How to Compare Mini Cold Storage Quotations in Bangladesh: A Line-by-Line Method

Two quotations for a mini cold storage room land on your desk. One is noticeably cheaper. Both say “cold room, complete set, with installation”. The temptation is to pick the cheaper one and move on — and that is exactly how many buyers in Bangladesh end up with a room that cannot hold temperature in May, a compressor that trips every afternoon, or a door that freezes shut. The problem is rarely dishonesty. It is that the two quotes describe two different machines, and the quote sheet hides the differences.

This guide is a method for turning two or three cold room quotes into something you can genuinely compare. It works whether the quotes come from local fabricators, Chinese manufacturers, or a mix, and it pairs with our deeper guides on heat load and sizing and common buying mistakes.

Step one: check that both quotes are designed for the same job

Before looking at any equipment, look at the design basis — the assumptions the supplier used to size the system. A quote with no design basis is a price for parts, not a solution. Ask each supplier to state in writing:

• Room temperature setpoint — a chiller for vegetables and a freezer for fish are completely different systems.
• Design ambient temperature — the outdoor temperature the condensing unit must cope with. A unit sized for a mild climate can struggle on a Bangladeshi roof in pre-monsoon heat.
• Daily product load — how much product enters per day and at what temperature. Loading warm produce every day is a much bigger refrigeration job than storing already-frozen cartons.
• Pull-down time — how long the supplier expects it to take to bring a fresh load down to setpoint.
• Door openings and usage pattern — a retail backroom opened all day is not a sealed overnight store.

If one supplier sized for a lighter load or a cooler ambient, their price will naturally be lower and their room will underperform in your conditions. Send both suppliers the same written brief and ask them to requote against it. This one step removes most of the false price gaps.

Step two: break the quote into the same line items

Rebuild each quote into a single comparison sheet. The table below shows the line items we recommend and the question that reveals real differences in each one.

Line item	What to ask each supplier
Insulated panels	PUF or PIR core? Panel thickness for walls, ceiling and floor? Core density? Cam-lock or tongue-and-groove joints? Metal skin type and thickness?
Floor	Is an insulated floor included? For a freezer, how is ground freezing under the floor prevented?
Condensing unit	Compressor type (hermetic, semi-hermetic, scroll) and brand? Rated capacity at your setpoint and ambient, not at a catalogue standard condition?
Evaporator	Number of fans, fin spacing, defrost method, and air throw for the room length?
Refrigerant	Which refrigerant, and is local service support and supply available for it?
Controls	Controller model, alarms, data logging, phase and voltage protection?
Door	Hinged or sliding? Heater wire on freezer door frames? Pressure relief port? Inside safety release?
Installation	Copper piping length included, insulation of lines, electrical work, commissioning and training?
Warranty	What is covered, for how long, who services it in Bangladesh, and how quickly?
Delivery terms	EXW, FOB, CIF or delivered to site? Are duty, VAT, port and inland transport included?

Use our explainers to judge the answers: PUF vs PIR panels, insulation thickness, compressor types, evaporator selection and refrigerant choices.

Step three: normalise the delivery terms

A very common false comparison is a Chinese factory’s FOB price against a local supplier’s installed price. The FOB price excludes sea freight, insurance, customs duty and VAT, port charges, C&F agency fees, inland transport, installation labour and commissioning. Until all quotes are brought to the same point — ideally “installed and running at your site” — the numbers cannot be compared. Our guide to Incoterms and our total cost of importing from China breakdown show what to add. We will not quote typical figures here, because duty depends on how the goods are classified and freight changes month to month; ask us for a landed-cost estimate built on your actual quotes.

Worked walkthrough: reading between two quotes

Imagine Quote A and Quote B for a vegetable chiller room of the same internal size. Quote A is cheaper. Rebuilding them line by line, a buyer typically discovers things like this:

• Quote A uses thinner wall panels and leaves out the insulated floor, assuming the room will sit on an existing concrete slab. Quote B includes floor panels.
• Quote A lists a condensing unit by horsepower only. Quote B states capacity at the stated room temperature and a tropical ambient. Horsepower alone tells you very little about real cooling capacity at your conditions.
• Quote A includes a short length of copper piping; the actual distance from the room to the roof where the condensing unit will sit is longer, so extra piping, insulation and labour will be billed later.
• Quote A gives a warranty “on compressor”; Quote B covers parts and a service visit, with a named local technician.

Once the missing items are added to Quote A, the gap may shrink or even reverse. Sometimes the cheaper quote is still the right choice — for a chiller on a ground floor slab, floor panels may genuinely not be needed. The point is to make the decision knowingly, not to discover the differences after installation.

Red flags in a cold room quotation

• No capacity at your conditions — only horsepower or a model number.
• Vague panel description such as “high-quality insulation panel” without core material, thickness or density.
• “Installation included” with no scope — ask exactly what is included, especially electrical supply, piping length and civil work.
• Unwillingness to name the compressor brand or provide its datasheet.
• Warranty with no local service route. A warranty honoured only by shipping parts from abroad leaves your stock at risk while you wait. See our note on warranty and after-sales service.
• No mention of voltage protection in areas with unstable supply. See voltage protection and earthing.

Questions to ask before signing

Before you pay a deposit, ask each shortlisted supplier for a layout drawing with door position and condensing unit location, the datasheets for the compressor, evaporator and controller, a commissioning checklist showing what will be tested on handover, and a spare parts list with what you should keep on site. A supplier who can produce these quickly has usually done the engineering; one who cannot may be selling a box and hoping it works. Also agree on how performance will be verified at handover — for example a pull-down test with the room empty and a temperature log over a set period — as described in our installation and commissioning guide.

After you choose: carry the comparison into the contract

The comparison sheet you built is not just a decision tool — it is the most useful attachment you can add to the purchase order. Every line you clarified with the winning supplier (panel core and thickness, floor scope, compressor model, refrigerant, piping length, controller, door hardware, warranty terms and delivery point) should appear in the contract or proforma invoice in the same words. That way, if the delivered room arrives with a different compressor or thinner panels, you are comparing goods against a written specification rather than against a memory of a phone call.

Tie part of the payment to commissioning rather than to delivery where you can. A balance released after the agreed pull-down test and temperature log gives the supplier a reason to finish the job properly. If you are buying from China, add the condensing unit nameplate and panel thickness to the pre-shipment inspection checklist, because substitutions are far easier to fix before the container is loaded than after it reaches Chattogram.

If you are sourcing directly from China, read importing a mini cold storage from China as well. DE International can collect quotes from Chinese manufacturers against one written brief, rebuild them into a like-for-like comparison, inspect the equipment before shipping and handle freight and clearance to your site. The price for your room depends on its size, temperature and product — ask us for a quote built around your needs. See our services, our China sourcing agent service, the shop, or contact us.