Refrigerated Containers
Across KwaZulu-Natal
From our yard in Ballito to wherever you are in the province — Durban, Pietermaritzburg, Richards Bay, Newcastle, the Midlands, the South Coast, Zululand. Family-run since 2015. In excess of 200 units in the fleet. Certified Reefer technicians on all makes.
A KZN Operation
Based in Ballito. Operating across the province.
AquaCat Containers has been family-run by Greg Payne since 2015. We rent and sell refrigerated containers, deal with on-site servicing, and handle conversions for butcheries, cold rooms, clinics and offices. Our yard sits at 1 Compensation Drive, Ballito, 4390, just off the N2. From there we deliver across KwaZulu-Natal — from Durban harbour up to Richards Bay, inland to Pietermaritzburg and Newcastle, west into the Drakensberg, and down the South Coast to Margate.
Reefer hire in KZN is normally a Johannesburg phone call. We are different. Greg lives here, the yard is here, and the service team is based here. When something needs attention on a unit in Ladysmith or Empangeni, we deal with it ourselves. There is no national call centre between you and the person fixing the compressor.
In excess of 200 units in the fleet, in 6m and 12m sizes and multiples thereof. Temperature range -25°C to +25°C.
Certified Reefer technicians on all makes — Carrier, Thermo King, Daikin and Star Cool. KZN-based service team.
Genset-ready units for sites without stable Eskom supply — load-shedding will not break your cold chain.
KZN Coverage
From Ballito to wherever in KZN
Approximate driving times from our yard, with typical 1 to 2 business day delivery from order confirmation. Same-day is possible for areas closest to Ballito when stock is available.
Durban & eThekwini
Around 1 hour down the N2. We rent reefers to operations across the city — harbour-side logistics, Pinetown industrial, Westville, Glenwood, Umhlanga, Hillcrest. Durban page.
Pietermaritzburg
Around 70 minutes inland on the N3. PMB hospitals, UKZN, the Capital Centre and surrounding food retail. Also Hilton, Howick and Wartburg. PMB page.
Ballito & the North Coast Our Yard
Same-day delivery is possible within Ballito itself. Walk-ins welcome at 1 Compensation Drive. Ballito & North Coast page.
Richards Bay & Empangeni
Around 2 hours 45 minutes to Empangeni and 3 hours to Richards Bay. Industrial sites, fishing operations, the port and the Zululand sugar belt. Delivery within 1 to 2 business days.
Newcastle & the Battlefields
Around 4 hours via Pietermaritzburg and Ladysmith. Newcastle, Dundee and Vryheid — engineering, mining and farming customers. Delivery within 1 to 2 business days.
Ladysmith & Estcourt
Around 4 hours west on the N3 — food processing, dairy and the agricultural belt around Estcourt and Mooi River. We deliver into the western side of the province on the same lead times as the rest of KZN.
South Coast — Margate & Port Shepstone
Around 2 hours 30 minutes via Durban. Holiday cold storage during peak season, butcheries, retail food and event catering. We service the corridor from Amanzimtoti through to Port Edward.
Midlands & Drakensberg
Howick, Nottingham Road, Underberg, Bergville and the foothills. Dairy, trout, hospitality and event hire. We work around uneven ground, gravel access roads and remote power setups.
Zululand — Eshowe, Mtubatuba, Pongola
Sugar, citrus, macadamia, game lodges and rural retail. We have placed reefer units across Zululand on rolling monthly agreements and short-notice harvest hire.
KZN Industries
What our KZN customers use reefers for
A cross-section of the operations we currently supply across the province.
Sugar belt — Zululand & the North Coast
KZN produces the bulk of South Africa's sugar. The cane season runs hot. We rent reefers and dry containers to growers, hauliers and contractors around Tongaat, Eston, Felixton and Pongola for chilled storage, on-site offices and tool stores during crushing season.
Citrus, macadamia & subtropical exports
The KZN North Coast and Pongola corridor grow citrus, mac, avo and litchi. PPECB-monitored cold chain matters from the orchard onwards. Our reefers are designed to hold the typical export set-points; pull-down behaviour and protocol compliance remain the user's responsibility.
Pharma cold chain — hospitals & labs
Our reefer units are designed to meet SAHPRA Good Distribution Practice requirements when used correctly. Customers in this space include Netcare KZN sites and Lancet Labs. We supply overflow cold storage during cold-room rebuilds, vaccine drives and clinic expansions.
Retail food distribution — Durban & PMB
Durban harbour drives KZN food logistics. We supply additional cold storage to retailers and wholesalers around the city — including Woolworths, Spar and Tiger Brands sites — whether it is overflow capacity at a depot or a temporary unit during a cold-room rebuild.
Butchery & meat — designed to meet R638
Independent butcheries from Hillcrest to Ladysmith use reefer units as overflow chillers, freezer rooms and conversion shells. Our butchery conversions are designed to meet the food handling requirements of R638. Roots Butchery and Bluff Meat Supply both feature in our customer list.
Event catering — Durban summer season
Vodacom Durban July, Splashy Fen, Comrades, year-end functions, summer-holiday hospitality — the KZN events calendar runs hard. We supply reefers on short notice to catering operations, festival sites and resorts, and collect once the event wraps.
Mining & engineering — Newcastle & Dundee
Northern KZN holds active coal, anthracite and engineering operations. We rent reefer and dry containers to site teams for canteen cold storage, secure tool stores and on-site offices — on rolling monthly arrangements that match the project lifecycle.
Dairy & the Midlands
The KZN Midlands belt — Howick, Nottingham Road, Mooi River — runs dairy, cheese, trout and small-scale charcuterie. We supply chilled and frozen storage on-farm, levelled with concrete blocks where the ground is uneven, and serviced on site by our own technicians.
Trusted by 800+ clients across South Africa
Service Capability
What you actually get when you rent from AquaCat in KZN
Not a brochure list. The actual operational shape of a typical hire.
1 to 2 day delivery
Standard delivery anywhere in KZN is within 1 to 2 business days of order confirmation. Same-day is possible for Ballito and immediate surrounds when stock is available.
200+ unit fleet
In excess of 200 units in the fleet, in 6m and 12m sizes and multiples thereof. Stock to fulfil orders during peak season, when other operators are out.
KZN-based technicians
Certified Reefer technicians on all makes — based here, not in Johannesburg. We respond to faults on site rather than passing the call to a national helpdesk.
Genset-ready
Every unit can run on a diesel generator instead of the municipal grid. Useful in remote KZN, useful in load-shedding, useful when an Eskom feeder is down for the third time this month.
Designed to meet R638
Butchery, food handling and processing conversions built to meet the requirements of R638 when used as intended.
Designed to meet SAHPRA GDP
Pharma cold-chain hire designed to meet SAHPRA Good Distribution Practice requirements when monitored and operated correctly.
Short or long term
Event hire of a few days, season-long agricultural hire, or open-ended monthly contracts. We deal with the term that fits the work.
FAQ
KZN questions answered
Common questions from customers across the province.
How long does delivery take to other parts of KZN?
Do you supply containers for the sugar industry?
Are your reefer containers suitable for citrus and macadamia exports?
Do you service the pharmaceutical cold chain in KZN?
Can you deliver to remote farms and rural sites in KZN?
What sizes are available and what temperature range do you cover?
Do you have technicians based in KZN if a unit needs servicing?
Get a Quote — KZN
Tell us where you are and what you need. We will come back with availability and a quote — usually within a few hours.