Royal Wolf, the largest supplier of shipping containers in Australasia, recently opened a hub in Cromwell to meet growing demand for containers in the region.
The entry of the company is in line with rampant growth of the town, supported by residential growth, horticulture and viticulture development and aligned commercial businesses.
Royal Wolf, which specialises in the hire and sale of both new and refurbished units, says the new depot provided an obvious solution to its growing Otago and Southland footprint and proximity to commercial hotspots of Queenstown and Wanaka, in particular.
Royal Wolf executive general manager Paul Creighton, said the demand got to the point where the company could not service the region from its Dunedin, Invercargill or Christchurch branches.
''The region has undergone huge growth and continues to develop further, creating demand from people wanting containers for everything from storage to container offices, pedestrian walkways and lunchrooms for construction sites.
The wide appeal of containers has resulted in their recent popular use on projects from large construction - for example the Kawarau Falls Bridge near Queenstown - to providing insulated and refrigerated solutions for the local wine sector.
Fire and Emergency NZ in Queenstown recently hired a Wolf lock safety container for general storage, as have high-profile local film projects, which will be using the containers for storing set-making equipment.
Mr Creighton said containers were also an ideal solution in the Queenstown area, where space is often at a premium and developments were taking place on tight and often challenging sites.
He said smaller 10ft and 8ft mini containers were also growing in appeal.
''They provide safe storage and fit in tight spaces with a small footprint, so can be used as storerooms and worksite storage.''