Shipping Containers Blog

Archive for the ‘Shipping Container News’ Category

A shipping container made into a helicopter?   Surely that has to be one of the most amazing shipping container conversions ever?   If it is true?   We are currently arguing within the office whether this is a spoof or not and if any of you have any ideas after watching the You Tube video embedded here we would grateful for your input.   Is this really a genuine use of a used shipping container or not?

Whatever your thoughts, it is certainly a great video to watch.   Long live shipping containers!!

Last September an exhibition made using shipping containers called “The Journey” was opened in Trafalgar Square.   This month this same exhibition opens in the US.  

Co-curated by actress Emma Thompson brings the reality of sex-trafficking to public attention.   Each of the seven shipping containers shows a different aspect of the life of Elena, a moldovan girl, sold into the sex trade when she was 19.

Shipping Containers are used to house the installation called "The Journey"

 The first shipping container is called Hopes, Dreams and Aspirations and shows the naivity of Elena and how she believed the promises of a good job as a receptionist in the UK.   From there a dark container filled with repetitive sounds speaks about the monotony and the violence of the journey to England.   A third container is called “Uniform” and projects the viewers face onto the bodies of prostitutes to show the lack of identity of sex workers.   The bedroom or workplace is featured in the fourth shipping container and the main focal bed is a filthy bed which pulses up and down.   The next container is a clean, neutral space with photographs of  people and represents “the customer”.  A sculpture is in the sixth container which is entitled the void that leads on the seventh and final container called “Language” in which Elena’s voice is played telling her story and that of other trafficked victims. 

Emma Thompson met Elena through the Helen Bamber charity of which she is Chairman.  “The Journey”  says Emma Thompson,  contains a message of hope. “It reveals — as I have learned from Elena and other survivors — the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit. It shows how, with support and care, these courageous women can rebuild their lives”.

There are many types of shipping container conversions.   Shipping Containers themselves, whether new or second hand containers, lend themselves to many projects large or small.  Their shape, and the fact that they are made of weather resistant corten steel, mean that they are very versatile and can be built up in blocks to many different configurations.    But how do you start planning such a project?

At the beginning of this year CS Shipping Containers were contacted by Chiswick Horticultural Association to quote - and then to build - a community centre which would be made out of seven second hand 20ft shipping containers.   It was to consist of a large open plan space with seperate areas for a kitchen and toilets.

But how do you go from a bare site, then groundworks as pictured above to having a completed project?

This series of posts will follow the progress of the project from when we received the order, the conversion of the individual units at the fabrication plant where the insulation, lighting and heating, toilets and kitchen were put into the shipping containers, the delivery and craning of the units onto the site, and the assembly itself.

For those planning multi-container conversions, this should give a better idea of what is involved.  They will compare the merits of using new shipping containers to used shipping containers, the ways in which containers can be got onto a site with restricted access, as well as general points to consider when planning a conversion.

Here at CS Shippng Containers we have been missing the Olympics. Susan, who handles the logistics side of the business has, in particular, been missing the swimming. So, at coffee we got talking about the recent posts we have filed about shipping containers being converted into all sorts of amazing things and linked it to the upcoming 2012 Olympics in London.

Apart from her talents in keeping calm and organising everybody so your cargo containers get to where they are meant to, on time and in the right conditition, Susan is an amazing artist. It didn’t take her long to come up with these 3 simple and fun ideas.

OK. We admit none of this is very likely, but it does make the point that, as our previous posts show, 20ft or 40ft containers are very versatile - not only as a source of inspiration for Susan!

Shipping Container Conversions and the Armed Forces may not seem an obvious combination.   However, today is Armed Forces Day and there are many events going on this weekend to celebrate the role of the Armed Forces in Britain.  By way of our own tribute therefore,  we thought we would use this opportunity to note how shipping containers - and shipping container conversions - have their own part to play in helping the Armed Forces do their job.

In the news recently, has been the Afghan Village set up in Thetford to help provide the Army with a ”realistic” training opportunity.    The mock village is used to prepare soldiers for likely scenarios (such as suicide bombers) in an authentic setting.

Shipping Containers are ued in the Afghan Village in the MOD training area in Thetford

Ammunition Store

ISO Shipping Containers Used by the Armed Forces

Whilst we may not be able to physically give the Armed Forces a standing ovation such as they received on Wimbledon Centre Court today, we hope that this post goes a little way to celebrating all that they do and that this has given you a chance to think about some of the many roles they play and how this overlaps into so many different areas - not least of which is shipping containers.

Recently there has been a change in the world of shipping containers.   The scarcity of 20ft second hand containers has meant that we are beginnng to see the price of 20ft containers being the same as, or sometimes more than, 40ft containers.  This will come as a surprise to many who think that the price of containers goes up the larger they are!

20ft used shipping container

Shipping Containers can be used in so many ways that there is always a new conversion specification to produce.

Torque Container Outside

Last month Prime Horizontal, a company based in USA, commissioned two 20ft high cube iso shipping containers to be converted to house a hoist and needed steel work and power to support it. Two further standard sized iso 20ft shipping container conversions were required to be fitted out with cupboards and shelves to house all the supporting equipment required. All were resprayed in the company colours. These iso containers are going to be shipped between Europe and the USA depending upon the company’s requirements.

Re-enforcing steel work on torque container

This type of conversion is very different to the classrooms and offices that are more usually associated with shipping container conversions, but challenging in its own right. All four units took about 10 working days between them to complete before departing to the Netherlands and to Aberdeen.

Close up of steel work on torque container

The cost of new /once used shipping containers has been rising.  Even though cost wise shipping containers compare favourably to other means of secure storage, in the last month the cost of a 20ft new /once used shipping container has increased by nearly £200.  The next batch of new containers exported in from China is likely to be more expensive again.   Why should that be when the price of steel is dropping?

Shipping Container cost has always been dependant on both the condition of the container and its location (and therefore the transportation costs involved).   The market price of its principal constituent, corten steel, has also been relevant.  These are the factors that most people would consider to be the controlling influence on the cost of shipping containers.   What is often not taken into consideration as far as shipping containers are concerned is the effect of the currency exchange rate. 

For shipping containers, the currency exchange rate has had a major effect on the cost.   Anything to do with shipping uses the US Dollar as its currency.   As we all know the Pound Sterling has been dropping significantly against the US Dollar and this has meant that there are less shipping containers to the pound!   However, this has resulted in two other knock on effects on the cost of shipping containers.

 Firstly, as far as new shipping containers are concerned , the price increase has meant that less new shipping containers are being ordered.  As a direct result of this  some of the factories in China (the main producer of new shipping containers) have closed - and as we all know less competition is never a good thing for competitive pricing!

Secondly, the shipping industry itself is suffering in this recession with less actual shipping happening on a world-wide basis.   This has meant that the shipping lines are tightening their belts and are holding onto their  existing shipping containers for longer.  There are therefore less used shipping containers coming onto the market.  At the moment the second hand market is holding steady price wise, but prices will no doubt rise as second hand containers become scarcer.

All is not doom and gloom however.   In comparison to many other forms of storage, shipping containers are - and will be - priced favourably.  After all many other materials are also increasing in price due to the market conditions!    Shipping container conversions such as offices, accommodation and classrooms are going to continue to be a more economic solution than conventional building methods.  The modular construction of shipping containers and their integral strength mean that they are not only ideally suited for many projects but also that they are always going to be quicker to assemble and instal than bricks and mortar.  The fact that the containers are designed to be easily transported by road, rail and sea mean that delivery of the containers onto site  is not a problem.  In short, despite the price increases, shipping containers still have a lot going for them! 

How long this world-wide recession and the weakness of the Pound Sterling will continue is open to speculation.   What will always be true is that shipping containers will continue to be a versatile and economic solution.

Constructing the Community Kitchen

 

Community Centre in Buwanyanga

CS Shipping Containers is proud to be supplying a shipping container to Sussex Downs College as part of their long term project in Uganda.

Over  the past four years Sussex Downs College has sent out over 100 student volunteers to Buwanyanga village, Sironko district, Uganda, to assist the local community build up their educational, health and sanitation capacity.  The work has involved building a library resource centre, community kitchen and toilet blocks, grain stores, sustainable stoves and in 2008 a health education and nutrition centre.  Many of the facilities provided are the only ones in a district of some 2,000 villages and 330,000 inhabitants.

This month CS Shipping Containers supplied a a 20ft shipping container to the college.   This will allow them to dispatch educational resources including computers and vocational and sports equipment to Buwanyanga village.   The much needed goods will reach the village in June.  Once the container has been emptied the college students plan to use it to create a shipping container conversion so it can be used as a further community building.

All this takes money and the college is always seeking ways to raise funds to continue with this work.   Further details available from Ian Elgie, Uganda project coordinator on: email hidden; JavaScript is required   Please contact him if you think you can help.