Metal Sheet Storage Rack — Forklift-Compatible Vertical Stacking by Herochu

Warehouse managers evaluating vertical sheet storage face a practical question before they ask about load ratings or tier counts: will the rack work with the forklifts they already own? Herochu answers that question by designing every model in its sheet storage line—HC-F2513-63 through HC-F6020-65—to accept fork tines from Class II, III, and IV carriages without modification.

The fork entry architecture uses an open-channel arm profile that provides 180 mm of lateral clearance inside each loading pocket. This width accommodates fork-positioner spread ranges from 500 mm to 1,800 mm, covering the adjustment band of most side-shift carriages found in sheet metal facilities. The vertical throat opening of 80 mm leaves headroom above the fork section so operators do not need to bottom out the tines before lifting—a small clearance that removes the binding risk common in racks designed with tight-fitting fork pockets. What this means on the floor is that a forklift driver approaching a Herochu rack does not pause to gauge alignment. They drive into the channel, feel the fork heels contact the arm base, and lift. The motion is the same at tier one and tier six.

From a structural standpoint, the column design sets these racks apart from pallet racking repurposed for sheet storage. Pallet rack frames rely on beam-to-column connections that carry load through pinned connectors, which work well for uniformly distributed palletized goods but introduce rotational play under the concentrated edge loads that flat sheet stacks impose. Herochu’s column-and-arm assembly uses a moment-resisting bolted connection with four M20 fasteners per bracket, creating a semi-rigid joint that suppresses the lateral drift that can cause sheet stacks to shift between operating cycles. The dual-beam crossbar under each tier adds torsional stiffness, keeping arm deflection below 4 mm at maximum rated load across the 2,000 mm span of the HC-F4020-65 and HC-F6020-65 models.

Load capacity follows a straightforward tier-by-tier rating: 3,000 kg per level on models with sheet dimensions up to 4,000 × 1,500 mm, and 5,000 kg per level on the two wide-format units handling sheets up to 6,000 × 2,000 mm. A six-tier HC-F6020-65 holds 30,000 kg of plate material in a footprint that, laid flat, would require roughly six times the floor area. The frame design does not de-rate upper tiers; every level carries its full rated load simultaneously because the column section was sized for cumulative compression rather than tier-specific limits.

The adjustable pallet spacing feature solves a problem that fixed-interval racks cannot. Different sheet stacks have different heights—twenty sheets of 6 mm plate occupy less vertical space than ten sheets of 20 mm plate. Herochu’s arm brackets bolt to the column on a 50 mm pitch, letting the installer set the clear gap between the top of one stack and the underside of the tier above to match the actual material thickness range in inventory. This prevents the wasted vertical space that occurs when rack spacing is set for a worst-case stack height that rarely materializes. A rack configured for the sheets actually stored in a given week holds more material in the same overall height.

Surface protection runs through a grit-blast station that profiles the steel to 40–75 µm roughness, followed by electrostatic powder coating to 70–100 µm film thickness that passes 500-hour neutral salt spray testing. For shops storing aluminum or stainless sheet where surface finish matters, this means the rack itself does not shed rust particulate onto stored material. Many Herochu customers specify light gray frames with orange arm tips to improve visibility during forklift approach.

Installation of a six-tier, single-bay unit requires two workers, a rotary hammer drill, a torque wrench, and approximately four hours. Herochu ships the frame in a flat-packed configuration with columns, arms, crossbars, and hardware organized by assembly sequence. The included drawing set shows anchor layout dimensions, bolt torque values, and a plumb-check procedure using a 2-meter spirit level. For multi-bay installations, Herochu provides a bay-numbering system that corresponds to the shop’s material classification plan, so installers know which arms go where before the first column stands up.

The customization pipeline starts with the customer supplying sheet dimensions, material types, forklift specs, and any site constraints. Herochu’s design team delivers a layout drawing within three working days showing tier counts, arm positions, and aisle widths. Production lead time runs 25 to 35 days from drawing approval, with crating in steel-reinforced plywood suitable for container shipping.