Quick Answer
An insulated shipping container is a steel box with insulation built into its walls, ceiling and floor. Van Blanc sells three kinds outright: factory-insulated panel units, 20ft and 40ft boxes spray-foamed at our Brantford yard, and non-operating reefers, every one delivered across Ontario by tilt-deck and paid for on delivery.
Insulated Containers for Sale: The Three Products Behind One Word
An insulated shipping container for sale in Ontario can mean three different products, and a buyer who does not know which one a listing means pays for the wrong one. The first is the factory-insulated container: built as an insulated box from the start, with 75 to 100 millimetre polyurethane panels sandwiched between the outer corten skin and an inner liner of fibreglass, aluminum or galvanized sheet, so the insulation is continuous through the corner posts and the dew point sits inside the panel rather than on a wall. The second is the retrofit: a standard one-trip or cargo worthy box that we spray with closed-cell foam and line at 90 Morton Avenue East, which costs less, ships faster, and insulates well everywhere except the ribs and posts where steel still touches steel. The third is the non-operating reefer, a used refrigerated container with the compressor dead or removed and the factory panels and liner intact, which is often the cheapest factory-insulated box a buyer can put on a pad. The four-thousand-word insulated container guide spends its length on the differences; this page is about which of the three we can sell you, when, and for what.
All three are sold outright, delivered on our own tilt-deck trucks, and paid for when they land. What differs is where they come from. Factory-insulated units are built to order in the same Asian factories that build new general purpose containers and reefers, so most configurations are sourced to order; we hold one or two factory-insulated 20ft units on the yard at a time as walk-in inventory, and used factory-insulated boxes come through in batches a few times a year when a cold-storage operation closes or upgrades. Spray-foamed units start from a one-trip box out of the new rows or a clean cargo worthy unit and are built in the shop on a quoted date. Non-operating reefers depend on what is on the ground when you call. The honest first question is therefore not “do you have an insulated container” but “which of the three fits the job”, and the sections below answer it.
“The word insulated on a listing covers a factory panel box, a used reefer with a dead compressor, and a standard twenty somebody foamed in a barn, and the price gap between them is the whole story. I have had buyers drive two hours to the yard sure they bought the first and find out they bought the third. We tell you which one you are looking at before you drive, and we tell you which one the job actually needs.”
Christian LeBlanc, second-generation operator, Van Blanc Ent. Inc.
Insulated Container Specifications and R-Values
The outside of an insulated container is a standard 20ft or 40ft footprint, so it ships, stacks and delivers like any other box. The inside is where the insulation lives, which means a factory unit gives up 75 to 100 millimetres on every wall, the ceiling and the floor, and a foamed unit gives up whatever thickness was sprayed plus the liner. The R-value follows the foam directly: closed-cell polyurethane carries roughly R-6 to R-7 per inch, so a 75 millimetre factory panel lands around R-18 to R-21 and a 100 millimetre panel around R-24 to R-28, while a two-inch spray retrofit gives R-12 to R-14 on the flat and less at the ribs. The dimensions of every container we sell are the starting point; the table gives the insulated versions.
| Product | Insulation | R-value, roughly | Interior, roughly | How it reaches you |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Factory-insulated 20ft | 75 to 100 mm polyurethane panel, walls, ceiling and floor, continuous at the posts | R-18 to R-28 | About 5.7 m by 2.2 m by 2.2 m | One or two on the yard; others sourced to order, 6 to 10 weeks |
| Factory-insulated 40ft and 40ft HC | Same panel construction | R-18 to R-28 | About 11.8 m by 2.2 m by 2.2 m (2.5 m HC) | Sourced to order, 6 to 10 weeks |
| Spray-foamed 20ft or 40ft | 2 to 3 inches closed-cell foam, lined, over a one-trip or cargo worthy box | R-12 to R-21 on the flat, less at the ribs | Standard interior less the foam and liner | Built in the Brantford shop on a quoted date |
| Non-operating reefer, 20ft or 40ft HC | Factory panels and liner intact, refrigeration unit dead or removed | R-25 or better as built | About 5.4 m by 2.3 m by 2.2 m on a 20ft | When in stock; ask |
| Working reefer | Factory panels plus a running unit | As above, temperature controlled | As above | On the reefer product pages |
Two notes on the numbers. A factory panel and a non-operating reefer keep their R-value at the corner posts, because the panel runs through them; a foamed retrofit does not, because the ribs and posts are still bare steel on the outside and cold steel sweats. Thermal bridging on a foamed container explains why the corner posts of a retrofit drip in February and what to do about it. And a working reefer is its own product with its own pages: the 20ft reefer and the 40ft High Cube reefer with a running unit hold temperature; an insulated container only slows its change.
What Ontario Buyers Order an Insulated Container For
The first buyer keeps something from freezing or cooking without running a compressor: packaged food, paint and chemical lots, pharma staging, seed, batteries, anything that has to stay between roughly five and thirty degrees through an Ontario year with a small heater or none. A factory panel box or a non-operating reefer is the right product, and the seasonal storage buyers who hold stock through a winter are the steadiest of them. The second buyer is building a room: a workshop, a studio, a site office, a bunkie, a grow room, a brewery cold side. That buyer usually wants a spray-foamed one-trip box, because the foam is the first layer of a finished wall anyway, and the workshop conversion and the site office build both start from it. The third buyer wants a walk-in cooler or freezer and should be reading the reefer pages, not this one, unless the plan is a non-operating reefer with a separate cooling unit fitted, which is the cheapest cold room a farm or a restaurant can build and a conversation worth having on the phone.
The buyer it does not suit is the one storing tools, equipment or dry goods that do not care about temperature; a standard wind and watertight box with a vent does that job for far less, and the insulation buys nothing. Ask us which you are. Every unit in the rows, insulated or not, is open to compare.
The Spray-Foam Retrofit: What We Do at the Yard
The retrofit is the product most Ontario buyers actually take home, because it starts from a box that is in stock and finishes on a date we can name. The shop sprays two to three inches of closed-cell polyurethane on the walls and ceiling of a one-trip or cargo worthy container, foams or builds up the floor where the job needs it, and lines the interior in plywood, FRP or steel sheet so the foam is protected and the walls can take shelving; a man door, windows, a roll-up, electrical rough-in and ventilation are added on the same build sheet. Closed-cell foam is the only foam we spray, because open-cell absorbs the moisture that a steel box breathes and turns into a wet sponge against the wall. The full modification list is priced with the container in one written quote, and the ventilation a foamed box needs is the part no retrofit should skip: an airtight insulated container without an air change sweats at the doors no matter how good the foam is.
Grades: Which Box to Insulate
Insulation hides the wall it is sprayed on, which is exactly why the grade matters more on an insulated build than on a plain one. A one-trip box has clean interior steel for the foam to bond to, straight corrugations and an unmarked floor, and it is the grade we recommend under any foam that is going to be lined and lived with; a cargo worthy unit with a sound floor and no interior rust takes foam well and is the working default for a storage build; a wind and watertight box can be foamed only if the interior is clean, because foam over rust seals the rust in and nobody sees it again until the wall fails. The grade guide, grade by grade, is the full detail, and on factory-insulated and non-operating reefer units the grade question becomes a liner question: intact liner, intact panels, doors that seal, floor that is not soft.
What Sets the Price of an Insulated Container
An insulated container costs more than a standard box of the same size and grade, and the premium depends on which of the three products it is. A new factory-insulated unit sits roughly thirty to fifty percent over a comparable general purpose container, the premium moving with size, panel thickness and the current build cost; a used factory-insulated box, when one comes through, sits well below new; a non-operating reefer is usually the cheapest factory-built insulated path; and a spray-foam retrofit is the container plus the foam, liner and any doors and rough-in, quoted as one number. From that baseline the same inputs move every quote: the grade of the box underneath, the delivery distance from Brantford quoted per kilometre, and the steel and freight markets in the month you order. We do not post a list price for a product that comes in three forms and a dozen configurations; how the grade ladder prices a container covers the box, and the insulation is quoted with it, in writing, usually the same day.
Lead Time by Product
A spray-foamed unit is the fastest: the box is in stock, the shop time is quoted with the build sheet, and the finished container ships on our tilt-deck when it is done. A non-operating reefer is instant when one is on the ground and unavailable when it is not, so the first call decides it. A factory-insulated container is sourced to order, built in Asia, shipped to Vancouver or Halifax, railed across and trucked to Brantford for inspection, which runs six to ten weeks end to end in a normal market; the one or two factory 20ft units we keep as walk-in stock are the exception. Every quote carries a real date, buyers who want to see the liner and the seals before paying can walk the yard or watch on a video call, and the Ontario delivery window applies once the unit is in the rows. Payment is on delivery, never a deposit, on every one of the three.
Delivery and Site Prep for an Insulated Container
The truck and the drop are the same as for any container: a tilt-deck, a level and drained pad, blocks under the corner castings, and a straight run for the truck to pull out. Two things change. An insulated box weighs more than a plain one, a factory panel unit or a reefer by several hundred kilograms, which matters only if the pad is soft; and the doors are the weak point of the envelope, so face them away from the prevailing wind and give them a firm apron. A gravel pad sized for the heavier box is the standard base, and the straight run a tilt-deck needs is the measurement to take before you order. Permits are managed by your municipality, so check with your local building or planning department before you order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can shipping containers be insulated?
Yes, three ways. Factory-insulated containers are built with polyurethane panels in the walls, ceiling and floor; standard containers can be spray-foamed with closed-cell foam and lined, which we do at the Brantford yard; and a used reefer with its refrigeration unit removed is a factory-insulated box at a lower price. Which one fits depends on what the container will hold and whether it will be lived in.
How much does an insulated shipping container cost?
A new factory-insulated unit sits roughly thirty to fifty percent over a standard container of the same size; a used factory-insulated box or a non-operating reefer sits well below that; a spray-foam retrofit is the container plus the foam, liner and any doors, quoted as one number. Delivery from Brantford is quoted per kilometre on top. Send the size, the product and your postal code and the written, all-in figure comes back, usually the same day.
Are insulated containers worth the cost?
For anything that has to stay above freezing or below cooking through an Ontario year, or for any container that will be a room, yes: the insulation is what makes the box usable, and a foamed one-trip is the first layer of a finished wall anyway. For tools, equipment and dry goods that do not care about temperature, no; a standard wind and watertight box with a vent does the job for far less.
What is the cheapest way to insulate a shipping container?
Buy a non-operating reefer if one is on the ground, because the factory panels and liner come with it. Failing that, a closed-cell spray-foam retrofit on a cargo worthy box is the lowest number that actually works; rigid board and batt insulation cost less on paper and fail on steel because they leave air against a cold wall and the wall sweats. Open-cell foam is cheaper still and the wrong product in a container for the same reason.
Do you have insulated containers in stock?
Usually one or two factory-insulated 20ft units, a spray-foamed build in progress, and sometimes a non-operating reefer; the rest is sourced to order or built on a quoted date. Call 519-754-6844 and we will tell you what is on the ground that day rather than what might be.
What R-value does an insulated container have?
Closed-cell polyurethane runs roughly R-6 to R-7 per inch. A factory panel of 75 millimetres lands around R-18 to R-21, a 100 millimetre panel around R-24 to R-28, and both hold that value through the corner posts. A two-inch spray retrofit gives about R-12 to R-14 on the flat and less at the ribs, which is why a foamed box wants ventilation and a heater sized for the bridging.
Is an insulated container the same as a reefer?
No. A reefer is an insulated container with a refrigeration unit that holds a set temperature; an insulated container has no unit and only slows how fast the inside follows the outside. A reefer with its unit removed is an insulated container, which is why non-operating reefers are the middle path between a foamed box and a factory panel unit.
Reach Van Blanc in Brantford
Van Blanc Ent. Inc., 90 Morton Ave. East, Unit 1-B, Brantford, ON N3R 7J7. Cell 519-754-6844, toll-free 1-888-509-6658, office 519-751-1651. Open Monday to Thursday 9:30 to 5 and Friday 9:30 to 4. Tell us what the container will hold and whether anyone will work in it, and the choice between the three insulated products makes itself.