CAN YOU MIX PALLET RACKING BRANDS?
Published 19 July 2026 · 8 min read
It's one of the most-asked questions in used pallet racking: can I mix Dexion beams with Link 51 uprights? Can I bolt Redirack components onto an Apex system I already own? The short answer is emphatic: never within a single bay, sometimes across separate aisles, and always with written verification. This guide sets out exactly where the line falls, why it exists, and what happens if you cross it.
THE ONE RULE THAT MATTERS
Every bay of pallet racking is a system. The upright profile, the beam profile, the beam-to-upright connector, the safety pin, the base plate and the bracing are engineered as a matched set. Manufacturers publish their load capacity based on that matched set — tested to European standard EN 15512 for the components, EN 15629 for the specification, and EN 15635 for the operation. Break the match, and the certification is void.
The overwhelming reason not to mix brands within a bay is the connector. Every UK manufacturer has developed a proprietary connector geometry: Dexion's Speedlock, Link 51's 40 series, Redirack's SD400, Apex's HL profile, Mecalux's M-System, and so on. From a distance they look similar. Under a stress test they behave entirely differently — different clip angles, different pin holes, different tolerances. A "fit" in visual terms is not a fit in engineering terms.
WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN'T MIX
SAFE TO DO
- • Separate aisles of different brands in one warehouse (each aisle single-brand with its own load notice)
- • Adding matching brand components to an existing bay, same profile generation
- • Combining accessories (pallet supports, mesh decks, timber decks) sourced separately, sized to spec
- • Adding pallet gates, column protectors or barrier systems from any manufacturer
- • Mixing new and used racking of the same brand and profile
NEVER DO
- • Beams of one brand on uprights of another
- • Different manufacturers within the same bay
- • Different profile generations of the same brand in one run
- • Substituting a "similar-looking" beam because the correct part is out of stock
- • Reusing safety pins from a different manufacturer's system
WHY THIS IS ENFORCED IN THE UK
SEMA (Storage Equipment Manufacturers Association) and SEIRS (Storage Equipment Inspectors Registration Scheme) both publish guidance that requires like-for-like components within a run. HSE guidance HSG76 explicitly refers to manufacturer specification for beam, connector and pin. In an accident investigation, an insurer or HSE inspector will lift a bay, examine the connector, cross-reference it against the load notice, and — if they find brand mixing — attribute the failure to the operator, not the seller. That means your business insurance may refuse to pay out.
SO WHY DOES IT KEEP HAPPENING?
Three reasons. First, buyers under time pressure accept "close enough" from sellers who can't source the correct part. Second, unregulated resellers deliberately mix brand stock because it's cheaper to ship what they have on hand. Third, well-meaning warehouse teams cannibalise decommissioned racking without realising that a Dexion beam pushed into a Link 51 upright is a completely different bay from the one that was originally certified. The fix, in all three cases, is the same: buy from a specialist who confirms brand and profile in writing per component.
HOW TO IDENTIFY YOUR BRAND
If you already own racking and don't know the brand, our full identification walk-through is in the pallet racking brand identification guide. In short: look for stamped or embossed logos on the upright web (usually within 300 mm of a footplate), photograph the beam-to-upright connector clip in profile, and measure the upright section. Send these three data points to any specialist and they will tell you brand, profile, generation and rated capacity within minutes.
WHAT IF YOU'VE INHERITED A MIXED SITE?
Very common — particularly after acquisitions or long-tenanted warehouses. The remedy is straightforward: isolate mixed runs from live loading, book a SEIRS-registered inspection, and either swap out the non-matching component for the correct part or replace the run entirely. Nine times out of ten it's a component swap, not a rebuild. UM Storage Systems performs this rectification work across the UK — most jobs are turned around within one working week from initial inspection.
MIXED RACKING? WE'LL SORT IT.
Free site survey, SEIRS-registered inspection, and single-brand rectification — nationwide.