Second Hand Pallet Racking — Graded, Brand-Matched, Installed
Second hand pallet racking is only a bargain if the steel is sound and the components actually belong together. UM Storage Systems has been buying, grading and re-installing warehouse racking since 1964. Every bay we sell is matched by brand and profile, checked against SEMA criteria and handed over with a load notice — so your run is as compliant as new steel at 40–60% of the cost.
What you are actually buying
A bay of second hand adjustable pallet racking is four things: two upright frames, a set of beam pairs, the connectors welded to those beams, and the floor fixings that hold the whole run down. The frames carry the vertical load to the slab; the beams carry the pallet weight as a uniformly distributed load (UDL) across their span. Get any one of the four wrong and the published capacity no longer applies.
Standard UK bays are 2,700mm wide for two 1,000 x 1,200mm pallets, or 3,300mm for three, on frames 900mm or 1,100mm deep. Typical second hand beam ratings we hold run from 1,000kg to 3,000kg UDL per pair, with frame capacities from around 4,000kg to 12,000kg per upright depending on section size and the unbraced distance between beam levels. Those two numbers — beam UDL and frame capacity — are what we confirm before anything is loaded onto a lorry.
The risk with second hand racking is never the age of the steel. Cold-rolled upright sections do not fatigue in normal warehouse use; they get hit by forklifts. That is why our grading process looks at deformation and connector condition rather than paintwork, and why we will not sell a component that has been straightened or field-welded.
How we grade second hand racking
Grade A
Ex-display or single-cycle stock. No deformation, connector lugs square, original powder coat intact. Used where racking is visible to visitors or in food and pharma environments.
Grade B
The volume grade. Light scuffing and paint transfer from forklift contact, but every upright straight within SEMA tolerance and every connector undamaged. Fitted at all levels including top beams.
Grade C
Serviceable steel with surface oxidation or heavier cosmetic marking. Sound section, correct capacity, used for ground and second levels or in yards and unheated units.
Rejected
Bent bracing, splayed or cracked base plates, torn teardrop lugs, field-welded repairs, or any upright out of plumb tolerance. Scrapped for recycling — never resold.
The seven-point inspection every component passes
- Upright plumb measured against SEMA tolerance of 1/350 of the height under load
- Base plate flatness and bolt hole condition on every frame
- Bracing welds inspected front and rear for cracking or previous repair
- Beam connector lugs checked for elongation, tearing or filing
- Beam camber checked at mid-span — permanent deflection over span/200 is rejected
- Section thickness and profile verified so the run stays brand-matched
- Corrosion assessed on the inside of the section, not just the visible face
Brand compatibility, in plain terms
Beam connectors are proprietary. A Dexion Speedlock beam will not seat safely in a Link 51 XL upright, and a Redirack bolted connector has no equivalent hole pattern in a Mecalux frame. Where a customer already runs a particular system, we match it: Dexion Speedlock and P90, Link 51 XL and 1000 series, Redirack, Apex, Stow S1/S2, Mecalux M3/M7, PSS, HiLo, Planned Storage and Esmena are all systems we hold or can source used.
If you are not sure what you have, photograph the beam end plate and the punched hole pattern on the upright and send it over. Identification is free and takes minutes — it is the single most common enquiry we handle and it prevents the most expensive mistake in used racking.
Installation, floor fixing and handover
Second hand steel is installed to exactly the same rules as new. Our SEIRS-registered fitters set frames to plumb within the SEMA tolerance of 1/350 of the loaded height, shim base plates where the slab falls away, and fix every frame to the floor with anchors sized to the calculated pull-out load. Row spacers tie back-to-back runs, and run-end and internal frame protection is fitted where the traffic pattern justifies it.
A typical 100-bay run takes two fitters two to three days once the floor is clear. We work evenings, weekends and shutdowns because most warehouses cannot stop picking. Handover includes the load notice for each run, a works completion certificate, and a walk-round with your Person Responsible for Racking Safety (PRRS) so weekly visual checks start on day one.
We also inspect what we install. An annual SEMA-standard rack inspection keeps you inside HSG76 and PUWER, and gives your insurer the written damage classification record they will ask for after any incident.
SECOND HAND PALLET RACKING FAQs
Tell us the bay count. We'll tell you the price.
Beam length, upright height, duty rating and postcode is all we need. Supply-only or fully installed, anywhere in the UK.