Industrial storage racks are the cornerstone of any warehouse or distribution center system. With the right warehouse racks, pallet racks and shelving racks, you can ensure the safety of your products, facilitate storage and retrieval needs, increase efficiency, improve inventory tracking and lower your overall storage costs. Proper storage equipment also helps keep your employees safe when storing, retrieving or moving materials and merchandise.
When shopping for warehouse racks, keep the following in mind:
1. The size and weight of the items you'll be storing on your storage racks.
2. The length of time items will be stored on the warehouse racks.
3. The configuration of industrial storage racks and how they will fit within your space.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Invest in industrial storage racks
Warehouse settings are more harsh than retail or office environments and demand heavy-duty industrial storage equipment. Wire shelving and storage racks come in a vast array of sizes and strengths to accommodate the toughest warehouse needs.
I recommend: For heavy-duty industrial storage racks, you'll find a good supply at the
Gilmore-Kramer Company. For a variety of pallet rack solutions, including push-back, pallet flow and drive-in racking, check out
SpaceRak or
Mecalux.
Basic storage racks
Offices and retail stores also need shelving racks to store files, office supplies, merchandise and more. For basic office storage, look for light-duty, medium-duty or heavy-duty storage racks in standard sizes and configurations.
I recommend: If your storage needs are simple, consider basic wire shelving and storage racks from major supply companies, such as
Shelving Direct,
Global Equipment Company Inc. or
Uline.
Used storage racks
Warehouse racks, pallet racks, shelving racks - the cost of storage racks can start to add up, especially if you're configuring a large warehouse or distribution center. To keep costs to a minimum, opt for used storage racks when possible.
I recommend: Midwest Rack Mfg. and
Rack Express offer a great supply of different types of used storage racks, including tear drop pallet racks, deluxe shelving racks, T-bolt pallet racks and more.
SJF Material Handling Equipment also stocks used storage racks and pallet racks.
Custom storage racks
If you need to store items that are extremely heavy or that come in odd sizes, you may require custom industrial storage racks.
I recommend: Fab-Master manufactures custom structural steel storage racks that can accommodate the most demanding loads and can be configured to fit non-standard sizes.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- Dozens of types of pallet racks are commonly used in warehouses. Ask vendors to help you choose the best type for your needs.
- Drive-in storage racks provide high-density storage with more storage capacity per square foot than other storage options.
- Cantilever storage racks can be either single-sided or double-sided and can come with additional uprights, cross braces and arms.
- If you do a lot of picking from inventory, consider carton-flow storage racks. With these warehouse racks, you stock from the back and retrieve from the front.
The official source of Storage Racks is the Storage Racks page at Business.com
Featured Vendors
Storage Shelves at Factory Direct PricesCompare prices on a variety of storage shelves. Wire shelving, steel shelving and rivet shelving models available at factory direct prices.
www.cldhandlingsystems.com
Industrial RackingOffers industrial racking and storage solutions. Includes pallet rack and shelving for warehouses to keep a wide variety of articles.
us.mecalux.com
Storage RacksBuy direct from manufacturer for storage rack and pallet rack needs, whatever the size, capacity or design. Both new and used available.
www.mwrackmfg.com
Storage RacksLow prices on storage racks for pallets, drums & other hardware.
racks.e-rackonline.com
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