Equipment Enclosures,Locked, Vented, Running in January.
Generators, pumps, compressors and control panels need a housing that keeps thieves out, moves air through and holds heat at −30°C. We build them from steel containers in Kamloops and deliver to mines, mills, utilities and communities across BC.
Protect the gear that keeps the site running
A generator or pump on a remote site has three enemies: theft, weather and cold. A shipping container answers all three. Corrugated steel walls and a lockable personnel door keep the copper and the control gear where you left them. Add insulation and heat, and the equipment inside starts on a January morning in the Peace or the Bulkley Valley.
What turns a container into an equipment enclosure is what happens to air, cable and pipe. Every engine, compressor and pump needs a set volume of intake and exhaust air; every panel needs a clean, sealed path for conduit and line. We cut and sleeve those openings at our Kamloops yard, sized to the spec sheet you send, so the unit arrives ready for your electrician and millwright instead of needing a torch on site.
Start with the 20' Equipment Enclosure package and add the ventilation, insulation and electrical your equipment calls for. Each one is a line on one itemized quote, in CAD, before any steel gets cut.
- 36" steel personnel door with commercial lockset
- Louvred, turbine or forced ventilation sized to your equipment
- Sleeved cable, conduit, pipe and exhaust penetrations
- Insulation, heat and undercarriage foam for cold sites
Built around the equipment, not the other way round
Send the spec sheet. We build the openings, airflow, power and insulation to match it.
Secure access
A 36" steel personnel door with a commercial lockset is the package standard. Add a roll-up door when a unit has to roll in on a pallet jack or swap out later — quoted per design.
Ventilation that matches the spec
Louvred intake and exhaust vents for passive airflow, roof turbines to pull heat off the ceiling, or thermostat-controlled forced ventilation for engines and compressors. Sized from the manufacturer's airflow numbers and quoted per design.
Cable, conduit and pipe penetrations
Sleeved and sealed openings for power feeds, control cable, suction and discharge lines and engine exhaust — cut where the equipment layout needs them, not where the corrugation happens to fall.
Noise control
Rock wool insulation is fire-resistant and sound-dampening — the natural lining for a generator or compressor housing. Baffled openings and further sound attenuation are quoted per design when the enclosure sits near a camp, an office or a neighbour.
Winter operation
Steel stud framing with rigid foam board or closed-cell spray foam holds heat around pumps and water-treatment skids; closed-cell foam under the floor stops frost coming up on heave-prone ground. HVAC pre-wire adds a dedicated circuit and wall penetration for a mini-split; heat is quoted per design.
Power and lighting
The basic electrical package roughs in a 100A panel, four LED lights, four 15A receptacles and an exterior weatherproof outlet, ready for your electrician's final hookup and inspection. Larger service, disconnects and plywood backboards for control panels are quoted per design.
Popular builds & starting prices
Real starting totals: an inspected container plus the modifications listed. Add or remove anything.
20' Equipment Enclosure
from $3,450 CAD
+ tax & delivery
A secure, ventilated steel housing for pumps, generators, compressors and controls.
- Inspected used 20' container
- 36" steel personnel door with lockset
Quoted per design: Louvred vents / turbines / forced ventilation · Cable & pipe penetrations · Sound attenuation
Prices in CAD, plus tax and delivery. Every build is quoted line by line before any steel gets cut.
Ventilation, penetrations, insulation, electrical and sound attenuation are quoted per design for enclosures because every generator, pump and panel has its own airflow, clearance and cable requirements.
Add or swap any modification
The same menu the yard quotes from — build up from the package above or start from a bare container.
Doors & windows
- Steel personnel door (36")
- $950each
- Sliding window
- $650each
Framing
- Steel stud framingOur standard
- $2,200per container
- Wood framing
- $1,800per container
Insulation
- Rigid foam boardOur standard
- $1,400per container
- Closed-cell spray foam
- $4,800per container
- Rock wool (mineral wool)
- $1,600per container
- Fiberglass battsOn request
- $900per container
- Undercarriage insulation
- $1,100per container
Electrical & HVAC
- Basic electrical package
- $4,000per container
- HVAC pre-wire
- $450each
Prices in CAD, plus tax and delivery. Every build is quoted line by line before any steel gets cut. Prices reviewed 2026-08-30. Full menu with details
Who puts equipment in a container
Anywhere the gear is expensive, the site is far and nobody is standing beside it at night.
Mines, mills and aggregate
Dewatering pumps, compressors, standby generators and motor control panels housed at the pit, the crusher or the mill yard — lockable, ventilated and movable when the working face moves.
Utilities and telecom
Backup generators, battery banks and switchgear at substations and tower sites in the Cariboo, the North and the Kootenays, where the nearest technician is hours away by gravel road.
Municipal and community water
Booster pumps, well pumps, chlorination and small water-treatment skids for municipalities, regional districts and First Nations communities — a heated steel building that arrives in one piece.
Oil, gas and remote camps
Wellsite generators, instrumentation and control panels in the Peace, plus the power and pump house behind a workforce camp. Ranch irrigation and well pumps get the same treatment.
How a build comes together
One point of contact, one itemized quote, one committed timeline.
Send the spec sheet
Make, model, dimensions, weight and the manufacturer's airflow and clearance numbers. A site photo and a note on available power help too.
Approve the layout and quote
We mark the door, vent and penetration positions on the container and price every line — container, modifications and delivery — in CAD.
Built at the Kamloops yard
Cutting, sleeving, framing, insulating and electrical rough-in are done in our own yard to the committed date in your quote.
Delivered and set
Tilt-deck delivery to a level pad or gravel base anywhere in BC. Your electrician and millwright finish the hookup; your equipment supplier commissions the unit.
Enclosures: common questions
How much does a container equipment enclosure cost?
The 20' Equipment Enclosure package starts from our published price for an inspected used 20' container with a steel personnel door. Ventilation, penetrations, insulation and electrical are added as line items, so a passive-vented pump house costs far less than an insulated, forced-air generator housing. Send the equipment spec and you'll get one itemized quote in CAD, plus tax and delivery. Lease-to-own and fleet pricing are available.
Can a generator run inside a shipping container?
Yes, with the right airflow. An engine needs combustion air, cooling air and an exhaust path, and those numbers come from the manufacturer's spec sheet. We size the louvred intake, exhaust opening and any forced ventilation to that sheet and cut the exhaust penetration where the unit needs it. Fuel supply, exhaust run and commissioning are your generator supplier's job on site.
Will pumps and water treatment freeze in winter?
Not in an insulated, heated enclosure. Steel stud framing with rigid foam or closed-cell spray foam, closed-cell foam under the floor and a heat source keep the interior above freezing through a Prince George January. Tell us the lowest temperature the site sees and whether heat will run on line power or the generator itself, and we'll spec the build to match.
Do I need a permit for an equipment enclosure?
Usually less than for an office, but it depends on your municipality or regional district and what goes inside. Electrical work generally needs a permit and a licensed electrician for the final connection and inspection; fuel storage and larger generators can bring their own rules. We don't certify enclosures for hazardous-location or dangerous-goods use — if your engineer specifies a classified area, we build to those drawings.
How long does it take, and how is it delivered?
A door and a pair of louvres on a used container is days of work. An insulated, wired, forced-air generator housing is a scheduled build, and your quote carries a committed completion date. Delivery is by tilt-deck truck, quoted by distance and site access, to a level pad or gravel base — end-of-road mine sites and forest service roads included.
Can I move the enclosure to another site later?
That is the point of building it in a container. Equipment is bolted to the floor or a skid inside, the unit lifts by its corner castings and travels on a tilt-deck like any other container. Whether the equipment stays installed for the move depends on its weight and mounting — tell us what's inside and we'll confirm before it rolls. Sell it later and it still holds value as a container.
More questions? See the full FAQ or call (778) 694-4050.
Equipment and generator enclosures across British Columbia
Valleyview Containers builds shipping container equipment enclosures at our Kamloops yard for mines, mills, utilities, telecom carriers, oil and gas operators, municipalities and First Nations communities across BC. A 20' or 40' container becomes a lockable, ventilated housing for a standby generator, a dewatering or booster pump, an air compressor, a small water-treatment skid or a bank of control panels. We cut the doors, vents and penetrations, frame and insulate the shell, rough in the electrical and deliver the finished unit by tilt-deck truck to the Thompson-Nicola, the Cariboo, the Northern Interior, the Peace Country and the Kootenays.
Most enclosures start from the 20' Equipment Enclosure package — an inspected used container with a steel personnel door — and grow from the same modification price list the yard quotes from: louvred vents, turbines and forced ventilation, rock wool or spray foam insulation, undercarriage foam for frost-heave sites, the basic electrical package and HVAC pre-wire. Need a bench and parts storage in the same footprint? See our container workshops. Housing a crew beside the generator? Our workforce camp housing units pair with an enclosure on one delivery. Irrigation and well pumps on a ranch belong on our farm and ranch containers page.
Family-owned in Kamloops, we deliver to end-of-road sites, forest service roads and communities most carriers won't quote, and we plan the approach and turnaround before dispatch. Matching enclosures for several substations, tower sites or pump stations get fleet pricing through bulk container sales, and lease-to-own spreads the cost of a single unit across monthly payments. Custom RAL paint, unit IDs and safety decals are available through container branding. Call (778) 694-4050 with the equipment spec sheet and the site location, and you'll have one itemized quote — container, every modification and delivery — before any steel gets cut.
See all custom container solutions, the full modification price list, our project gallery, or browse containers for sale.
More custom solutions
Workforce & Camp Housing
Spray-foamed, wired 40' crew units, lounges and camp offices — ordered in multiples, delivered in stages.
Learn more
Container Workshops & Tool Cribs
Insulated, lit and powered — a steel shop with benches, 240V and a roll-up door if you want one.
Learn moreFarm & Ranch Containers
Rodent-proof, frost-ready storage for feed, tack and chemicals — delivered to end-of-road ranch sites.
Learn more