Pallet Racking Versus Cantilever Racking.

Posted on by Monarch Shelving

So as the name suggests Pallet racking is used to store pallets and cantilever racking is used to store items you can’t store in pallets.

Is it really that simple?

Well, the answer is yes. For those in the industry, this is obvious but for those who aren’t, deciding on the best choice can be confusing. Monarch shelving can advise you on the most suitable shelving to suit your business requirements. Depending on your companies needs you made need either system on both.

If you need to store long items e.g. pipes, tubes, lumber or guttering then cantilever shelving is what you need. Cantilever is also used to store furniture or anything ‘bulky’.

It is important that you remember that even though you may have empty pallet racking with no pallets stored on the shelves, that this racking is not designed to store items mentioned above. The weight might not be right and cantilever racking is specifically designed for accessibility to the longer and heavier items.

Cantilever racking.

These are made of I-beams welded to an I-beam base. Arms are then attached going up the cantilever rack, so the two I-beams are connected together with bracing. I-beams make up the backbone of the unit; then the bracing goes up between the uprights to stabilise the rack, it goes vertically and horizontally as well which gives it extra added stability. This type or racking allows for even weight distribution for long items. Some long items if not stored correctly can bend and twist which may result in weakening of the item at a particular point.

Pallet racking.

Pallet racking is constructed with two horizontal beams with an upright at the end. The normal/standard beam for a pallet rack is 8 feet—you can get them 12 feet, this is why they aren’t suitable for storing long items , hence why pallet racking cannot be used everywhere. The sheer weight of some long, cumbersome items would be too heavy for pallet racking systems. Pallet racks are flexible and you can customise your storage needs. Pallets can be stacked on top of one another so excellent for space utilisation.

The correct shelving systems not only make life easier for your management of goods stored, reducing your storage footprint, reducing project costs but also ensure maximises health and safety within your building.

So an over view of storage systems:
  • Keep storage costs down.
  • Get set up quickly as it’s quick to assemble.
  • Store a wide range of large and small items.
  • Change your storage as your needs change.
  • Increase your efficiency of manual stock handling.
  • Make the best use of your storage space.
  • Improve the security of your stored items.
  • Increase your picking efficiency.

Monarch shelving can provide you with all your shelving needs for further information please call and speak to one of our sale’s team on 0161 627 3444 or 0161 627 4440.