Stop treating your high-purity stainless steel tubes like scrap metal. In a high-volume Steel Service Center, digging through stacks of bar stock with a forklift isn't just inefficient—it’s a safety hazard that scrapes surfaces and destroys profit margins. Switch to a system designed for overhead cranes and 100% accessibility.
For operations managers at Steel Service Centers (SSCs) or specialized fabrication shops dealing with hygienic stainless steel components, the storage of long materials is often the biggest bottleneck. Whether you are stocking polished 20-foot stainless steel tubes for the pharmaceutical industry or heavy structural beams for construction, the traditional methods are failing you.
Most warehouses still rely on static cantilever racking or, worse, floor stacking. This creates a "First-In, Last-Out" (FILO) nightmare. To access a specific bundle of 316L grade tubing at the bottom of a stack, your operators must perform "secondary handling"—moving the top three bundles just to reach the one they need. This process takes 15 to 25 minutes per pick.
More critically, for high-value inventory like hygienic tubes used in dairy or semiconductor manufacturing, every touchpoint is a risk. Forklift forks scraping against the mirror finish of a tube can result in immediate rejection by your client. You aren't just storing metal; you are protecting the surface integrity that your customers pay a premium for.
Figure 1: High-density storage of mixed pipe inventory without the risk of stack collapse.
The solution lies in changing the retrieval method entirely. By implementing a Telescopic Cantilever Rack system, you eliminate the reliance on forklifts for retrieval. Unlike static racks that require wide aisles for forklift maneuvering, telescopic systems are designed to work seamlessly with your facility's overhead bridge cranes.
Here is the operational logic:
Figure 2: The crank-out mechanism allows a single operator to move thousands of pounds with minimal effort.
Leading metal processors are no longer viewing racking as passive storage; they are using it as an active part of the production line. By placing Roll Out Cantilever racks directly next to laser cutting machines or band saws, you reduce travel time.
Instead of driving a forklift across the facility, an operator can simply crank out a drawer, hoist the required bar stock with a jib crane, and load the machine in under 3 minutes. This keeps your high-cost machinery running and prevents production downtime caused by material hunting.
For facilities managing extreme loads—such as solid steel bars or large bundles of thick-wall pipe—manual operation may not be enough. Our motorized systems allow operators to extend rack levels carrying up to 11,000 lbs with the push of a button on a remote control.
This is particularly vital for safety. It removes the operator from the "crush zone" entirely. They can stand at a safe distance while the rack extends, ensuring they have a clear line of sight for the crane operation. It transforms a physically demanding two-person job into a safe, one-person task.
Figure 3: Motorized systems offer the ultimate in ergonomics and speed for high-cycle environments.
Our systems are engineered using structural steel profiles (I-beams) to withstand the rigorous demands of the metal service industry.
| Feature | Specification Range |
|---|---|
| Arm Length (Storage Depth) | Customizable up to 48 inches (Standard) or longer per engineering review |
| Load Capacity Per Arm | 1,000 lbs to 6,600 lbs (Heavy Duty configurations available) |
| Total Rack Height | Typically 10 ft to 16 ft, maximizing vertical cubic space |
| Material Compatibility | Steel Pipe, Square Tubing, Solid Bar Stock, Extrusions, Angles |
| Operation Mode | Manual Crank or Electric Motorized Drive |
Yes. The system is modular. To support 20-foot or 24-foot lengths effectively, we simply increase the number of structural columns (towers). For a 24-foot load, we typically recommend a 4-tower or 5-tower configuration to distribute the weight evenly and prevent material deflection or "bowing" between arms.
For high-purity materials, we offer optional UHMW (Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene) liners or rubber strips on the cantilever arms. This creates a non-marring surface that protects the finish of your tubes and profiles from direct contact with the steel racking structure.
Because these racks store extremely heavy loads in a condensed footprint, floor pressure is a factor. Generally, a standard 6-inch reinforced concrete slab (3,000 psi) is sufficient for most applications. However, we will calculate the specific point loads based on your inventory weight and verify if your current flooring is adequate or if load-distribution plates are required.
You can typically reduce your aisle width by 50-60%. Traditional cantilever racks require aisles of 12-15 feet to allow a forklift to turn with a long load. Since our telescopic cantilever rack utilizes overhead cranes for loading and unloading, the aisle only needs to be wide enough for the drawer extension and a walking operator (approx. 5-6 feet), freeing up massive amounts of square footage for production machinery.
While the electric racking is primarily a hardware solution operated via remote control for safety, it can be integrated into broader inventory tracking processes. Each drawer level can be labeled with barcodes or RFID tags. Since materials are not buried behind each other, cycle counting and inventory accuracy are significantly improved compared to floor stacking.
