How a defense manufacturer added an outdoor walk-in freezer with no construction

An aerospace and defense manufacturer in Washington State needed more cold capacity inside its secured perimeter, and it did not want a construction crew on site. ZGROUP delivered a standalone ZSTORE 6XL, a modular outdoor walk-in freezer set on a parking lot, plug and play, with no tie-in to building systems.

The challenge

Adding cold capacity in a manufacturing plant usually means a building project: a new room, new insulation, connections to existing systems, and a contractor working on site until the job is done.

At a defense site, that is a bigger problem than usual. Bringing an outside construction crew inside a secured perimeter adds complexity that the operation would rather avoid, on top of the disruption any building project brings to a working plant.

The manufacturer needed more cold storage capacity, but without construction and without touching the systems of its existing buildings.

The solution

ZGROUP delivered a ZSTORE 6XL: six XL modules connected side by side into one open room of 1,920 ft². Each module is built from a refrigerated shipping container with a Thermo King refrigeration unit.

The unit is fully standalone. It was set outdoors on a parking lot and runs plug and play, with no tie-in to building systems. There was no construction to organize inside the perimeter.

Because the modules share one open space, the room works as a single walk-in rather than six separate boxes, and it needs fewer refrigeration units per square foot than single containers would.

The results

• 1,920 ft² of floor area
• Freezer for frozen storage
• No construction: set on a parking lot

The manufacturer added cold capacity inside its secured perimeter without bringing a construction project through the gate. Because the unit has no tie-in to building systems, the existing plant was left exactly as it was, and the new capacity sits on space that was already paved and available.

When does a modular freezer make sense?

A modular freezer is built from refrigerated shipping containers and delivered ready to run. It is not the right answer for every project, but it fits a few situations especially well.

• Restricted or secured sites. When construction on site is difficult, a standalone unit avoids crews, long works and tie-ins to existing buildings.
• No room inside. The unit can sit outdoors, on a parking lot or a yard, instead of taking floor space inside the plant.
• Tight timelines. ZSTORE XL units are delivered in under 60 days and installed in 2 to 5 days, with minimal site prep.
• Uncertain long-term needs. Modular units can be moved and reinstalled at another site, and are available to rent or to buy.

On the technical side, the ZGROUP cold storage line covers -40°F to +104°F (-40°C to +40°C), and zones can run at different temperatures, so a freezer and a cooler can be combined in one layout. Sizing is in steps of 320 ft² and about 20 pallet positions per XL module.

For industrial and research users, monitoring is often as important as capacity. ZTRACK provides remote monitoring of temperature and alarms. Every unit comes with a 5-year warranty.

What is an outdoor walk-in freezer?

An outdoor walk-in freezer is a frozen-storage room that sits outside the building, on a yard, a dock apron or a parking lot, so it adds capacity without taking floor space inside. A ZSTORE XL works this way: its modules are built from refrigerated shipping containers made to sit outdoors, and each has its own Thermo King refrigeration unit, so the room needs no tie-in to building systems. The ZGROUP cold storage line goes down to -40°F.

Compare the options on our walk-in freezer page, or see more cold storage projects in the Pacific Northwest.

Is it right for your operation?

If you need freezer capacity on a site where construction is hard to organize, a standalone modular unit may be the simplest route. See how ZSTORE XL modular cold storage is configured, or talk to our team about your site constraints.