It is often asked whether or not your need to obtain planning permission before placing your storage container in the required location.

In short, the answer should be no you dont, as the structures themselves are not permanent and can therefore be removed quite easily at any time. Also, they in no way alter the structure of the buildings themselves and are stand alone features which are used for a variety of different functions.

However, it is advisable that you do some research into the exact specifications of your container and where you will be placing it. This could mean a trip to the local library and a flick through some relevant literature, or making a short appointment with a planning officer.

It is also advisable that you determine whether or not the structure is to be placed within a residential area, likely to cause unrest amongst the homeowners, or situated close to a road junction. These are factors which may need to be resolved before the actual container can be placed in the desired spot.

On the whole, planning application is not needed for storage containers, however it is important that you recognise the above issues which you may need to look into for piece of mind.

One question which we are often asked surrounds the security of storage containers. Obviously if you are going to be storing an amount of stock or products within the container, then you need to know that the structure is secure and the chances of theft are minimal.

This is one area which you need to clarify with us when you make your purchase as we can advise several different ways which will put your mind at rest with regard to this. However the first thing which we would suggest is to think carefully about where you place the container. Some locations will hold a greater risk than others and it is important that you consider this as soon as possible.

Secondly, you need to check what levels of security are already present as part of the container. For example, the facility to lock the structure using a padlock is fairly standard and it is important that this is one of the things you make sure of at the very least. Should you require further security, then it is a good idea to employ a steel lock box to the doors of the structure. This will make sure that the lock cannot be tampered with and that your storage is fully secure.

Finally, check where the nearest CCTV camera is and make sure that you place the required documentation of this on the structure.

Once the above has been satisfied then you can rest assured that your container and the contents of it are safe and you can relax safe in the knowledge of this.

In today’s society everyone is becoming more and more environmentally friendly and as part of this there is a growing trend in the amount of recycling which is being carried out on a yearly basis.

We are all encouraged to recycle as much as possible and to only use what we actually need to. For many people, this just means placing their refuse in different bins depending on the materials which they are comprised of. However, within the container industry it is rather more complex. There are many issues which influence this area of our industry and over the coming weeks we will explore many of them.

However, to set the ball rolling we would like to provide you with some advice when purchasing a shipping container or a storage container. Before you make any firm decision, it is important that you try to determine how long you will be requiring the structure for. If this is a relatively short period then you may be better hiring a container than buying one outright.  This way you are not left with an empty container when you have finished with it and it can then be put to more functional uses.

We have previously documented the vast amount of empty shipping containers which are infiltrating many UK ports. This is a sad state of affairs and is one which is being looked into by the authorities concerned. To a lesser extent this also occurs with storage containers around the county and this is something which collectively we need to address.

Please do talk to us about all your storage and shipping container requirements and we can advise you the optimum route to take.

When investing in second hand storage containers, then there are a few factors which you should bear in mind before making the purchase. This will ensure that you are making an informed and educated investment and will not be disappointed with it in the future.

First of all, it is pretty self explanatory that you need to know what the container has been used for in the past, as this will affect the condition of the structure itself. All containers should be structurally secure and safe from weathering factors which may erode the container over time.

It is also important that you view the container before making the purchase – make sure to ask how old the structure is and make a special effort to inspect the doors and the roof as these are particularly susceptible to weaknesses.

You also need to check the security of the container and any locks or cowls which may be fitted. Make sure that these are in good working order and you will not have to invest in any renovation to restore the structure to former glories.

Finally, and most importantly, discuss your requirements with one of our members of staff, who will be able to give you an educated, objective view as to what will serve your requirements best.

One of the fundamental areas which you need to consider when employing any storage container is the internal climate within it. Depending on what products you are storing, then the emphasis which you place on this will change. For example, if you are storing fresh vegetables then the internal climate will be of higher importance than if you were storing leaflets.

When considering the internal climate of the container, then it is important that you consider the external conditions which play a critical part in this.

There are a number of different factors, all of which have a bearing on the external climate conditions. These include if, and how the goods are to be transported, the time of year, and the immediate weather trends.  Due to the unpredictability of some of these factors, predictions of how the external climate will alter over a period of time can never be an exact science.

Following on from this, it is also not advisable to use previous experiences of product storage to generate exact guidelines for future projects. Every operation is fundamentally different in terms of climate control, however a general awareness of the issues involved is beneficial in considering transport risks.

American members of the Container Shipping Information Service will be celebrating National Maritime Day tomorrow and plan to increase the awareness of the important role played by the structures, by asking people to imagine daily life without the products which are transported to them by these. This is sure to press home how much we all rely of the shipping industry and in many ways represent the structures which our lives depend on.

National Maritime Day was declared in the US seventy five years ago and provided an opportunity for the country to recognize the importance of the industry.

It is a striking fact that trade conducted with other countries represents a quarter of the American GDP, and yet the industry is relatively unknown to the average person in the street. Many people assume that products just arrive on shelves within the supermarkets without actually realising the vast journey which they have made for our consumption.

When National Maritime Day was declared back in 1933, the aim was to increase the awareness of the international shipping industry. However, it could never have been predicted that the industry would grow so quickly in a relatively short period of time, to the extent that we can now enjoy almost any product in the world at fairly cheap prices.

Many businesses of varying sizes are now looking into employing containers as a cost effective method of addressing their portable storage needs.

The growing trend towards this has come from an eclectic range of factors both relating to the company directly and the container industry in general.

First of all, the cost of business space has increased substantially over the recent past. As a result therefore, more and more companies are finding that hiring containers to store their products and goods is a much cheaper way of making sure that the stock is kept in a safe and secure manner.

Secondly, the relatively straight forward nature of employing these structures has meant that more and more business are investing in them. They are fairly cheap, easily accessible and also not difficult to assemble in your designated location. Therefore, it is very much a hassle-free exercise to invest in a commercial container for the business.

Thirdly, the properties of the container mean that they are secure enough to hold a copious amount of stock  for an almost infinite amount of time. They are easily re-usable and investing in one of these structures ultimately means that you are able to get the maximum amount of benefit from the space which you have available on the business premises.

From a financial and space maximisation point of view, their can be no better recommendation than to hire a stand alone container for all of your portable storage needs.

If you mention the words “shipping containers” to the average person in the street, then the image which will be generated probably will not be one of prestige or elegance. This is because they are mainly used within the merchant shipping industry and are generally thought to only embody a narrow range of uses.

However, in downtown Ottawa this is exactly the image which the containers are conveying, and this has furthered the increasing trend in using these structures in an eclectic manner of ways.

The Arts Council has commissioned a fifty thousand dollar pavilion to be erected, constructed from shipping containers. At the moment the exact location of this feature is unclear, however it has been indicated that the preferred site is within the vibrant Daly Avenue area.

The pavilion will embody an art gallery, an artist’s studio as well as a performance area and is thought to only take around a month to complete. The pavilion is set to become a major focal point within the cultural community of Ottawa and provide tourists with a wide range of local events.

Architects have suggested that the building will be two storeys and will utilise four containers as a result. The exterior of the building is sure to be vibrant and creative as a graffiti artist has been commissioned to complete this work.

This further exemplifies the diversity which shipping containers generate in terms of their usage.

A school located in the Australian suburb of Canterbury has hit the news this week, after it was revealed that children are to be taught in a renovated storage container for the foreseeable future.

Located within the south west of Canterbury, approximately 11km away from Sydney, Longbeach School have employed this innovative idea in a bid to address overcrowding issues within the institution. The move comes after their application for another purpose built classroom was rejected by the Ministry of Education and the school had to move quickly to resolve their very immediate problems.

For the fifteen months before the container was brought in, children were been taught within the school library, which although this was far from ideal, did represent an area where an element of teaching could take place. Since this move, parents have understandably voiced their concerns over the teaching facilities within the school, and have made their feelings known to the Ministry of Education to no avail.

However, the renovated storage container has been a blessing to all concerned within the school. It’s implementation and rejuvenation was completed in a very timely manner, and the children now have a designated area where they can be taught.

Although this cannot represent a permanent solution to the overcrowding problems which plague Longbeach School, both staff and parents agree that in terms of providing a safe and effective place for learning, then the container represents the ideal structure at this time.

Storage containers can be used for a wide variety of different functions. This can range from the normal storage of goods to portable accommodation, schools and even hospitals.

However, in this blog we shall explore some of the characteristics which govern self storage containers which are climate controlled. The primary function which these specific type of containers have is to prevent dew and mold from infiltrating the area and thus keeping it’s contents fresh.

It is a common misconception that controlling the temperature of the container is fundamentally more important that regulating the humidity levels. In fact it is the humidity which plays the dominant role in storing a range of different products.

It is usual that the humidstat will be set at a relative humidity which does not exceed fifty percent, whilst the most frequent range in temperature within the container will be between fifty and eighty degrees. Certain containers even have designated areas where products which require special attention, such as wines and liquors can be stored.

Refrigerated Containers operate in much the same manner, but restrict the temperature within the structures, to reflect the needs of the products. For example, produce which can easily deteriorate, such as vegetables and meat need to be stored in very low temperatures to ensure that they are kept fresh for as long as possible. This is exemplified when considering the fact that a good proportion of these types of storage containers will be used to accommodate these products for a fairly long time span.