Pallet Rack Manufacturers Guide: Speedrack

As a major provider of warehouse storage products for over 55 years, Speedrack Products Group is one of the most well-known manufacturers in material handling. Those in the material handling world will be familiar with many Speedrack innovations, including freestanding drive-in rack, rack-supported buildings, adjustable cantilever rack, and fully-adjustable boltless racking.

The Michigan-based Speedrack Products Group is headquartered in Sparta, near Grand Rapids, but manufactures its products in Quincy, near the southern edge of the state.

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Speedrack Selective Pallet Rack

Speedrack Pallet Rack Systems

Speedrack Pallet Rack Clips

One of the pallet rack designs first introduced by Speedrack was fully tubular racking. Today, Speedrack is still one of a few manufacturers offering a seamless tube design. This is because full-tube construction production costs and precision requirements are steeper than open designs. Compared to open-backed frames, closed-tube frames generally offer greater strength and resistance to damage.

K-1000 is the name given to Speedrack’s line of teardrop pallet racks. K-1000 beams feature a three-point connection, which is one more connector pin than many manufacturers offer. According to Speedrack, the purpose of the three-pin design is to provide added strength and resistance to accidental dislodging. 

While the three-pin design is standard, two-pin connectors are available for light-duty applications. Standard sizes of upright frames and beams are included in Speedrack’s Speedship (quick ship) selection.

For special applications and those storing inventory other than standard pallets, Speedrack offers a variety of accessories, including wall ties, cross bars, column protectors, drum cradles, fork entry bars, and more. 

Six standard baked enamel colors are offered for Speedrack’s selective pallet rack products: #808 Light Green, #124 Dark Blue, #722 Cerulean Blue, #126 Yellow, #799 International Orange, and #175 Shelf Grey.

As with many teardrop designs, Speedrack’s K-1000 racking is compatible with most other teardrop manufacturers’ products.*

*As a helpful reminder, we strongly caution against mixing manufacturers’ beams or frames within a pallet racking section, as this can cause instability, compromise structural integrity, and void warranties.

Speedrack is among a handful of manufacturers that produce Keystone-style racking today. Like many other designs, Keystone racking gets its name from the shape of its frame slotting, which strongly resembles architectural keystones. 

While Keystone beams are adjustable, they are adjustable on 3″ centers, offering slightly less adjustability than the 2″ adjustability teardrop racking.

Speedrack manufactures a wide range of accessories to support its Keystone line, as with their Teardrop-style racking. Keystone accessories include pallet supports, skid channels, drum cradles, fork clearance bars, and row spacers. 

It’s important to note that while Speedrack Keystone beams are still in production, the company has halted the production of Keystone upright frames for the time being.

“Speedrack” style refers to the original Speedrack pallet rack design. The unmistakable Speedrack model features circular slotting and a tri-planar beam-to-frame connection. 

Speedrack-style racking is designed to be extremely strong. According to Speedrack, the four-point connection has been tested to withstand 14,000# per pair. Speedrack frames, with their closed-tube design, provide more resistance to torsion and damage than open-backed models.

Speedrack style pallet racks are standard sizes in their Speedship quick ship offering.

You know the significant differences between structural and roll-formed steel if you’re familiar with pallet rack and material handling products. If you’re newer to material handling, here’s a quick summary:

Structural steel uses hot rolled steel, whereas a roll-formed pallet rack is made with cold rolling steel.

Structural steel is generally more robust and more durable than roll-formed steel. This makes it ideal for heavy-duty applications and specific pallet rack systems, such as drive-in and pallet flow racks.

A structural pallet rack is usually more expensive upfront but often lasts significantly longer than a roll-formed pallet rack and is less prone to damage.

Speedrack manufactures structural steel frames allowing users to use structural or roll-formed beams. Speedrack’s structural steel products feature a bolted beam-to-frame connection and 2″ adjustability, and a full line of accessories. Structural frames are available in 3″ and 4″ widths. 

Speedrack can design and manufacture drive-in/drive-thru pallet rack systems. The significant advantage of drive-in or drive-thru racking is its ability to maximize cube utilization. However, this comes at a cost to selectivity, so ensuring the drive-in rack is the right fit for an application before moving forward is essential.

Speedrack includes case flow, pallet flow, push back, and modular roll back and pallet flow systems under the umbrella of flow products. These systems are designed to facilitate dynamic inventory storage and retrieval. Speedrack manufactures some components of their flow systems but works with vendors to provide complete flow product solutions.

As the needs of modern warehouses change, storage system manufacturers respond to these needs with new products and solutions. An example of this is Speedrack’s hybrid rack/shelving systems. These systems offer a flexible option to applications with multi-level systems and allow users to reconfigure the system as needs change.

As mentioned earlier, Speedrack pioneered the rack-supported building. Rack-supported buildings save money on building costs by using the storage system to support the building. The fact that the racking is part of the building’s structure means there needs to be more flexibility to reconfigure or move the racking. Because of this, a rack-supported building will only be an ideal solution for applications meeting specific criteria.

Modules help Quote fulfillment teams pick Quote History faster and more accurately. Pick modules often vary in design and the storage systems they incorporate, but all are meant to help streamline inventory movement. Speedrack can design modules that integrate with conveyors and other systems and comply with local codes.

Pallet rack safety clips are crucial to keeping personnel and inventory safe in today’s warehouses. It’s essential to identify different pallet rack clips and know the manufacturer and model with which they’re compatible.
Speedrack makes three safety clips that are used with its three roll-formed pallet rack lines:

Used with Speedrack’s K-1000 pallet racking 

Used with Speedrack’s Keystone pallet racking

Commonly known as the “suitcase handle” or “horseshoe clip.” 

Used with Speedrack style pallet rack. Available in 4” (most common) and 6” lengths.

If you’re a material handling professional looking to learn more about products, best practices, or industry trends, head to WPRP University. We’re always working to publish new blogs and video content to help you, the dealer, learn more and sell more. If you have questions call 888-578-1579 today or get a quote.