IN Brief:
- AR Racking and First Floors Mezzanine have delivered a pallet racking installation in Wolverhampton.
- The system provides 5,370 pallet positions for a warehouse and production facility.
- The project includes full pallet selectivity, ground-floor picking, mesh decking, rack-end barriers, and upright protectors.
AR Racking, working with First Floors Mezzanine, has supplied an AR PAL adjustable pallet racking system for a new warehouse and production facility in Wolverhampton.
The project has been developed for a global chemical and adhesive solutions supplier serving the construction industry. The installation is designed to maximise storage capacity while maintaining direct access to every pallet, supporting both production and warehouse activity from the same facility.
The system provides 5,370 pallet positions and has been configured to use the building height, reaching 11,500 mm. It provides full selectivity for Euro pallets and includes ground-floor picking locations to support daily operational movement.
The project was supplied, delivered, and installed within seven weeks from order stage, with a three-week installation programme on site. First Floors Mezzanine also delivered and installed mesh decking, rack-end barriers, and upright protectors to strengthen operational safety and product protection across the storage area.
AR Racking’s engineering team also developed a solution that reused previously supplied beams within the new configuration. That allowed the project to meet the operational needs of the new facility while making use of existing storage components.
Gonzalo Crovetto, Project Manager at AR Racking, said: “This project reflects the value of combining AR Racking’s engineering capability with the installation expertise of First Floors Mezzanine. Together, we have delivered a robust, efficient and future-ready storage solution that maximises the height of the building, ensures direct access to every pallet and supports the client’s new production and warehouse operations.”
The installation captures several pressures now shaping UK warehousing. Occupiers need to increase capacity without compromising access, safety, or pick efficiency. They also need systems that can support production-adjacent logistics, where raw materials, work-in-progress, packaging, and finished goods may all move through the same facility.
For chemical and adhesive suppliers serving construction markets, pallet storage is not only a capacity issue. Product handling can involve weight, batch control, packaging integrity, hazardous or sensitive material considerations, and the need to feed production without creating bottlenecks. Full pallet selectivity avoids the operating compromises that can emerge when high-density storage systems reduce direct access.
The reuse of existing beams is also notable. Warehouse fit-outs are increasingly judged on resource efficiency as well as throughput. Reusing compatible components can reduce waste, cut cost, and shorten procurement requirements, provided the engineering and safety case is sound. In a market where retrofit, relocation, and reconfiguration are common, that flexibility can be commercially useful.
Storage optimisation remains a live issue across UK warehouses, with Randex increasing DK Jones’ storage capacity in another recent project focused on extracting more operational performance from warehouse space. Across the market, the storage question is shifting from simple pallet count to how effectively a facility supports labour movement, safety, picking, replenishment, and future automation.
Racking design also feeds into equipment and safety planning. Ground-floor picking locations reduce unnecessary lift-truck movement where fast-moving lines can be positioned for easier access. Rack-end barriers and upright protectors reduce the risk of impact damage in active aisles, a practical concern in facilities where heavy pallets, forklifts, and production-linked movements share space.
For manufacturers, storage systems are becoming part of production resilience. A warehouse that cannot keep material accessible can disrupt manufacturing schedules, increase handling labour, and create safety risk. Conversely, a well-configured pallet system can improve flow without major digital transformation or full automation.
The Wolverhampton project shows that conventional materials handling investment still carries strategic value. Robotics and warehouse software attract much of the attention, but many industrial operations continue to depend on the fundamentals: correctly engineered racking, safe access, appropriate protection, and layouts that let stock move when production demands it.
