Speedrack Pallet Rack Guide
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 Selective Pallet Rack
One of the pallet rack designs first introduced by Speedrack was fully tubular racking. Today, Speedrack is still one of a small number of manufacturers offering a seamless tube design. This is due partly to the fact that the production costs and precision requirements for full-tube construction are steeper than open designs. Compared to open-backed frames, closed-tube frames generally offer greater strength and resistance to damage.
Teardrop Pallet Rack (K-1000)
K-1000 is the name given to Speedrack’s line of teardrop pallet rack. K-1000 beams feature a three-point connection, which is one more connector pin than what’s offered by many manufacturers. 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 helpful reminder, we strongly caution against mixing manufacturers’ beams or frames within a section of pallet racking, as this can cause instability, compromise structural integrity, and voids warranties.
Keystone Pallet Rack
Speedrack is among a handful of manufacturers that produce Keystone-style racking today. Keystone racking, like many other designs, gets its name from the shape of its frame slotting, which bears a strong resemblance to architectural keystones.
While Keystone beams are adjustable, they are adjustable on 3” centers, offering slightly less adjustability than the 2” adjustability teardrop racking.
As with their Teardrop-style racking, Speedrack manufactures a wide range of accessories to support its Keystone line. 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 Pallet Rack
“Speedrack” style refers to the original Speedrack pallet rack design. The unmistakeable 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.
Standard sizes of Speedrack style pallet rack are included in their Speedship quick ship offering.
Structural Steel Racking
If you’re familiar with pallet rack and material handling products in general, you know the major differences between structural and roll formed steel. If you’re newer to material handling, here’s a quick summary:
Structural steel is made using hot rolled steel, whereas roll formed pallet rack is made by cold rolling steel
Structural steel is generally stronger and more durable than roll formed steel. This makes it ideal for heavy-duty applications and certain pallet rack systems, such as drive-in and pallet flow rack.
Structural pallet rack is usually more expensive up front but often lasts significantly longer than roll formed pallet rack, and is less prone to damage.
Speedrack manufactures structural steel frames that allow users the option of using structural beams or roll formed beams. Speedrack’s structural steel products feature a bolted beam-to-frame connection and 2” adjustability, as well as a full line of accessories. Structural frames are available in 3” and 4” widths.
Speedrack Pallet Rack Systems
Drive-In/Drive-Thru
Speedrack can design and manufacture drive-in/drive-thru pallet rack systems. The major advantage to drive-in or drive-thru racking is its ability to maximize cube utilization. However, this comes at a cost to selectivity, so it’s important to make sure drive-in rack is the right fit for an application before moving forward.
Flow Products
Speedrack includes case flow, pallet flow, push back, and their 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 also works with vendors to provide complete flow product solutions.
Hybrid Rack/Shelving Systems
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.
Rack-Supported Buildings
As mentioned earlier, Speedrack pioneered the rack-supported building. Rack-supported buildings save money on building costs by using the storage system as a means to support the building. The fact that the racking is part of the building’s structure means there is little flexibility to reconfigure or move the racking. Because of this, a rack-supported building will only be an ideal solution for applications meeting certain criteria.
Modules
Modules help order fulfillment teams pick orders faster and more accurately. Pick modules often vary in their design and the different storage systems they incorporate, but all are meant to help streamline the movement of inventory. Speedrack can design modules that integrate with conveyors and other systems, as well as comply with local codes.
Speedrack Pallet Rack Clips
Pallet rack safety clips are a key component of keeping both personnel and inventory safe in today’s warehouses. It’s important to be able 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:
Teardrop
Used with Speedrack’s K-1000 pallet racking
Keystone
Used with Speedrack’s Keystone pallet racking
Old Style (Speedrack style)
Commonly known as the “suitcase handle” or “horseshoe clip.” Used with Speedrack style pallet rack. Available in 4” (most common) and 6” lengths.
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