Carbon steel tubes — seamless, welded, and alloy grades — require storage systems that protect both the material and the operators who handle it. The Herochu CE/ISO certified heavy duty carbon steel tube storage rack provides certified structural integrity, telescopic retrieval, and full model range coverage from 6-meter to 12-meter stock lengths. This rack is built for operations where compliance documentation is not optional — it is a contractual deliverable required by project specifications, insurance underwriters, and regulatory frameworks.
CE and ISO Certification: What It Means for Tube Storage
CE marking on a storage rack signifies that the product meets the essential health and safety requirements of the applicable European directives. For the Herochu rack, this encompasses structural integrity under rated load, stability during telescopic operation, and electrical safety for the electric drive variant. The marking is affixed after a conformity assessment that reviews the design calculations, material certificates, welding procedure qualifications, and the results of load testing performed on each manufactured unit.
ISO certification — specifically ISO 9001 for the quality management system — governs the manufacturing process itself. Every step from raw material procurement through final inspection follows documented procedures, and the records generated at each step are traceable to the specific rack serial number. When a Herochu rack is delivered with a CE declaration of conformity and an ISO 9001 manufacturing record, the receiving operation has the documentation chain required to satisfy project quality audits without supplementary evidence.
Full Model Range for Carbon Steel Tube Applications
Carbon steel tubes are stocked across a range of lengths and weights that no single rack model can cover. The Herochu product line addresses this through four standard configurations, each engineered for a specific tube length and load class.
| Model | Pipe Length | Max Load per Level | Number of Layers | Clear Space |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HC-G6053S | 6,000 mm | 3,000 kg | 5 (customized) | 600 mm (customized) |
| HC-G6053 | 6,000 mm | 3,000 kg | 5 (customized) | 600 mm (customized) |
| HC-G9065 | 9,000 mm | 5,000 kg | 6 (customized) | 600 mm (customized) |
| HC-G12065 | 12,000 mm | 5,000 kg | 6 (customized) | 600 mm (customized) |
The HC-G6053S and HC-G6053 cover 6-meter tube stock — the standard delivery length for welded carbon steel pipe (ERW, LSAW) and many seamless tube grades. The 3,000 kg per-level capacity handles standard mill bundles of common pipe sizes (DN50 through DN200). The HC-G9065 handles 9-meter stock, common in European and Middle Eastern markets where mill lengths differ from the 6-meter standard. The HC-G12065 addresses 12-meter lengths — the maximum standard mill length for seamless pipe and large-diameter welded tube — at 5,000 kg per level.
All four models share the same material discharge method: dual-side mechanical assistance. This means the telescopic drive engages both sides of the tier, and the rack provides storage on both faces, doubling compartment count per rack unit.
Q235B High-Strength Steel Frame
The structural material across the entire model range is Q235B high-strength steel. Q235B is a Chinese standard carbon structural steel with a minimum yield strength of 235 MPa and a tensile strength of 375–500 MPa. It is specified for storage rack construction because it combines adequate weldability with the strength required to sustain point loads at the cantilever arm connection — the location of highest stress concentration in any cantilever design.
The Herochu dual-beam crossbar design distributes each tier’s load across two horizontal members connecting the upright columns. This configuration reduces the moment at the beam-to-column connection by approximately half compared to a single-beam design of equivalent material. The practical consequence is that the rated capacity — 3,000 kg or 5,000 kg per level depending on model — is sustained over the full service life of the rack without the connection fatigue that degrades single-beam designs.
Material certificates for the Q235B steel accompany each rack shipment. These certificates document the heat number, chemical composition, and mechanical test results (yield, tensile, elongation) for the steel used in the frame. For projects requiring material traceability — common in oil and gas sector storage facilities — these certificates are the primary evidence that the rack structure meets the specified material grade.
Electrostatic Powder-Coated and Galvanized Finishes
Carbon steel racks require surface protection against the same corrosion mechanism that affects the tubes they store. The Herochu standard finish is an electrostatic powder coating applied through a multi-stage process:
- Surface preparation: Shot blasting to Sa 2.5 standard, removing mill scale and creating a surface profile that promotes coating adhesion.
- Phosphate conversion: A chemical conversion layer that passivates the steel surface and provides a corrosion-inhibiting base for the coating.
- Primer application: A primer coat that bonds to the phosphate layer and provides a barrier to moisture migration.
- Topcoat application: A polyester powder coat with UV stabilizers, cured at 180–200°C to achieve a continuous, non-porous film at 60–80 μm thickness.
For outdoor installations and marine environments, galvanized steel cantilever arms are available. Hot-dip galvanizing applies a zinc coating of 70–120 μm that provides cathodic protection — the zinc sacrifices itself to protect the underlying steel at any point where the coating is damaged. This is critical in tube storage yards where forklift impact routinely damages organic coatings on rack arms. With galvanized arms, the corrosion protection continues even after mechanical coating damage.
The plug-in design of the cantilever arms allows arm replacement without disassembling the rack. A damaged arm — whether its coating has been compromised or the arm has been deformed by impact — is removed by extracting two retaining pins and sliding the arm out of its socket. Replacement takes minutes, not hours.
Pre-Shipment Load Testing
Every Herochu rack undergoes a pre-shipment load test before it leaves the manufacturing facility. The test procedure applies 1.25 times the rated load to each tier individually and measures deflection at the arm tip. The acceptance criteria require that deflection remains within the design envelope (L/200 of the arm length) and that the arm returns to zero deflection when the test load is removed — confirming that no structural member has yielded.
The test is performed tier by tier, not simultaneously across all tiers, to isolate the load to each connection point. This method detects any weldment or connection that may have been compromised during manufacturing handling, transport within the facility, or assembly. A rack that passes this test enters service with confirmed structural integrity at the connection level — not just at the frame level.
The test report documents the applied load, measured deflection, and recovery for each tier. This report accompanies the shipment and is referenced in the CE declaration of conformity. For ISO 9001 traceability, the test report is filed against the rack serial number, providing a retrievable manufacturing record for the full service life of the equipment.
Telescopic Operation and Classified Storage
The telescopic mechanism on all four models operates on the same principle: the tier extends outward on guide rails when access is required and retracts into the rack body when the operation is complete. This eliminates the forklift turning aisle, achieving storage density 2–3 times higher than fixed cantilever racks in the same floor area.
The drive is available in hand-cranked and electric configurations. The hand-cranked system uses a gear-and-rack transmission with a self-locking worm gear that holds the tier position when the crank is released. The electric system adds a geared motor with integral brake and dual limit switches for automatic endpoint stopping. Both systems drive through the dual-side mechanical assistance linkage, ensuring symmetric extension regardless of load distribution.
Classified storage is enforced through independent compartments per tier. Each compartment is a discrete cell with its own base tray and side guides, preventing tube migration between compartments. Carbon steel tubes can be segregated by grade (seamless, welded, alloy), by finish (black, galvanized, primed), and by size — all within a single rack unit, with the physical separation that prevents misidentification at the point of use.
Compliance Documentation Package
Each Herochu rack shipment includes the following documentation:
- CE declaration of conformity: Identifies the applicable directives and confirms that the rack meets the essential requirements.
- ISO 9001 manufacturing record: Documents the quality system under which the rack was produced, with traceability to material certificates and test records.
- Material certificates: Q235B steel certificates with heat number, chemical composition, and mechanical properties.
- Pre-shipment load test report: Deflection and recovery measurements for each tier at 1.25 times rated load.
- Installation drawings: Floor preparation, bolt patterns, torque specifications, and assembly sequence for each model.
- Operation and maintenance manual: Drive system operation, scheduled maintenance tasks, glide pad inspection and replacement, and spare parts list.
This package satisfies the documentation requirements of most project specifications without supplementary work by the receiving operation. For projects with additional documentation demands — such as third-party inspection certificates or specific national certifications — Herochu coordinates with the inspection body during manufacturing to generate the required records.
Application Scope and Selection Guidance
Selecting the correct Herochu model depends on three factors: the maximum tube length in the inventory, the heaviest bundle weight, and the number of material categories requiring physical separation.
- For 6-meter tube stock with bundle weights up to 3,000 kg: HC-G6053S or HC-G6053, depending on tier configuration requirements.
- For 9-meter tube stock or heavier 6-meter bundles up to 5,000 kg: HC-G9065.
- For 12-meter tube stock with bundle weights up to 5,000 kg: HC-G12065.
Where the inventory spans multiple length ranges, mixed installations of different models within the same storage zone are fully compatible — all four models share the same drive mechanism, guide rail system, and compartment design. An operator trained on one model can operate any model in the range without additional instruction.
