Construction Business Review

HOWCOOL
Where Technical Precision Meets Operational Intelligence

In cold storage facility installation, execution often ends at handover. One firm handles design, another builds to spec, but neither stays to see how the facility performs under pressure.

HOWCOOL breaks that mold by bringing an operator’s perspective to the design-build process.

With a 40,000-ton facility of its own, HOWCOOL has lived through the very challenges clients often face too late: fluctuating energy costs, inefficient systems, labor bottlenecks and slow ROI recovery. That hands-on experience shifted the company’s mission from simply delivering infrastructure to delivering long-term performance, economic viability and operational resilience.

“Once you’ve had to run your own cold storage, everything changes,” says James Fang, general manager. “You stop thinking like a contractor and start thinking like a partner. That’s why our work isn’t just about what we build; it’s about how it performs in the real world.”

That operator’s lens now shapes every project—more than 3,000 across 16 countries—each one informed by real-world performance needs: energy efficiency, rental outcomes, maintenance strategies and regional expectations.

HOWCOOL’s depth of understanding enables it to serve a wide range of industries. From fresh produce and seafood to vaccines, reagents and national research inventories, its facilities span the full temperature spectrum—+20°C to -100°C—precisely calibrated to the needs of the product, the process and the business model.

Take, for example, a 5,000-ton blueberry logistics hub—not just another cold room. It was engineered around the fruit’s respiration rate and shelf-life sensitivities, with full consideration of oxygen levels, humidity, airflow and logistics from harvest to point of sale.

  • Once you’ve had to run your own cold storage, everything changes. You stop thinking like a contractor and start thinking like a partner


In pharmaceuticals, HOWCOOL has delivered over 1,000 GMP/FDA-compliant cold storage projects across China and has worked with more than 30 world-renowned pharmaceutical companies as well as over 1,000 leading Chinese pharmaceutical firms, all of which underwent full 4Q validation to ensure regulatory precision and operational reliability.

A Holistic Approach

HOWCOOL’s integrated process starts with in-depth consultation— beyond just specs—to understand capital conditions, local energy infrastructure, staffing capacity and expected return. In regions with unstable power grids, HOWCOOL delivers solutions through tailored combinations of solar power, battery storage and generator backup systems.

Its stable performance delivery—especially in challenging regions—is enabled by a tightly coordinated internal team of refrigeration engineers, automation experts, safety officers and project managers. Working under a unified technical standard developed through years of practical experience, they ensure every detail—from layout design and compliance to training and aftercare—is meticulously handled.

Engineered for ROI

Grounded in investment realities, HOWCOOL helps clients evaluate local supply, pricing and usage patterns. Data from nearly 1,000 projects shows that a $1 million facility typically recovers its investment in under three years, with a service life of up to 30 years. In markets with limited public cold storage infrastructure, HOWCOOL makes cold storage a high-value, income-generating asset.

This investment-aware mindset extends to supporting small and mid-sized enterprises. HOWCOOL encourages clients to start small, build operational expertise and scale confidently, backed by training and technical support. Clients don’t just get a facility; they gain the capability to run and grow it.

Building Partnerships, Not Just Facilities

Many of HOWCOOL’s long-term clients began with a single project. What kept them returning wasn’t just quality construction— it was aligned values: practical thinking, long-term support and foresight.

After all, HOWCOOL doesn’t just deliver cold storage. It delivers confidence, engineered to last and built to return.