Renting warehouse space is a common practice for many businesses in this day and age. The cost to lease per square foot can be a much more affordable alternative for many business owners as opposed to appropriating the sizeable amount of funds to build a new facility. It is not out of the realm of possibility to find a facility available to lease that already has an existing pallet rack system constructed inside. If that happens, it could very well prompt one to think they just stumbled upon a deal that is too good to be true. The biggest question that remains: Is it? It could be, but you would have to do some homework to truly find out. While it might seem like a tremendous deal on the surface, delving deeper into how well stable the systems is and whether or not it has the storage capabilities to meet the needs of your business will allow you understand whether or not the facility is truly a solid choice to set up shop.

Make Sure the System is Structurally Sound

Some degree of skepticism should be expressed with just about any used product, but especially when it comes to used pallet racking. After all, this is the storage system you are trusting to securely store your business’s goods. If you are considering renting a facility that has a pallet racking system in place, you must ensure that the industrial shelving is structurally stable. You can certainly conduct your own inspection of the equipment, looking for such things as physical damage like dents, cracks, and bent pieces, as well as rust and corrosion. However, the best course of action is to hire a trained pallet racking expert to conduct a thorough examination of the equipment so that you can truly get an accurate gauge on the system’s strength and the security it can provide for your goods. If you’re goal ultimately is to land a package deal on the facility and equipment, which would inevitably save you some money, the last thing you’ll want to have to do is learn that the storage system can’t be used and you have to come up with the funds for a replacement.

Pallet Racking Load Capacity Guidelines, Access, Density Are Keys

Just because a pallet racking system may be in place doesn’t mean it can meet your storage needs. For instance, if the previous tenant was storing plastic toys and you deal in heavy machinery parts, the system may not be designed to support your loads. You will definitely need to look into the load capacity guidelines of the existing storage system to know whether or not it could be utilized.

On a similar note, you will need to check the accessibility the system provides to each palletized load, as well as its storage density. If you need access to every pallet but the pallet racking in place is a gravity flow system, then it might not be suitable. And, if you need a system that provides dense storage capabilities but rows of single-deep pallet rack are in place, it might not work, either.

Growth and Expansion Possibilities

The goal of every business is to grow, and that’s something you must keep in mind. While the system in place may meet your goals now, make sure to think about how and if the facility can serve you in the future if all of your business goals are met. If the pallet racking system can be expanded, either upward or outward, or even reconfigured to free up some additional storage space, then that keeps the door open as to whether this facility might work. If not, you may want to consider alternative facilities.

Charlie O\’Brien is a professional writer specializing in the material handling industry. His writing focuses on new and used pallet rack, cantilever rack, and other industrial shelving, and his work has been featured on multiple material handling industry websites.

Charlie O\’Brien is a professional writer specializing in the material handling industry. His writing focuses on new and used pallet rack, cantilever rack, and other industrial shelving, and his work has been featured on multiple material handling industry websites. http://www.aceshelf.com/

Author Bio: Charlie O\’Brien is a professional writer specializing in the material handling industry. His writing focuses on new and used pallet rack, cantilever rack, and other industrial shelving, and his work has been featured on multiple material handling industry websites.

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