Case Study: Steel Pipe Distributor Cuts Floor Space Waste by 40% and Halves Picking Time with Cantilever Racking

The Challenge: A Warehouse That Couldn't Keep Up

The distributor's core business was supplying steel pipes, tubes, and profiles to contractors and fabricators across the region. Growth brought a familiar problem: 2,000+ long, heavy SKUs piled in floor stacks.

Every day looked the same:

Buried inventory. The pipe you needed was always at the bottom of a stack. Retrieval meant moving several layers with a forklift first.

Wasted space. Floor stacking used less than 35% of the available footprint — and almost none of the vertical space.

Safety risks. Pipes rolled, stacks leaned, and the site logged 1–2 storage-related incidents per quarter, including a near-miss with a falling bundle.

Slow stocktakes. Counting inventory meant physically unstacking piles — a full count took a week.

The owner's conclusion: "We didn't need more square footage. We needed a system that used the cube we already had."

The Solution: A Cantilever Rack System Designed Around Their Inventory

After sharing drawings of the building, forklift specs, and a complete SKU list (lengths, diameters, weights), our engineers proposed a custom heavy duty double-sided cantilever rack system:

Rack height 5 m — leveraging the full building height instead of a single ground layer

Arm length 1.2 m, 5 adjustable levels per column — sized to the longest 6 m pipes with comfortable clearance

Reinforced heavy duty arms — each arm rated for the heaviest tube profile in their inventory

Wide-aisle forklift layout — drive-in access from both sides; every SKU reachable without re-handling

Dunnage liners on arms — protecting pipe surfaces from scratches and reducing roll risk

Installation: modular bolt-together structure, completed in 8 working days with zero disruption to daily operations.

The Results: Measured 6 Months After Installation

The numbers behind the numbers:

Space: Double-sided racks plus full-height storage freed up roughly 40% of the previous storage footprint — room for two new product lines without expanding the building.

Speed: Because every pipe is now visible and front-accessible, the forklift drives in, lifts, and leaves. No more digging through stacks.

Safety: Counterweighted bases and anti-roll dunnage eliminated the two biggest accident sources — falling bundles and rolling pipes.

Payback: The system paid for itself in 18 months through reduced labor hours, fewer damaged goods, and zero incident-related downtime.

Customer Quote

"We should have done this years ago. The racks paid for themselves in reduced forklift time alone, and my team actually enjoys picking orders now. The design team visited the drawings with us line by line and the system fit our building perfectly — nothing had to be reworked on site."

— Warehouse Manager, steel pipe distributor

Why This Project Worked

Inventory-first design — the system was engineered from the actual SKU list (length × diameter × weight), not from a catalog.

Customization as standard — arm lengths, levels, and finish were all adapted to the customer's operation.

Fast, low-disruption installation — bolt-together modular structure, no on-site welding.

Ongoing support — layout adjustments and spare arms available as inventory changes.

Is Your Warehouse Ready for the Same Result?

If your operation stores pipes, lumber, profiles, or any long heavy goods on the floor, you're leaving space and money on the table. Send us your product dimensions and building layout — we'll provide a free cantilever rack design and quotation, tailored to your forklift, your building, and your budget.