern warehouses, metal frames treated with primer or zinc coating are used.

In accordance with the standards of the sanitary and epidemiological service, at all food industry facilities, which include refrigerated warehouses, a special roofing structure (ventilated tropic) must be used to provide natural ventilation of the room, as well as the necessary protection from direct sunlight. The walls, ceiling and floor must have a perfectly flat surface; dust must not accumulate on them and condensation must not form.

Doors and gates of a refrigerated warehouse must have excellent thermal insulation characteristics, close tightly and not freeze. The material used in the construction of doors and gates must be environmentally friendly and not contain any harmful compounds. In case of a fire hazard, all doors are equipped with a special emergency exit system.

To ensure easy opening of the door indoors, a special pressure equalization sensor is installed.

Current trends in the construction of refrigeration complexes

Until recently, the basis of the domestic refrigeration industry was made up of outdated refrigeration complexes built in Soviet times. Recently, there has been a trend towards rapid construction of high-tech refrigeration complexes, characterized by a high level of automation. High-rise refrigerated warehouses have become especially popular and widespread, which, despite expensive construction, continue to increase their competitive advantage.

Such warehouses have long been built and used in all developed countries of the world, and this is not surprising if you look at a number of obvious advantages:

• Possibility to build a large space on a small plot of land.
• A high level of automation allows you to avoid many human errors and reduce personnel costs.
• High processing speed of cargo space ensures large cargo turnover.
• High energy efficiency is achieved through intelligent use of space and a reduction in the number of stackers.

It is worth noting that not all companies have the financial capacity to build high-rise refrigeration terminals, therefore, among such companies they give preference to the construction of prefabricated automated refrigerated warehouses up to 12 meters high.

There are many nuances when choosing a room for storing perishable products. The Georgian Holding company is ready to provide its tenants with a full range of services for storing goods of various categories. We take care of the warehouse equipment, its security and maintenance. We offer a favorable logistics location and a rental agreement without intermediaries.