INDUSTRIAL STORAGE SOLUTIONS UK

Matching the System to the Stock Profile

If you hold one or two pallets per SKU across hundreds of lines, adjustable pallet racking with a 2,700–3,200 mm reach truck aisle is almost always correct, and anything denser will cost you picking time. Hold five or more pallets per SKU and drive-in or push-back becomes worth the capital because lanes stay full. Hold long loads and cantilever is the only sensible system. That single question — depth per SKU — settles most of the debate before anyone talks about price.

Height is the second lever and the most under-used in British warehousing. Plenty of Midlands units have 8–10 m to the haunch with racking stopping at 5 m because that is what the original reach truck managed. Adding a beam level, or moving to narrow aisle, is frequently cheaper than the annual rent on the extra square footage you would otherwise take.

Third comes the fleet. Racking and trucks are one system: aisle widths, mast lift heights, free-lift under a low door header and turning circles all interact. We survey with your trucks in mind and design so you are not forced into new capital equipment unless the numbers genuinely justify it.

• Adjustable pallet racking — 100% selectivity, standard 2,700 mm aisles
• Drive-in and push-back — up to 85% floor utilisation for bulk SKUs
• Narrow aisle — 1,600–1,900 mm aisles, +40–50% positions
• Cantilever — long loads, arms rated 500–1,500 kg
• Longspan shelving — hand-loaded cartons, 200–500 kg per level
• Mezzanine floors — typically 350–500 kg/m² imposed load

New, Used and Refurbished: What We Recommend and When

We supply both, and the honest guidance is this: buy used where the profile is a mainstream brand with plenty of matching stock in circulation — Dexion, Link 51, Redirack, Apex, Mecalux, Stow, PSS. Buy new where you need a long-term guarantee, an unusual frame depth, or where the site will be inspected under a customer audit that expects full traceability.

Never mix beam and frame connectors across brands. Connector geometry is not interchangeable, and a beam that appears to seat may be carrying on a fraction of its designed engagement. It is the single most dangerous shortcut in the used racking market, and it is a large part of why we grade and keep brands separated in stock.

Used racking should arrive with beams straight, connector lugs intact, no weld cracks at the connector, and uprights free of dents deeper than the SEMA damage limits. Anything failing that is scrap in our yard, not stock.

Compliance: The Paperwork an Auditor Will Ask For

Every installation we complete leaves site with the same pack: a load notice per run showing bay and beam-level capacity, a handover certificate confirming installation to SEMA guidance and the manufacturer's design, RAMS for the works, and a layout drawing showing runs, aisle widths and clearances. If your current racking has none of these, an insurer or major customer audit will raise it.

Ongoing, HSG76 expects a nominated Person Responsible for Racking Safety, weekly recorded visual inspections, and an annual expert inspection by a SEMA-approved inspector who grades damage green, amber or red. Red-risk components must be offloaded immediately. We provide the inspections, the training for your PRRS, and the repairs — with SEMA-compliant repair components rather than welded plates, which invalidate the original design.

Lead Times, Stock and Working Around Live Operations

New racking from a UK manufacturer generally runs two to six weeks depending on profile, finish and volume, and longer for galvanised or non-standard frame depths. Graded used stock in mainstream brands can often be picked, loaded and installed inside a week from our Midlands yard, which is why used is the default answer when a customer has taken a building and needs it storing before a peak season.

Very few of our customers can stop trading to have steel installed. We phase work run by run, install overnight and at weekends, and sequence so that goods-in and despatch never lose access at the same time. Every phase has its own barriered zone, its own RAMS and a defined handback point so your team knows exactly which aisles are live each morning.

If the building is occupied and racked already, we can also work as a relocation: dismantle a run, re-position it, re-load it, and move to the next. It is slower per bay than a clear-floor installation, but it avoids the cost of external storage and a shutdown.