Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Warehouses: Guides for Layout and Design

Excerpts from the report Background: Planning, designing, and building a modern warehouse presents a major problem for fruit and vegetable wholesalers. Decisions made prior to construction can have a lasting effect on costs and on efficiency of operations. Recognizing that not only wholesalers but also architects and engineers need basic information on the requirements for handling, storing, and warehousing fresh fruits and vegetables, the Agricultural Marketing Service undertook an engineering research program dealing with these problems. The purpose of this report is to present guides and standards for the layout and design of warehouses for fruits and vegetables. Three separate climatic areas in the United States were selected for study in an effort to meet the needs of service wholesalers on a national basis. The cities selected as typical for these areas were Cincinnati, Ohio, New Orleans, La., and Minneapolis-St. Paul. Minn. These areas were selected to determine the warehouse materials and designs required for varied climatic conditions. The layouts and designs presented in this report would have to be modified to suit the specific needs of individual service wholesalers. However, wholesalers and architects will find that many of the features illustrated can be incorporated in most warehouses. In this way efficient warehouses can be constructed for both present and future needs.