Should I buy Structural Pallet Rack or Roll Formed Pallet Rack?

We are often asked, “What is the difference between Structural Pallet Rack and Roll Formed Pallet Rack?” or “Should I buy Structural or Roll Formed Pallet Rack?” As it seems is always the case, our answer is, “It depends.”

What I hope to accomplish in this article is to give you a brief description and a couple of items for consideration about Structural and Roll Formed Pallet Rack systems that might make your decision easier.

Structural Pallet Rack simply means that the rack components, Upright Frames and Beams, are made from structural shapes. Usually the shapes are structural channel. Roll Formed Pallet Rack is made from roll formed steel and, typically, the beam has a clip that slides and locks into a specially shaped hole in the upright frame so that it is “boltless.” You will note in the pictures below, the difference in material thickness of the Roll Formed vs Structural Beam

Generally, a warehouse or distribution center will consider using a structural rack system when they have high throughput and expect the rack to see frequent impact from forklifts.

Roll Formed rack is considered when forklift impact is expected to be infrequent or when low cost is a top priority for the project. Roll Formed systems tend to be less expensive than structural because the weight of steel is much lower. Roll Formed is also strongly considered in applications where opportunities for impact are virtually non-existent, such as AGV (Automated Guided Vehicle) or ASRS (Automated Storage and Retrieval System) applications.

I hope that this has provided some basic considerations for choosing Roll Formed or Structural Pallet Rack and if you would like more information, please let us know. https://engprod.wpengine.com/contactus.html