Salt spray, high humidity, and "container rain" are the silent killers of traditional painted warehousing equipment. In marine logistics and cross-ocean supply chains, rust isn't just an aesthetic issue—it's a contamination risk for your bagged cargoes and a structural failure waiting to happen. Stop replacing corroded pallets every two years. Switch to a solution engineered for the open sea.
For logistics managers handling international shipments of food ingredients, chemical powders, or automotive components, the journey across the ocean is the most hazardous phase for your equipment. Standard powder-coated racks often fail before they even reach the destination port. The combination of saline air and the condensation cycle inside shipping containers (sweating) causes rapid oxidation.
When rust flakes form, they jeopardize more than just the steel. In industries like flour milling or feed production, a single flake of rust falling from an overhead rack into a demountable post pallet carrying unsealed bulk bags can trigger a quality control rejection at the receiving dock.
Figure 1: Keeping sensitive cargo elevated and protected from ground moisture and contaminants.
Unlike surface painting, Hot-Dip Galvanization involves submerging the entire steel structure into molten zinc at temperatures exceeding 450°C. This creates a metallurgical bond—an alloy layer that is harder than the base steel itself.
For marine logistics, this offers two critical advantages:
The cost of sea freight is calculated by volume as much as weight. Shipping "dead air" is the quickest way to erode margins. Traditional wooden pallets cannot be stacked effectively if the cargo is irregular or soft (like super sacks of feed or flour), as the bottom layer will be crushed.
Our galvanised stillages utilize a structural steel post system that takes the load off your goods. By transferring the weight through the vertical posts rather than the cargo itself, you can stack 3 to 4 units high inside a standard 40ft High Cube container.
Figure 2: Transforming floor space into cubic storage volume without crushing the goods below.
This capability allows you to utilize the full height of the maritime container, often increasing shipping capacity by 40-50% compared to floor-loaded pallets.
In a closed-loop supply chain (e.g., shipping raw materials from the Philippines to processing plants in Asia), the return leg is often the financial bottleneck. If you use rigid crates, you are paying to ship empty air back to the source.
Our systems feature a demountable design. Once the cargo is offloaded at the destination port, the vertical posts are removed, and the bases are nested. This significantly reduces the volume for the return trip. You can typically fit the empty components of 5-6 racks into the space of a single assembled unit.
Figure 3: Empty bases nested together to minimize return freight costs.
For clients dealing with flour, animal feed, or agricultural produce, hygiene is paramount. Wooden pallets are porous, absorb moisture, and harbor bacteria—often leading to quarantine issues at customs. Rust proof storage systems made from galvanized steel are impervious to liquids and can be steam-cleaned or pressure-washed without risk of corrosion. This ensures compliance with HACCP and GMP standards throughout the logistics chain.
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Q1: How long does the hot-dip galvanized coating last in a marine environment? In severe marine environments (C5-M category), a standard 60-80 micron zinc coating typically provides 15-20 years of protection against structural rust, far outlasting painted or powder-coated alternatives. |
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Q2: Can these stillages be stacked securely inside a moving ship? Yes. Our marine-grade stillages are designed with deep "cup feet" or conical targets that lock the upper rack onto the post of the lower rack. This prevents lateral sliding caused by the rolling and pitching of the vessel. |
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Q3: Are these suitable for cold storage transport? Absolutely. Galvanized steel performs exceptionally well in sub-zero temperatures. Unlike plastic which can become brittle and crack in deep freeze, steel maintains its ductility and impact resistance. |
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Q4: How does the weight of steel affect my shipping costs? While steel is heavier than wood, the ability to stack vertically (increasing cubic utilization) usually offsets the tare weight cost. Furthermore, the nesting capability on return trips drastically cuts the total logistics cost per trip. |
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Q5: Can I wash these racks with industrial chemicals? Yes. Galvanized surfaces are highly resistant to alkaline cleaning agents often used in the food and agriculture industries to sanitize equipment between batches. |
