COLD STORAGE FOR RETAIL & SUPERMARKETS
Cold Rooms & Freezer Rooms for Supermarkets and Food Retail
Food retailers depend on reliable refrigerated storage behind the sales floor to keep chilled and frozen products at the required conditions.
Africhill designs and manufactures commercial and industrial cold rooms, freezer rooms and refrigeration systems for supermarkets, food retailers, wholesalers and distribution facilities throughout South Africa and Africa.
Each system is designed around the products, storage capacity, required temperatures, daily deliveries and operating conditions.
Request Quote Send Your Store Layout
Get a Retail Cold Storage Quote
Tell us what you need to store, your required capacity and whether you need cold rooms, freezer rooms or multiple temperature areas.
BEHIND THE SALES FLOOR
The Cold Chain Behind the Retail Floor
Customers see supermarket shelves, counters and display cabinets. Behind them is the refrigerated storage that supports the entire food operation.
Fresh produce, meat, dairy products, frozen foods and prepared products can all have different storage requirements. Africhill designs cold and freezer rooms around those products, delivery volumes, stockholding requirements and available back-of-house space.
DELIVERY → RECEIVING → COLD / FROZEN STORAGE → DEPARTMENT → RETAIL DISPLAY
Reliable retail refrigeration starts behind the sales floor.
RETAIL STORAGE INPUTS
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What chilled and frozen stock needs to be stored?
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How much new stock enters the rooms each day?
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How many pallets, crates or cartons need to be accommodated?
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Cold storage should work with the available back-of-house space and stock flow.
FOOD RETAIL APPLICATIONS
Cold Storage Across Food Retail
Supermarkets
Back-of-house cold and freezer rooms supporting daily retail operations.
Butchery Departments
Dedicated refrigerated storage for meat and butchery products.
Fresh Produce
Cold-storage areas designed around suitable fruit and vegetable requirements.
Dairy
Temperature-controlled storage for dairy products before they move to retail displays.
Delicatessens
Refrigerated storage supporting prepared and temperature-sensitive food products.
Bakery Departments
Cold and frozen storage for ingredients, dough and suitable bakery products.
Frozen Foods
Walk-in freezer rooms for bulk frozen stock supporting retail displays.
Wholesale & Cash-and-Carry
Larger refrigerated-storage areas supporting higher stock volumes and product movement.
MULTIPLE TEMPERATURES
One Supermarket. Different Cold-Storage Requirements.
A supermarket can handle thousands of products, and they do not all belong in the same refrigerated environment.
Depending on the operation, separate refrigerated areas can be provided for meat, dairy, fresh produce, deli products, bakery stock, frozen foods and other temperature-sensitive products.
Africhill can manufacture multiple temperature-controlled rooms within the same back-of-house area so different product categories can be stored according to the retailer’s requirements.
POSSIBLE STORAGE AREAS
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Dedicated chilled or frozen storage where required.
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Storage according to the requirements of the products being held.
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Separate refrigerated areas can support individual departments.
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Dedicated freezer-room capacity for bulk frozen products.
BACK-OF-HOUSE DESIGN
Built Around the Store Layout
Retail developments often have limited back-of-house space. Cold-storage layout therefore needs to make efficient use of the area available while supporting practical stock movement.
Africhill can consider floor area, ceiling height, delivery access, door positions, pallet and trolley movement, department locations, refrigeration equipment and staff access when planning the rooms.
We manufacture the room around the operation, not the operation around a standard room.
LAYOUT CONSIDERATIONS
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How stock moves from receiving into refrigerated storage.
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Door positions and internal space should support daily stock movement.
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Storage can be positioned around the operation of individual food departments.
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Potential expansion can be considered during planning.
CHILLED RETAIL STORAGE
Commercial Cold Rooms for Food Retail
Africhill manufactures custom cold rooms for supermarkets and food retailers requiring greater chilled-storage capacity than conventional refrigeration cabinets can provide.
Applications can include meat, dairy, fresh produce, prepared foods, ingredients, beverages, bakery products and bulk chilled stock.
The required storage conditions should be specified according to the products being stored.
FROZEN RETAIL STORAGE
Walk-In Freezer Rooms for Frozen Stock
Africhill manufactures commercial and industrial freezer rooms for supermarkets, wholesalers and retail distribution operations.
Applications include frozen food, frozen meat, poultry, seafood, ice cream, prepared frozen products, bulk cartons and palletised stock.
Freezer-room dimensions and refrigeration capacity are designed around the required storage volume and operating conditions.
REFRIGERATION DESIGN
Designed for Real Retail Operations
Retail cold rooms are active working environments. Deliveries arrive, staff enter and leave the rooms, stock moves to individual departments and doors can open frequently throughout the trading day.
PRODUCT → TEMPERATURE → DAILY DELIVERIES → STORAGE CAPACITY → DOOR TRAFFIC → AMBIENT CONDITIONS → REFRIGERATION DESIGN
Products
Temperature
Daily Deliveries
Storage Capacity
Door Traffic
Ambient Conditions
The refrigeration system should reflect how the supermarket actually operates, not simply the physical dimensions of the room.
HIGH DOOR TRAFFIC
Busy Cold Rooms Need the Right Refrigeration Capacity
Frequent door openings allow heat and moisture to enter a refrigerated room. In busy supermarkets and wholesale operations, door traffic can therefore form an important part of the refrigeration load.
Number of openings, door size, duration of openings, trolley and pallet movement, delivery periods and staff access all affect how the room operates.
DAILY PRODUCT LOAD
New Stock Adds Refrigeration Load
The quantity and temperature of stock entering a cold or freezer room can affect the refrigeration capacity required.
A room receiving relatively small quantities of already chilled product has a different refrigeration duty from the same-size room receiving large deliveries of warmer product every day.
ROOM SIZE ≠ TOTAL REFRIGERATION LOAD
STORE DEPARTMENTS
Cold Storage Supporting Every Food Department
Butchery
Dedicated chilled and frozen storage supporting meat preparation and retail.
Fresh Produce
Cold storage designed according to the produce being stored.
Dairy
Temperature-controlled back-of-house storage for dairy products.
Delicatessen
Refrigerated storage supporting prepared-food operations.
Bakery
Cold and frozen storage supporting bakery production and ingredients.
Frozen Foods
Bulk frozen storage supporting retail freezer displays and stockholding.
STORE UPGRADES
Expanding or Refurbishing an Existing Store?
Retailers do not always need an entirely new facility. Changes in product range, sales volume or store layout can create a need for additional refrigerated storage.
Africhill can assess additional cold-room capacity, freezer capacity, replacement rooms, store expansions, changed layouts, refrigeration upgrades and additional temperature zones.
UPGRADE OPTIONS
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Add chilled or frozen storage where demand has increased.
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Existing cold-storage requirements can be reassessed.
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Cold rooms can be redesigned around a refurbished back-of-house area.
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New departments or products may require separate storage conditions.
NEW SUPERMARKETS
Planning a New Supermarket?
The best time to coordinate cold-storage requirements is before the back-of-house area has been built.
Africhill can work from architectural drawings, retail layouts and consultant specifications to coordinate cold and freezer rooms with the overall store design.
Early planning can address room dimensions, product categories, storage capacity, door positions, delivery access, trolley and pallet movement, refrigeration equipment, electrical requirements and future expansion.
SEND US
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Store and back-of-house layouts.
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Required rooms, temperatures and storage capacities.
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Africhill can assess defined cold-storage requirements.
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Submit relevant project documentation for assessment.
MULTI-SITE RETAIL
Multiple Stores & Retail Roll-Outs
Retail groups developing or upgrading multiple stores can require consistency across cold-room construction, refrigeration specifications and project delivery.
Africhill can work from an approved store specification or cold-room standard and manufacture solutions for multiple project locations.
This can support new-store programmes, refurbishments, franchise developments, standardised room configurations and regional store roll-outs.
MULTI-STORE PROJECTS
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Work from an agreed cold-room standard across locations.
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Cold-storage systems for multiple new developments.
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Upgrade existing refrigerated areas across a store network.
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Supply solutions across multiple project locations.
WHOLESALE & DISTRIBUTION
From Supermarkets to Distribution Centres
The retail cold chain can extend well beyond individual stores into wholesale and distribution facilities.
STORE COLD ROOM → LARGE SUPERMARKET STORAGE → WHOLESALE COLD STORAGE → DISTRIBUTION CENTRE
Africhill can manufacture larger industrial cold and freezer rooms around pallet capacity, product throughput and warehouse operations.
LARGE-SCALE STORAGE INPUTS
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Required chilled and frozen storage capacity.
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Quantity and temperature of products moving through the facility.
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Operational movement affects room and refrigeration design.
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Refrigeration requirements should reflect the warehouse operating schedule.
AFRICHILL MANUFACTURING
Africhill Manufactures the Cold Room
Africhill manufactures the insulated panels used in the construction of its cold and freezer rooms.
This allows rooms to be manufactured around the store or warehouse layout rather than being restricted to standard room dimensions.
Configurations can include individual cold rooms, freezer rooms, adjacent chilled and frozen storage, internal partitions, multiple temperature areas and larger warehouse rooms.
The room and refrigeration system are designed as one solution.
CONFIGURATION OPTIONS
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Separate cold or freezer rooms where required.
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Chilled and frozen storage can be incorporated together.
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Multiple refrigerated areas can be created within the facility.
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Access can be coordinated with the store or warehouse layout.
AFRICA-WIDE SUPPLY
Made in South Africa. Built for African Retail.
Africhill manufactures cold rooms, freezer rooms and insulated panels in South Africa and supplies refrigeration systems to retail and commercial projects throughout Africa.
African retail projects can require consideration of ambient temperatures, transport distances, electrical supply, installation requirements and long-term equipment serviceability.
AFRICAN PROJECT FACTORS
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Refrigeration equipment should be selected around the project environment.
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Available site power should be established during design.
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Cross-border and remote project logistics can form part of planning.
WHY AFRICHILL
Why Choose Africhill for Retail Cold Storage?
Experience Since 1998
More than 25 years of cold-storage and refrigeration experience.
South African Manufacturer
Cold rooms, freezer rooms and insulated panels manufactured in South Africa.
Custom Room Sizes
Cold storage manufactured around the store or warehouse layout.
Multiple Temperature Areas
Different refrigerated rooms can support different departments and products.
Commercial & Industrial
From individual supermarkets to wholesale and distribution facilities.
Multi-Site Capability
Suitable for retail-group developments, refurbishments and store roll-outs.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Supermarket & Retail Cold Room FAQs
Practical answers about supermarket cold rooms, walk-in freezers, store layouts and larger retail cold-storage projects.
What cold rooms does a supermarket need?
This depends on the products sold, storage volumes and store operation. Larger supermarkets may require separate cold-storage areas for meat, dairy, fresh produce, prepared foods and frozen products.
Can Africhill build both cold rooms and freezer rooms?
Yes. Africhill manufactures both commercial and industrial cold and freezer rooms, which can be incorporated into the same facility.
Can Africhill design rooms from our supermarket layout?
Yes. Architects, consultants, developers and retailers can provide store layouts and specifications so Africhill can coordinate refrigerated areas with the available back-of-house space.
Can several departments share one cold room?
Only where their storage requirements and the retailer’s food-safety procedures are compatible. Products requiring different conditions may need separate refrigerated areas.
Can Africhill build large supermarket freezer rooms?
Yes. Rooms can be designed around the required storage capacity, product load and operating conditions.
Can Africhill provide cold storage for supermarket distribution centres?
Yes. Africhill can manufacture larger industrial cold and freezer rooms around pallet capacity and product throughput.
Can Africhill handle multiple-store projects?
Africhill can work from an agreed project specification for multi-site retail developments and store roll-outs. The exact scope and programme can be assessed for each project.
Can Africhill replace or expand an existing supermarket cold room?
Yes. Existing rooms and refrigeration requirements can be assessed for replacement, expansion or upgrade.
Does Africhill supply retail cold rooms outside South Africa?
Yes. Africhill manufactures in South Africa and supplies cold-storage solutions throughout Africa.
REQUEST A QUOTATION
Planning a Supermarket or Retail Cold Room?
Tell Africhill what products you need to store, the required capacity and project location. For new supermarkets, refurbishments or multi-store projects, include your store layout or architectural drawings.
USEFUL PROJECT INFORMATION
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Supermarket, retail, wholesale, distribution, new store, refurbishment or expansion.
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Tell us what will be stored and the required conditions where known.
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Approximate room size, pallet capacity and daily product load.
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Upload architectural drawings, store layouts, BOQs or specifications where available.
Send Us Your Store Layout
Already have architectural drawings, a retail layout, BOQ or cold-room specification? Include them with your enquiry so Africhill can assess the complete refrigerated-storage requirement.