11 Feb Industrial Strength Metal Shelf Rack System for Your Business
What is it?
Chances are that you are having a very hard time finding an industrial strength metal shelf rack system. It is because of the fact that the consumer market interferes with the commercial market. Most of the products you will see in the marketplace are for consumer versions of the shelving units. Those are not what you need because they do not have the load capacity that you need for commercial use. The only caveat is if you are very new in your business or do not need heavy-duty racks. However, if you did then you would not be here.
“It is called pallet rack because pallets are what most companies send their products on when they are doing their wholesale business. The racks were designed to hold these pallets which gave the racks the name pallet rack. You will not know this unless you have been involved with the material handling industry.”
The important thing to know is that search engines look at shelf and rack systems as two completely different entities. At least, that is or was the case at the time of this article’s creation. We, as humans, may not be looking at them as two different phrases or entities. Of course, this depends on who you are and what you do. There is also the fact that people who work in the industry of material handling, where industrial-strength metal shelf rack systems come from, for the most part, do not call their products metal shelf rack systems. They actually call this product pallet rack. It is a pallet rack. Pallets are what most companies send their products on when they are doing their wholesale business. The racks hold these pallets. The usage gave the racks the name pallet rack. You will not know this unless you have experience with the material handling industry. You will try to call it by what it looks like. That is an industrial-strength metal shelf rack system. It is hard to find results under that kind of name. There is a disconnect between what you, as a consumer, call it and what the businesses who sell or build the product call it. It is true that the search engines do learn that the terms mean the same thing. However, that can take a while for this to happen. Therefore, it may not help you in your situation right now.
Selective rack:
The next question becomes what type of pallet rack are you looking for in your business. This happens after you get the idea that you should be searching for a pallet rack. The truth is that there are many different types of pallet rack in the marketplace. In fact, several may work for your business and its products. Warehouse optimization is the key, however, most opt for the most common type of pallet rack. The most common type of pallet rack is the selective rack. A selective rack is similar to what you would find in your cupboards at home. You can place products, or in this case pallets, in any order that you want on the shelf. That fact alone is why selective rack is selective rack. It gives you the most selectivity out of any of the rack types that exist.
Different types of pallet racks:
What are the different types of pallet racks that are available? One of the first ones you should know about is a cantilever rack. Cantilever rack is specially made to handle long heavy objects. Examples of the kind of products or objects that this particular rack handles are pipes, lumber, and sometimes other strange items like couches. Basically, if it is long and heavy then a cantilever rack can handle it. Of course, this comes with caveats because you have to have enough arms to deal with the load. There’s a phenomenon called load-deflection that you must be aware of when you deal with cantilever rack. Load deflection refers to the amount of bend that the product or object obtains after placement on a system where arms hold it up. If you can picture a bodybuilder picking up a heavyweight and the ends of the bar sloping towards the ground then you can picture load deflection. You have to have enough arms to avoid this kind of problem with your product. Cantilever rack requires a lot of technical knowledge in order to get right. There is also a lot of permitting that has to go into this or any other rack. Therefore, if you are looking to get a cantilever rack then you should probably have professional help to get a rack that fits your needs.
Pushback rack:
A pushback rack is another type of rack. A pushback rack is almost the reverse of another style of rack. The other style is a pallet flow rack. If you have the need to put a lot of product or pallets into a smaller space than a pushback rack might be the right rack for your business. A rack such as this follows the last in – first out formula. We have all heard of first in – first out as a methodology to maintain product expirations. In fact, it is the reason that pallet flow racks exist. A business that needs to follow a first in – first out formula should have a pallet flow rack installed. However, if that is not the case than a pushback rack is probably the way to go. Products are loaded into the front of the rack and replenished by the product that is directly behind the newly placed product. If the product is removed then gravity moves the next in line forward.
Pallet flow rack:
We have already talked a little about a pallet flow rack but we should go into more depth about what they are and who they are good for right now. A pallet flow rack or gravity flow rack, as it is sometimes called, is great for a business that has to deal with product expirations. You always want the oldest to go out first so that it is not sitting on your shelf where it can go bad and become a waste of your money. A pallet flow rack loads from behind the rack. The product that sits in front will get picked first. The system that this follows is first in – first out or FIFO. The oldest products move to the front through gravity. It does this after a product leaves the shelf.
If you are looking for an industrial-strength metal shelf rack system then it is highly likely that you are looking for one of those rack systems above. The question is which one of these is most appropriate for your business. If you are a business that deals in food then it is most likely true that you should have a pallet flow rack or gravity flow rack. If you do not need to follow FIFO then a pushback rack might be what you need if you are looking for a high-density storage system. As a result, if you have long and heavy products then you may want to consider a cantilever rack. Finally, if you just want to have a shelving system that is like the shelves you have at home then get a selective rack.
“The truth is that wire mesh decking looks more like what you find in a shopping cart but more robust. The fact is that the most common type of wire mesh decking you will find on pallet racks can handle 2500 pounds of uniformly distributed weight.”
Decking:
The final thing to think about is what kind of decking you want for your pallet rack or your industrial-strength metal shelf rack system. The most common type of decking you will find in the marketplace is wire mesh decking. Wire mesh decking sounds like it would not be very strong because most of us have the idea that wire mesh looks like a chain-link fence but far less dirty. The truth is that wire mesh decking looks more like what you find in a shopping cart but more robust. The fact is that the most common type of wire mesh decking you will find on pallet racks can handle 2500 pounds of uniformly distributed weight. The product design holds pallet racks. Therefore, it can probably hold what you need it to hold. It is very good for holding boxes and pallet racks. If your product is smaller than an iPhone SE then you will want to put it in a plastic storage bin just so it will not fall through the grating. However, there is not a lot of product that can fall through the grating of the wire mesh. You could, however, choose to go with a more solid shelf like level for your pallets. However, this may not allow you to stack as high as you need or want. It is because sprinkler systems cannot get through the solid level very easily and that is a prerequisite for stacking products closer to your ceiling. A wire mesh deck does not have that problem because the water can pass through to lower levels.
Where to get help:
This all sound confusing? Give us a call and we will help you find the right pallet rack or metal shelf rack system that you need for your business. You can also click that link to order a pallet rack or selective rack for yourself right now.
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