Strictly speaking, a container is anything we put things in for safekeeping or to deliver them somewhere. Theoretically, a ‘container’ could be a corrugated or cardboard box, a crate, or even a drum. However, over the years the transport industry developed a large, robust cargo container ‘box’ with doors, and adapted the design so it could travel by ship, rail, or on a lowbed trailer.
The terms are virtually interchangeable since a cargo container can transport by ship, rail, or lowbed trailer mode. This flexibility enabled container shipping to simplify loading and unloading and dominate the cargo industry.
It also spawned a vibrant market in second-hand containers beyond their use-by dates but still in fair condition. These cargo containers are in popular use as construction site offices, village clinics, holiday homes and so much more. Our customers love them because they are cheaper than brick-and-mortar buildings, and ‘erect’ in a flash.
The cargo container has proved its worth as a quick and convenient way to move goods around the world. Handling and securing equipment on ships, railway trucks, and lowbed transporters have standardised too. A container sent from Durban to London will hold no surprises for dockworkers on the far side of the world.
Those over 20 million containers make a total of 200 million trips every year. At any one time, there are close to six million of them travelling on ships to the four corners of the globe. An average of four of them falls into the water every day, which is remarkably low compared to the number of traffic accidents in Durban!
A number of these containers never make it back to their owners because of the high cost of shipping them empty. There are currently several million of these for sale in cities with container ports, and these are increasingly being turned into economic homes and affordable student housing.
The people who conceived the first cargo container would have had no idea how it would transform commercial transport. Indeed its influence compares with the extent the internet transformed communication.
Almar has a stock of containers for sale or for rent in Durban, Walvis Bay, Dubai, Dar es Salaam, Kabar, Mombasa, Kampala, and Nairobi. Please be assured of our best prices and contact us soon for superior service.
Almar Kenya has been commissioned to create four bespoke functional gym units from standard 20-foot dry containers for anti-poaching rangers to use. Three will be located in wildlife conservancies in Kenya, while the fourth is to be transported to Tanzania, and all four will provide an exciting opportunity for anti-poaching rangers to keep fit in the field.
The project was initiated by the Save the Rhino charity and 51 Degrees Ltd, a Kenyan company that trains rapid-response anti-poaching units across East Africa in helicopter procedures, reactive operations, area searches, and medical skills.
The design of the converted containers’ functional gym equipment will ensure that the rangers are able to improve their strength and overall fitness while in remote locations. The equipment in each unit consists of a series of bolted frames with pull-up bars, as well as removable dead-weight brackets and a larger frame for rope climbing at one end.
One of the converted containers has already been set up in the main rangers’ camp at Borana Conservancy in Laikipia County, Kenya. Two more are destined for Ol Jogi and Lewa Conservancies in the same region. A fourth will soon be heading for Tanzania where it will be utilized by the Singita Grumeti Fund’s team of rangers.
During the past four decades, Kenyan organisations and associations have been doing everything possible to save the black rhino (Diceros bicornis) from extinction. In 1970 there were 20,000 rhinos in the country, but as a result of poaching, this number fell to less than 280 in the 1980s. One of the first initiatives was the formation of the Association of Private Rhino Sanctuaries in Laikipia that was mandated by the Kenya Wildlife Service to represent the interests of those in the private sector who were working towards conservation of rhinos.
After the dramatic decrease in the numbers of rhinos by the 1980s, Kenya was hit by another surge in rhino and elephant poaching in 2012 and 2013, that led to the loss of more of these animals than at any time during the past 20 years. As a result, a new wildlife law was introduced allowing the courts to impose life imprisonment for convicted poachers. But, while poaching stats dropped, the killing continued, and earlier this year it was reported that convicted poachers in Kenya could face the death penalty.
The Kenyan authorities have also introduced a high-tech anti-poaching technique that involves sniffer dogs trained to identify air samples of rhino horn and ivory. These dogs are also used to find stolen livestock, property, and even children.
The Borana Conservancy is one of the newest conservancies for rhinos and since black rhinos were reintroduced to the area in 2013, it has been proven to be one of the most successful. It is relatively close to the Ol Jogi Conservancies as well as Ol Pejeta and the Solio Game Reserve, but Lewa is its closest neighbour.
Borana and the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy work closely together with additional combined efforts from Kenya Wildlife Service and the Kenya Police. While a primary focus is on fighting the threat of poaching and protecting the wildlife in the local conservancies, they also assist when there is road banditry, cattle rustling, and even inter-tribal conflict.
They report that there has been no poaching of rhino in the Lewa-Borana area in the past five years and that the numbers of illegally killed elephants have decreased significantly during the same period of time.
The Singita Grumeti Fund carries out community development and wildlife conservation in the western corridor of Tanzania’s legendary Serengeti ecosystem. An area that experienced rampant poaching and uncontrolled poaching less than two decades ago, the Fund is responsible for one of Eastern Africa’s greatest conservation success stories.
“Not only is Almar extremely grateful to have worked on this exciting and creative product, we are also proud to help such esteemed clients with their efforts in ensuring the preservation and security of Africa’s most precious wildlife.”
A beautifully created shared office space right in the heart of Nairobi, Kenya, Ikigai has attracted people from a cross-section of industries who value interaction and the possibility of collaboration with others but want to work in a highly professional environment. Based on a Japanese concept that means "a reason for being," Ikigai is such a popular office venue, it has been expanded with converted mobile containers to meet the demand.
Founded by two passionate entrepreneurs, Wachuka and Nyambura, who believe in the collective greatness of the community, Ikigai is located on a beautiful property that boasts a huge, rambling, old house and lush green gardens. They lease the property and are bound to keep the house in its original form. They may not build any permanent structures on the site, which is why they have opted to expand using mobile containers that may be relocated later if need be.
Rather than renting out rooms, they offer different types of membership that cater to the varied needs of individuals looking for reliable but flexible workspace. For instance:
All forms of membership offer high-speed Wi-Fi and there are communal areas in addition to the meeting spaces and boardrooms. Roasted Truth, an artisan barista-operated coffee bar established in one of the many converted shipping containers, and its adjacent coffee deck, is another perk for members.
When the owners of Ikigai decided to expand their office space, there were several major challenges they had to consider, including the fact that permanent structures were not acceptable. Aesthetics are important to the Ikigai team, and it was essential that if mobile containers were going to be used, these had to blend with the existing environment.
Almar Container Group, which has operated in Kenya since 2010 and is now the country’s largest supplier of steel containers to the end-user market, was approached to undertake the project. One of the benefits would be the speed of delivery and Almar’s ability to move the mobile containers to another site later if required.
First, they had to identify suitable areas for converted shipping containers. Then they had to design both a workable layout and container design based on this configuration. Ikigai needed big glass windows and doors incorporated in the design to facilitate both light and airflow. Almar’s designers achieved this by using double-glass sliding doors and lovely big tilting windows. The containers were also well insulated.
PVC tiled flooring was chosen, and down-lighters were installed to meet the client’s brief for smart, modern, and functional office spaces. The exterior walls of the containers were covered with timber cladding that would blend with the garden environment and surrounding spaces. Ultimately, the project shows how effectively converted shipping containers can be used in an upmarket residential area.
Whether you want accommodation for offices or boardrooms in upmarket converted shipping containers, mobile containers for traditional industrial office use, or steel containers that can be converted into living accommodation, Almar can help fulfil your needs in Southern Africa or the Middle East. Call us to discuss your needs or request a shipping container cost.
The sub-Saharan Africa rail revitalisation project that is rehabilitating and upgrading vital railway networks in Southern African Development Community (SADC) is surging ahead using storage containers for rent, particularly in the north-south corridor that runs from Durban through Zimbabwe and Zambia to the United Republic of Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The project incorporates two other corridors, east-west that links Namibia, Botswana, and Lesotho to South Africa, and the Maputo corridor that links Swaziland and Mozambique to South Africa.
Not only will rail revitalisation improve the quality of rail networks through the region, enabling mining and other industries to transport more steel containers by rail more quickly, safely, efficiently, and economically, but it also represents a paradigm shift in the way SADC railways have been operating. Instead of countries in sub-Saharan Africa working in isolation, the project will drive economic growth through the region and develop what will become a single, unified railway system.
The rail revitalisation project is driven by national governments and as such, represents a substantial investment in the region. It is a mammoth project primarily because the rail network has been poorly maintained throughout the region for a very long period of time.
Being part of the rejuvenation of this incredibly important logistics backbone to Africa has been a long-standing dream for the team at Almar Container Group, a leader in the global steel containers industry.
As a South African Department of Transport green paper published in 2015 stated, the rail transport sector has had “mixed fortunes” since it was inaugurated way back in 1860. Even though a rail network offers much more efficient transport solutions than road transportation, it has been substantially under-utilised over the past few decades. As a result, one of the major challenges is the “aging, deteriorating or obsolete” state of the existing network. The first project envisaged in the green paper was to promote efficient movement of goods through “industrial corridors” that connect coalfields to power stations as well as the expansion of coal and iron-ore rail lines, and expansion of ports – which is happening now.
In recent months, the South African government as well as other SADC governments have become increasingly aware of the incredible potential railways have to inject into the economy of the region. For instance, Zambia has implemented a target of 30 percent of all mining-related exports travelling via rail. State-owned entities in various countries that previously maintained tight control over rolling stock have begun to ease up and allow private operators the space to drive the efficient use of the rail infrastructure. And finally, shippers of cargo are starting to buy into the opportunity with the initial trial shipment showing incredible efficiencies.
Almar has receiving and collection facilities for steel containers in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, which has enabled the company to play a key role in the final roll-out of the rail solution, allowing shippers even more efficiency with one-way rentals. What this means is that there is never any need for shippers to pay for empty returns of mobile containers.
The storage containers for rent service offered by Almar is operational in the north-south corridor, in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Tanzania, where various drop-off points are located. The company has more than 150 of its 20ft containers available along this route. Please contact us for container rental prices.
Shipping containers are commonly used to transport goods to remote locations either by sea or over land. But, containers aren’t only used for transportation and logistics, or in challenging environments where they are required for offshore oil and gas operations. Frequently, shipping containers for sale are used for office and living accommodation, and for storage on remote sites, particularly those where building operations are planned or are in progress.
Often these are old – or used – shipping containers that cost considerably less than new ones. This doesn’t mean they are damaged or worn, or in any way inferior. Rather, old containers for sale offer amazing opportunities for both accommodation and storage. They can be used as is. They can be converted into basic units with windows, doors, and internal fixtures and fittings. They can also be totally repurposed to create exciting, good looking offices, retail outlets, or even multi-storey houses.
There are many reasons companies that need remote site accommodation take advantage of shipping containers including the fact that:
Once the containers have been delivered to the remote location, they can be positioned and finished according to the needs of the company or individuals. For instance, they may be furnished and fitted for use as boardrooms or offices, or for living accommodation, or for ablutions. The possibilities are endless.
Shipping containers for sale may be used for all forms of accommodation anywhere in the world. They are particularly useful where building resources are scarce, or, perhaps ironically, where major building is going to be carried out and the planning infrastructure is required in a short timeframe.
Actual locations range from deserts in the Middle East and undeveloped African regions to island areas where delivery of building materials is difficult… or anywhere else!
Almar Container Group specializes in the full range of containers, from those used for refrigeration and cold storage, to old shipping containers used to provide remote on-site container accommodation solutions. The company also focuses on a global reach that incorporates a number of African countries, from South Africa to Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, as well as locations in the Middle East.
Importantly, remote doesn’t always spell low-density locations. Sometimes it is simply that the location is far from any place where low cost, good quality office, and accommodation options are available. An example is a remote Kenyan site where Almar supplied an innovative solution for site container offices for a construction company that needed a good turnkey option quickly. Add link
If you are looking for assistance with shipping containers for sale, don’t hesitate to contact the professional team at Almar. We are ready to help you solve your unique needs.
Shipping containers have become an increasingly popular choice for housing solutions for many reasons, including the fact that they are cheaper and quicker to erect than brick-and-mortar houses, and imaginatively designed, they can have an appealing contemporary industrial style. They may also be designed for a minimalistic lifestyle look. But, whatever the design and style you opt for, container homes must comply with local building regulations. So when you see advertisements for container homes for sale, you need to evaluate compliance as well as aesthetics and functionality.
Of course, if you buy a container home from an established company that offers a construction or installation service, they will usually ensure that the conversion to a house – or office – meets the relevant codes and regulations. But some companies only offer containers for sale, and then it will be up to you to employ knowledgeable professionals who can advise on design and procedure. In South Africa, for instance, container homes aren’t covered in the country’s National Building Regulations. Instead, erection of the “building” will need to be carried out in accordance with an approved agrément certificate that confirms “fitness-for-purpose” of products, materials, and components that aren’t standardized in terms of South African National Standards.
Containers, dubbed “the strongest box in the world”, have been used for shipping for more than six decades. First used in the USA, they were – and still are – extremely strong, stackable, quick and easy to load and unload onto trucks, trains, and ships; they are simple to store, theft resistant, and they keep cargo clean and dry. Ultimately they revolutionized the transport industry and saved companies a fortune since in 1956 loose cargo generally cost US $5.86 a ton to load and only 16 cents (US) when a shipping container was used.
Although transport entrepreneur, Malcolm McLean is widely considered to be the father of the container, the precursor of his shipping containers was the Conex Box that was used by the US military during the Korean and Vietnam wars in 1950-1953 and 1955-1975 respectively.
It was also the US military that first identified the possibility of using shipping containers as habitable buildings. In July 1977, long before anyone had tried marketing container homes for sale, the US Department of Defense released a report titled, Shipping Containers as Structural Systems. It considered the feasibility of using containers for logistics and shelter, and for theatre of operations facilities. The researchers found that four 20 foot or 6-metre containers joined end-to-end in a certain way could save US $2.3 million on facilities. Furthermore, the design proposed would meet both snow and wind design loads that might be encountered anywhere in the world.
In August 1989, US inventor, Phillip C. Clark was granted a patent for a method he devised to convert steel shipping containers into habitable building, he described as a “novel product”. The method described was short and sweet and required the use of weight-bearing foundations at the ends of the containers. If more than one container was used these could be abutted side-by-side with parts of the side walls removed, or placed on top of one another. At least one door and one window, as well as raised floors and dropped ceilings, were incorporated in the design.
Containers continue to be used for shipping all over the world, which has resulted in an increase in the availability of shipping containers. And their popularity for architectural use continues to grow.
The advantages of using container homes for sale for residential housing include:
Of course, any container homes for sale should be finished in terms of local building codes and regulations. This includes all elements that relate to ventilation, insulation, and heating, plumbing, and electrics. This compliance will ensure that your innovative new home is warm in winter, cool in summer, and will operate in an eco-friendly manner.
Almar Container Group operates in Africa and in the Middle East and has both new and old shipping containers for sale that may be used as a building solution for a wide range of uses including homes, offices, public facilities, and retail outlets.
Whether you need to ship belongings, need somewhere to store bulky items, or want to convert a shipping container into an office or even living quarters, old containers for sale provide a quick, easy, and relatively inexpensive option.
Most commonly made from non-corrosive “weathering” steel that is coated to protect it against rust, mould, and mildew, shipping containers are incredibly strong and will withstand extreme conditions. After all, they are made to protect and safely transport all kinds of cargo across the ocean where damp, heat, humidity, and salt water are consistently uncompromising. They are also designed for use by road or rail where heat, dirt, and vibration are all a potential threat to the contents.
While large businesses operating in the shipping industry, in fields of transportation and logistics, are more likely to purchase new shipping containers, there is a large demand for old containers for sale. Like new shipping containers, old ones are available in different sizes, and like secondhand cars, their age varies. Generally, the older the container, the lower the price.
Internationally, the standard sizes of general purpose containers used for dry freight and storage are reflected in their length:
Whatever the age or size of the container, and whatever the intended use, it is important to ensure it was manufactured according to strict international ISO standards for standard shipping containers. These specify materials, characteristics, components, and also both external and internal measurements.
Recycling and repurposing old shipping containers has become very popular in recent years, particularly for homes, offices, schools, and businesses. Intriguingly, their popularity ranges from the need for accommodation of various kinds in impoverished regions to ingenious high-end housing designs. Sometimes just one container is used on its own as an office, a classroom, or perhaps an ablution block. Alternatively, because they are modular, several shipping containers can be used alongside one another, or even on top of one another to create a multi-storey unit.
Where budget is an issue, or the container is being used temporarily, perhaps as a site office or even for emergency shelter, the exterior of the container is usually left as is. When converted into a classy home, both internal and external cladding are commonly used, although some architects like to leave sections of the characteristic corrugated steel visible, giving it a contemporary industrial style appeal. The interior is fitted like any other house, to meet the needs of the occupants, with plumbed bathrooms and kitchens, lighting and ventilation needs, and home comforts.
Of course, old containers for sale may also be used for temporary or permanent storage for just about anything. For instance, they may be used to store materials on a building site where it is essential to keep things like cement clean and dry, and fixtures and fittings safe and secure. They may be used on farms for storing animal feed or farming implements. They are invaluable in equestrian environments where there isn’t a secure tack room to store expensive items like saddles and bridles. They are great for storing equipment required by schools, or stock for shops or food outlets.
If you spot an ad for containers for sale, you might even consider converting it into a swimming pool, or a camper!
If you are based in Africa or the Middle East you will find that Almar can offer the full range of quality containers at a competitive price. You can buy one or a large volume, depending on your needs. Request a quote today.
In this day and age, it’s becoming more and more critical to think sustainably about everything we do. From climate change to plastic pollution islands in the sea, our historical, short-term thinking is having drastic effects on the way we and our children will be living in the years to come.
One way in which we can become more sustainable is to recycle. We’re not talking plastic bags and food cartons here though, we are thinking a bit bigger than that. We’re talking homes, office parks, hotels and more! This is where second hand containers for sale, really shine!
Shipping containers have been used for 50 years as the main conduit for global trade. Containers created a revolutionary way of moving cargo by road, rail and sea in the 1970’s and this simple steel box literally kicked off globalisation. However, they haven’t finished yet! Due to their modular and robust design, second hand containers are now being repurposed into all kinds of large and small-scale structures.
Almar containers have second hand containers for sale across all main cities in South Africa, as well as Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. Contact us now to see how we can help you make the sustainable choice.
Dabaab
Container Conversion
The Centre for Victims of Torture (www.cvt.org)
CVT needed to mobilise urgently to assist with the refugee crisis in Dabaab, which is a remote region of Kenya bordering Somalia. As CVT had no personel on the ground in Dabaab ahead of the project, they had no way of building or assembling a structure before they needed to move in.
Almar East Africa were able to design, manufacture, deliver and install world class accommodation modules for the CVT team within a matter of weeks, including laminate flooring and air conditioning. The team was able to move into the en-suite comfortable accommodation and begin their much-needed work without the worry of having to arrange accommodation and site preparation. We took care of it all for them.
