Supplying containers to mine sites is a different job to dropping one in a backyard. Here's what the sites out past Moranbah actually ask for.
A good share of our work heads west into the Bowen Basin, and site requirements are a world away from a residential delivery. If you're a contractor pricing a job, these are the things worth knowing before you order.
Sites are unforgiving about presentation and about compliance. A rough as-is unit that's fine in a paddock can fail a site inspection on the first walk-through. For anything that will sit inside a lease boundary, buy at least cargo-worthy, and buy new if it's going to be a crib room, an office, or anywhere people spend time.
The other reason to buy up a grade: the container will likely be relocated several times across the life of the contract. Every lift is a stress test. Sound corner castings and a straight frame matter more when a unit is picked up twenty times than when it's dropped once and forgotten.
Fuels, oils, solvents and chemicals on a site need bunded, ventilated storage — a sump floor that contains a spill rather than letting it reach the ground. An ordinary container with a drip tray in it will not satisfy an auditor.
Get the class right before you order, not after. DG units come in different configurations depending on what's being stored and how much, and the cost of a wrong call is a non-compliance finding rather than a refund. Tell us the chemicals and the volumes and we'll match the unit to it.
Long-haul deliveries west are expensive to repeat, so we ask a lot up front — and the questions are worth thinking through before you're on the phone:
What's the ground like? A sidelifter needs firm, level standing. Recently disturbed ground, soft laydown areas and anything post-rain will bog a truck, and a bogged sidelifter is everyone's bad day.
How much room is there? A 40ft needs roughly 30 metres of clear working length and overhead clearance. Not "you could squeeze it in" — actual clear space.
What's the site induction and access process? Gate times, escort requirements, driver inductions and permit lead times all need sorting before dispatch, not on arrival.
Who's signing for it? Sites move people around; deliveries have sat at gates before.
Contract with a defined end date: hire usually wins, and you hand the disposal problem back to us. Rolling or open-ended work: buying is generally cheaper past the twelve-month mark, and a sound used unit holds resale value well.
Pricing a job and want the freight component to be accurate? Call (07) 4944 2211 with the site and we'll give you a delivered number rather than a guess.
Cyclone tie-downs, condensation, siting above flood height and the mistakes that cost people their gear between December and March.
Chemical compliance, keeping machinery parts out of the weather, and why so many growers between Sarina and Proserpine end up with steel instead of a shed.
Truck types, clearance, ground conditions and the access questions that decide whether delivery is simple or turns into a second trip.
One call, one delivered number, freight included.