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Buying guides
a low-angle, close-up shot of a large warehouse storage system. The racking is protected by a wire mesh safety barrier, creating a grid-like pattern over the stored items. The supports are red, contrasting with the gray/white wire mesh. The overall impression is one of a well-organized, but very high, storage facility. The roof structure of the warehouse is also partially visible in the background.

Guide to shelving and racking

Choosing the right shelving and racking system is essential for efficient storage in any industrial, commercial or warehouse environment. Whether you need robust pallet rack systems for finished goods or specialised shelving types for archiving and small parts storage, the right setup will maximise space, improve accessibility and ensure safety. In this shelving and racking guide, we explore the most common systems and their typical applications to help you make an informed decision for your business.

What different types of shelving and storage systems are available?

Cantilever racking

black metal cantilever shelving unit, is a cantilever racking specifically designed for storing long heavy materials. The shelving unit is free-standing, with three shelves, and features supports to hold the load securely.
Cantilever racking is extremely heavy duty racking designed for safely storing long, heavy materials such as piping, steel bars, sheet materials or timber. Suitable for loads of mixed size and weight. Without front uprights to get in the way, items can be stored on the arms horizontally, making them easier to access and handle, either manually or with a forklift. Additional arms, uprights and braces can be added to extend the system.

Heavy duty shelving

Heavy duty shelving offers a higher load capacity per shelf than standard stores shelving. This type of shelving is suitable for warehouse storage but is supplied complete with shelves for storing boxes or other items, unlike pallet racking, which must be used with palletised goods. This range includes widespan and longspan shelving options.

Pallet racking

Pallet rack systems are constructed from end frames and beams and are supplied without shelves, with the pallets themselves resting directly on the beams. There are many different types of pallet racking available, but all are designed to store palletised goods in horizontal rows across multiple levels. To use pallet racking effectively, you'll need access to a forklift, or a stacker in smaller warehouses, and a clear understanding of your load sizes, handling equipment and aisle width requirements.
Three-tiered pallet racking system. Heavy-duty, industrial-style racking system with red support beams and galvanized steel uprights. The industrial shelving stores pallets directly on the shelves.

Small parts shelving

Designed for workshops, production lines and service departments, small parts shelving is supplied complete with parts bins or boxes to store and organise components, fixings and other small parts providing quick and easy access whenever necessary. Many options are designed with “stop lugs” so that the boxes cannot be pulled off the shelves, preventing both the loss of parts and the nuisance caused when a box gets dropped!


Warehouse shelving

Storage shelving is designed for use in stockrooms, workshops, retail environments and even garages. This type of shelving is extremely versatile and is suitable for a wide range of uses. Different finishes are suitable for different environments: powder-coated (or lacquered) is suitable for dry indoor environments only, galvanised is rust proof and suitable for damp areas, stainless steel can be washed down and is suitable for use in food environments while chrome gives a smart but relatively inexpensive finish on lighter-duty shelving and is ideal for display purposes.


Tyre racking

Tyre racks provide convenient storage for tyres of various types and sizes, making it ideal for garages, tyre centres, logistics depots and fleet maintenance facilities.


Vertical storage

Vertical storage racks provide a simple, space-saving storage solution to store both sheet goods and long materials like pipework, profiles or timber vertically. This racking type helps reduce floor clutter while maintaining easy access to individual items - a common requirement in joinery workshops, builders’ merchants and industrial warehouses.

Questions to ask yourself when choosing a shelving system

Make sure you have measured the height, width and depth available. If you are storing pallets, check that the pallet racking you have selected fits the pallet size you are using. Most of AJ’s pallet racking is 1100 mm deep and designed for standard 1000 x 1200 mm EUR pallets.
One of the most important factors to consider is how much weight each shelf level will need to hold. Both shelves and beams are designed for Uniformly Distributed Loads (UDL); this means that the shelf can support the specified weight capacity only if the load is evenly spread across the length of the shelf level. A single item of the full weight capacity placed in the centre of the shelf may cause the shelf to collapse. We recommend that you choose a slightly higher capacity than you need to ensure that the weight is fully supported.
Pallet racking is supplied with beams but no shelf support in between and is suitable only for storing pallets, which act as the shelves to bridge the gap between the beams. If you need to store boxes or other non-palletised goods then you will need shelving with a full shelf level; for intensive warehouse use we recommend heavy duty shelving with a suitably high load capacity.
Take into account whether or not the shelving needs to be positioned against a wall and whether cross-bracing is required to keep the unit stable (which will prevent access from one side). Pallet racking and heavier duty shelving can generally (but not always) be accessed from either side.
You should consider what kind of environment your shelving is going to be used in as it may affect the type of finish you should choose. If your shelving system is for a dry indoor environment then a simple powder-coated (or lacquered) finish is suitable. A galvanised finish is rust proof and suitable for damp areas while stainless steel can be washed down and is ideal for use in sterile environments and food storage and preparation areas. Chrome will give a smart but relatively inexpensive finish on lighter-duty shelving (compared to stainless steel for example) and is ideal for display purposes.
Most shelving systems are designed so that they can be easily extended in future. As long as the shelving you buy is sold as basic and add-on units then you will be able to add to it whenever you need to!

More questions?

Click here to see our Guide to building your racking.

If you have any more questions or need a hand with space planning, our friendly customer service team is ready to help! We can advise you on the most suitable racking or shelving, put together a floor plan and even arrange a site visit if required.

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