What’s the biggest problem that most businesses face?

Well, you might think cash flow or securing finance, but the answer is a little more prosaic: it’s actually finding sufficient space to store goods and products, and finding it at an affordable price. The problem many smaller businesses face is often that there’s either too much stock, or too little space to store it in. So what can you do about it? Well, relocation probably isn’t an option as retail, commercial and industrial space is now prohibitively expensive; so businesses have to use their existing storage space cleverly and innovatively. In terms of pure efficiency the most effective way of storing and retrieving stock is by using a pallet racking system.

Pallet racking is, without question, the most efficient and cost-effective way of storing large volumes of stock.

It maximises every inch of available space, and provides the ultimate, tailored storage solution. But what can you do when space is really limited? How can you still gain all the benefits and advantages of a standard pallet racking system but in a very confined space? The answer is to install a narrow-aisle pallet racking system.

A narrow-aisle pallet racking system is ideal where floor space is limited, but a business still requires a high degree of flexibility and access to stock at all times.

A narrow-aisle pallet racking system uses the same sort of layout as a standard pallet racking system, but with narrower aisles between each pallet, as the name suggests. This doesn’t mean, however, that a narrow-aisle pallet racking system is any less effective: it offers all the same advantages of a standard pallet racking system, just within a smaller footprint:

• Full access to each individual pallet.

• Prime steel construction with bolted horizontal and diagonal bracing.

• It can be used in high volume, tailor-made applications.

• It can be purchased in individual modules for smaller installations.

• Full range of accessories are available.

Narrow-aisle racking is space-efficient in two ways:

• It requires less floor space for the aisles; freeing up more space for storage.

• Pallets can be stacked to a greater height than with standard racking systems, which thereby further increases the available storage capacity.

However, the one disadvantage of narrow aisle pallet racking is that it requires the use of specialist fork lift equipment. It’s important to understand that this will increase costs, but some of this extra expense can be offset by the much improved space utilisation. Indeed, installing a narrow-aisle racking system, complete with special fork lifts, is a much cheaper proposition that moving to bigger premises or expanding existing warehouse space.