How a produce distributor expanded its cold storage without waiting on a remodel

A produce distributor in West Palm Beach, FL, was midway through remodeling its facility to add a cold room when it changed course. Instead of waiting on construction, it chose a cold storage expansion outside the building: a ZSTORE 7XL installed outdoors, on space that had been doing nothing. ZGROUP delivered in under 60 days. A year later, the remodel still isn't finished, and the business never had to wait for it.

The challenge

For a produce distributor, cold capacity is not a nice-to-have. Fresh product has to go into a cooler as soon as it arrives, and every pallet that sits outside the cold chain loses shelf life.

The plan was a classic one: remodel the existing facility and build a cold room inside it. The problem with that plan is that a remodel moves at the pace of construction. The distributor was already midway through the project, and the cold room it needed was still somewhere on the construction schedule.

At the same time, the site had outdoor space that was not being used for anything productive. The question became simple: why wait for a room inside the building when the cold storage could go next to it?

The solution

ZGROUP designed and delivered a ZSTORE 7XL: seven XL modules connected side by side into one open walk-in cooler. Each module is built from a refrigerated shipping container with a Thermo King refrigeration unit, and each adds 320 ft² of floor space, for a total of 2,240 ft².

The 7XL was installed outdoors, on space that had been dead, and runs as a cooler for fresh storage. Because the XL modules share one open space, the room works like a single walk-in rather than a row of separate boxes, and it needs fewer refrigeration units per square foot than single containers would.

Nothing permanent had to be built. No civil works, no pause in operations, and no dependency on the remodel still underway inside.

The results

• 2,240 ft² of floor area in one open walk-in
• Cooler for fresh produce storage
• Faster than a remodel: delivered in under 60 days, while the remodel is still not finished a year later

The key result is time. The distributor got its cold capacity when it needed it, and turned unused outdoor space into productive storage.

Cold storage expansion: remodel or modular?

When a business outgrows its cooler, the first reflex is often to build: add a cold room, extend the building, or remodel an existing area. That works, but it ties new capacity to the construction timeline and to permanent works on the site.

A modular cold storage expansion works differently:

• Speed. ZSTORE XL units are delivered in under 60 days and typically installed in 2 to 5 days.
• No construction. No civil works or permanent construction, and only minimal site prep.
• Scalable size. One XL module is 320 ft² and about 20 pallet positions. Modules connect side by side, so a 2XL is 640 ft², a 3XL is 960 ft², and so on.
• Flexible zones. Zones can run at different temperatures, so a cooler and a freezer can share one layout.
• It moves with you. Modular units can be moved and reinstalled at another site, and you can rent or buy.

A remodel still makes sense when the cold room must sit inside an existing process line. When the goal is simply more cold capacity, fast, modular is usually the shorter path. Every unit can be monitored remotely with ZTRACK, and it comes with a 5-year warranty.

What is a modular cold storage expansion?

A modular cold storage expansion adds cooler or freezer capacity next to your building instead of inside it. ZSTORE XL modules are refrigerated shipping containers joined side by side into one open walk-in, installed outdoors or indoors, with no civil works. For a produce business, it means cold capacity arrives on the delivery schedule, not on the construction schedule.

See how ZSTORE XL modular cold storage is configured, or browse more cold storage projects in Florida.

Is it right for your operation?

If your expansion plan is stuck on a construction schedule, look at the space around your building first. See how ZSTORE XL modular cold storage is configured, or talk to our team about your site and your capacity needs.