Do you need some new industrial shelving for your warehouse? If you do, you may think it’s a simple matter of buying a shelving unit and installing it. However, not all industrial shelving is the same. There are a few different options here, each of which has its advantages and disadvantages. Finding the right industrial shelving for your warehouse is very important, especially if you’re going to be storing really heavy items on these shelves.
Rivet Shelving
The first type of industrial warehouse shelving is called rivet shelving. This shelving is used when you need something that’s fairly strong and versatile, but also very quick to put together. These shelving units have a frame that’s made from solid steel. The shelves are created from a number of different materials. Often, they’re made from steel, plywood, or even wire decking. There’s very little specialized hardware needed, nor do you have to have tools that go beyond a basic hammer or screwdriver.
Rivet shelving comes in a number of different sizes, and it’s also fairly affordable. It’s good if you need shelving that can hold a good amount of stuff without a lot of work. However, it does have a few downsides. It’s somewhat ugly, for one thing, but most people don’t particularly care what their shelving looks like. Depending on what material is used for the shelving, it can also be fairly heavy. That’s an issue if you’re having it shipped. Finally, it’s not very customizable. You can’t really add doors or change the height of the shelves.
Steel Shelving
Steel shelving is exactly what it sounds like: a shelf made entirely from steel. In most cases, it looks like a metal bookshelf. Steel shelves may have backs on them, but they can also be open and accessible from both sides. You may also use sway braces to keep the shelf upright and steady.
Steel shelves have a few advantages. The shelves can be adjusted, so you can have a unit with few shelves for storing tall items and one with many shelves for storing smaller inventory. You can install bins, dividers, and modular drawer systems, too, making this type of shelving very flexible and customizable. Because of this, steel shelving is often used outside of the warehouse—you may find it in offices, for example, or hospitals. It can even come in a variety of colors so it doesn’t look too industrial. It is, however, more expensive and difficult to put together than other options.
Wire Shelving
Finally, wire shelving is similar to rivet shelving in that it’s made of a frame and wire shelves. This type of shelf is very light, and it often places on wheels so it can be moved around as needed. However, that does mean that wire shelving can’t hold a lot of weight, nor can it hold really small items because they will simply fall through the gaps in the wire grid. There aren’t many different customization options, either, but the fact that the shelves can be accessed from all four sides is useful.
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