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Every time a truck hits a pothole, your profit margin shouldn't hold its breath. In the glass fabrication business, the "cost of goods" isn't just the float glass—it's the remakes caused by edge chipping and transit breakage. If you are still relying on single-use wooden crates or flimsy A-frames that rattle, you aren't just shipping glass; you are shipping liability. We engineer glass transport racks that treat every lite of Low-E and every IGU like the high-value asset it is. |
In a busy fabrication plant, the enemy of tempered glass isn't always a major impact; often, it's the rack itself. Traditional welded racks often use cheap rubber strips glued directly onto the steel. Under the crushing weight of 3,000 lbs of architectural glass, the sharp edges of the glass act like a knife. They slice through soft rubber, leading to "metal-on-glass" contact.
Once the glass touches the steel frame, even a micro-vibration during transport causes edge shelling or immediate shattering. This is why our L-Shape Glass Holding Racks feature a proprietary Steel-Core Rubber Profile.
Detail: The glass edge rests on our specialized rubber profile, preventing the "guillotine effect" that slices through standard padding.
We don't use glue. We use self-tapping screws that go through the internal steel insert of the rubber, fixing it mechanically to the Q235 steel frame. Whether you are shipping heavy IGU bundles or delicate Low-E coated sheets, the padding stays in place, ensuring the glass never touches the structural metal.
If you are a glass distributor or a window manufacturer delivering to job sites, your biggest logistics bleed is the return trip. Standard A-Frames are stable, but they are space hogs. Once the glass is offloaded at the construction site, you are forced to drive a truck full of empty metal racks back to the warehouse.
This is where the engineering of our transport racks changes your P&L statement. We utilize an L-Shape design with a computed geometric base offset.
Like shopping carts in a grocery store, our racks nest tightly when empty, recovering 70% of your truck space.
The Math of Efficiency:
This "Nesting" capability means you can clear a job site in one trip rather than five. For warehouse managers, it means reclaiming thousands of square feet of floor space when inventory is low.
Not all glass is created equal. A rack designed for standard residential windows will buckle under the load of Jumbo-size commercial architectural glass. We construct our racks using Q235 Carbon Structural Steel, specifically choosing rectangular tubes (100x50mm) for the base to handle the torque of forklift movements.
Jumbo size capacity: Our racks are engineered with a 4-ton safety factor to handle heavy architectural glazing without deformation.
Our racks are designed with a critical 3-5° tilt angle. This isn't a random number. It is the precise angle required to keep the glass sheets stable against the backrest during braking and cornering, while keeping the center of gravity centered over the fork pockets to prevent tipping.
From the cutting table to the tempering furnace, and finally to the delivery truck, your glass needs to move without being re-handled manually. Re-handling is where accidents happen.
Four-way forklift entry and overhead crane lifting lugs allow for flexible movement in tight factory aisles or muddy job sites.
Our glass transport rack system features:
Q1: Will the rubber pads leave marks on soft-coat Low-E glass?
No. We use a non-marking EPDM compound specifically formulated for the glass industry. It provides high friction to prevent sliding but contains no oils that would stain high-performance coatings.
Q2: Can I stack these racks when they are full of glass?
Generally, no. For safety reasons, L-racks loaded with glass should not be vertically stacked. However, our racks are designed to be placed back-to-back or against walls to save floor space. Empty racks can be stacked/nested up to 7-10 high.
Q3: What is the weight capacity of a standard L-rack?
Our standard 1600mm model is rated for 3,300 lbs (1,500 kg) SWL (Safe Working Load). Heavy-duty custom versions for stone or jumbo glass can be engineered to handle up to 8,800 lbs (4,000 kg).
Q4: My forklift drivers are aggressive. How do you prevent base damage?
We reinforce the fork pockets with 100x50mm rectangular steel tubes. Unlike open C-channels that can twist, these boxed tubes resist the tearing force if a driver enters at a bad angle.
Q5: Can you customize the rack dimensions for 12ft stock sheets?
Yes. While our standard "container-optimized" size is ideal for freight savings, we regularly fabricate custom dimensions for distributors handling 130" or larger stock sheets. We just need to adjust the base width to ensure stability.
