Herochu Heavy Duty Sheet Metal Racks FAQ: Your Questions Answered
If you’re in the market for heavy duty sheet metal racks, you’ve probably got a lot of questions. Will the racks fit your workshop’s unique layout? Can they handle the weight of your materials? Are they safe enough for one person to operate? And let’s not forget—what’s the investment, and will it be worth it?
Herochu’s Heavy Duty Sheet Metal Racks are designed to solve the storage and handling headaches of fabrication shops, warehouses, and manufacturing facilities. Fully customizable (starting at $5,500), CE, UE, and ISO 9001 certified, and built for efficiency and safety, our racks are more than just storage—they’re a workflow upgrade. Below, we answer the most common questions we get from shop managers, operations teams, and safety officers to help you decide if Herochu racks are right for you.
1. Can your sheet metal racks be customized for size and load capacity?
Absolutely—and customization isn’t an “add-on” with Herochu; it’s how we build every rack. No two workshops are the same: Your space might have 12-foot ceilings, while a neighbor’s has 8. You might store 4×8-foot sheet metal panels, while another shop needs to hold 6×10-foot bundles. And your load requirements? They could range from 3,000 lbs for thin gauge metal to 10,000 lbs for thick industrial plates. We don’t force you to fit into a “standard” rack—we build the rack to fit you.
Here’s how our customization works:
- Size: We tailor the rack’s width, depth, and height to your facility. Need a rack that fits in a narrow 5-foot aisle? No problem. Want to stack 6 levels high to maximize vertical space? We’ll design it to match your ceiling height (and ensure it’s stable, too). Even drawer dimensions are customizable—if your sheets are 3 feet wide, we’ll make the drawers 3.5 feet wide to avoid overhang (and the scratches or damage that come with it).
- Load Capacity: Our standard racks handle 3,000–10,000 lbs per shelf, but we don’t stop there. If you work with extra-heavy materials—like 12,000-lb industrial steel plates—we’ll engineer a reinforced frame, thicker steel tubing, and heavy-duty sliding rails to support the weight safely. We once built a custom rack for a shipyard that held 15,000-lb metal sheets; it’s still in use 5 years later.
- Levels: Choose how many tiers you need—from 2 for small shops to 10 for large warehouses. We’ll even add dividers or sub-shelves if you need to store smaller parts (like brackets or fasteners) alongside full sheets.
One of our clients, a custom fabrication shop in Michigan, had a unique problem: Their workshop had a low 9-foot ceiling and narrow 6-foot aisles, but they needed to store 8,000-lb sheet metal bundles. We designed a 4-tier rack that fit the height and aisle constraints, with drawers wide enough for their 5×8-foot sheets. “We thought we’d have to buy two smaller racks,” said their shop manager. “Herochu built one that fit perfectly—and it holds more than we expected.”
Customization starts at $5,500, and the final price depends on your size, load, and level needs. We’ll provide a detailed quote after a free workflow assessment—no hidden fees, no surprises.
2. How does this system make handling heavy materials safer?
Manual handling of heavy sheet metal is one of the most dangerous tasks in a workshop. Think about it: Two people lifting a 2,000-lb sheet, straining their backs to align it with a laser cutter. Or a team prying a sheet from the bottom of a stack, risking it slipping and crushing fingers. These aren’t just “close calls”—they’re common causes of musculoskeletal injuries, crushed limbs, and even fatalities.
Herochu’s heavy duty sheet metal racks are engineered to eliminate these risks by turning a hazardous, multi-person job into a controlled, one-person operation. Here’s how:
- No more manual lifting: The roll-out drawer design means you never have to lift a sheet from the floor or a stack. Instead, you extend the drawer to eye level (or the height of your lifting equipment), so the sheet is easily accessible with a crane, vacuum lifter, or plate clamp. No bending, no straining, no heaving.
- Hand-cranked convenience for heavy loads: For drawers weighing up to 6,000 lbs, our gear-assisted hand-crank mechanism does the heavy lifting. A single operator can turn the crank to extend the drawer—no muscle power required. We tested this with a 5-foot-tall, 130-lb team member: She extended a 5,000-lb drawer with one hand in 10 seconds.
- Forklift integration for maximum safety: Our forklift-accessible racks take safety a step further. The drawers are built like robust pallets, so a forklift can slide its tines under the drawer, lift it out of the rack, and transport it directly to a machine—no human hands touch the heavy sheet until it’s time to load it. This eliminates the risk of drops or slips during transport.
- Stable, locked positioning: Every drawer has a two-way locking mechanism—one to lock the wheels (so the rack doesn’t move) and one to lock the drawer in place (so it doesn’t slide open accidentally). Even if someone bumps the rack, the drawer stays put.
A metal shop in Ohio used to have 2–3 lifting-related injuries a year. After installing Herochu’s hand-cranked racks, they haven’t had a single one. “Before, we had two guys lifting sheets onto the press brake,” said their safety officer. “Now, one person cranks the drawer open, and the crane lifts the sheet. No more sore backs, no more near-misses.”
Safety isn’t just a feature for Herochu—it’s a requirement. All our racks are CE, UE, and ISO 9001 certified, meaning they meet strict global standards for structural integrity and safe operation.
3. What is the main advantage of this system over cantilever racking?
Cantilever racks are a common choice for sheet metal storage, and they work well for some applications—like storing long, lightweight materials (think: PVC pipes or aluminum extrusions). But when it comes to heavy sheet metal, they have a big flaw: no individual selectivity.
Here’s the problem with cantilever racks: To get a sheet from the bottom of the stack, you have to first remove every sheet on top of it. If you’re storing 10 sheets of different gauges, and you need the 8th one from the top, you’re looking at 10–15 minutes of moving sheets, setting them aside, retrieving the one you need, and then stacking the others back—all while risking scratches, dents, or drops.
Herochu’s roll-out drawer system solves this with 100% selectivity. Every sheet, on every level, is immediately accessible—no moving other materials, no wasted time. Want the sheet on the bottom drawer? Pull it out. Need the one on the top tier? Extend the drawer and grab it. It’s that simple.
Let’s put this into numbers. A shop using cantilever racks might spend 15 minutes retrieving a sheet from the bottom of a stack. With Herochu racks, that same retrieval takes 1 minute. If your team retrieves 10 sheets a day, that’s 140 minutes (over 2 hours) saved daily—20 hours saved in a 5-day workweek. Over a month, that’s 80 hours of extra production time—enough to finish 30–40 more jobs.
But selectivity isn’t just about speed—it’s about reducing material damage, too. When you move sheets from a cantilever rack, you’re sliding them against each other, which causes scratches and dents. With Herochu’s drawers, each sheet is stored separately, so there’s no friction, no damage. A client in Indiana told us they reduced material scrap by 40% after switching from cantilever racks to Herochu: “Before, we had to throw away 2–3 sheets a week because they were scratched. Now, we throw away zero.”
Cantilever racks also have weight limits—most top out at 5,000 lbs per arm. Herochu’s racks handle up to 10,000 lbs (or more with customization), so you can store heavier materials without worrying about the rack collapsing.
4. Can one person really operate a rack loaded with thousands of pounds of steel?
Yes—and it’s easier than you might think. We designed our racks to be operated by a single person, even when loaded with heavy materials, because we know that relying on multiple team members for every retrieval slows down workflow and increases the risk of miscommunication (and accidents).
Here’s how we make one-person operation possible:
- Hand-cranked gear mechanism: For loads between 3,000–6,000 lbs, our hand-cranked racks use a gear system that multiplies the operator’s force. Think of it like a bicycle: You don’t have to pedal hard to go fast because the gears do the work. With our racks, a single turn of the crank moves the drawer smoothly—even with 6,000 lbs of steel inside. We tested this with operators of all sizes: A 110-lb administrative assistant was able to extend a 5,000-lb drawer without breaking a sweat.
- Smooth-sliding rails: All our racks use precision-engineered, ball-bearing sliding rails that reduce friction. Even our hand-pull racks (for loads up to 3,000 lbs) glide open with minimal effort—no sticking, no squeaking, no need to yank or push hard.
- Ergonomic design: The crank (on hand-cranked models) is positioned at waist height, so operators don’t have to bend down or reach up to use it. The handle is padded for comfort, and the crank turns smoothly—no jarring or resistance.
- Safety locks: As mentioned earlier, every drawer has a locking mechanism that keeps it in place once extended. So even if the operator lets go of the crank mid-extension, the drawer won’t slide back or open further—no risk of it slamming shut.
A large manufacturing facility in Texas has 20 Herochu hand-cranked racks, and they operate them with a single team member per shift. “We used to have two people assigned to material handling full-time,” said their operations manager. “Now, one person handles it all—and they have time to help with other tasks, too. It’s cut our labor costs by 50% for that department.”
For loads over 6,000 lbs, we recommend our forklift-accessible racks. These let a single forklift operator remove the entire drawer (loaded with up to 10,000 lbs) and transport it to a machine—no other team members needed. It’s even faster than hand-cranked models, and just as safe.
5. What equipment do I need to use alongside the racks?
The equipment you need depends on the type of Herochu rack you choose—we design our systems to work with the tools you probably already have in your workshop, so you don’t have to buy expensive new equipment to use them. Here’s a breakdown:
For Hand-Pull Racks (Loads up to 3,000 lbs)
Hand-pull racks are ideal for lighter materials or high-frequency access (like small sheet metal panels or tooling). To use them, you’ll need:
- A vacuum lifter or plate clamp: These tools attach to the sheet metal and let you lift it from the extended drawer to your machine (e.g., laser cutter, press brake). Most workshops already have these—if you don’t, we can recommend affordable, reliable options.
- A jib crane or gantry crane: These are used to move the vacuum lifter or plate clamp over the rack and machine. A jib crane (which mounts to the wall or floor) works well for small shops, while a gantry crane is better for larger spaces.
A small auto repair shop in Florida uses hand-pull racks to store 2,000-lb sheet metal panels. They paired the racks with a portable gantry crane and vacuum lifter—equipment they already owned—and now one technician can retrieve and load sheets in 5 minutes flat.
For Hand-Cranked Racks (Loads up to 6,000 lbs)
Hand-cranked racks are for heavier materials that need frequent access but don’t require full drawer transport. You’ll need:
- An overhead crane or bridge crane: These are larger cranes that can reach across the workshop. They work with a vacuum lifter or plate clamp to lift heavy sheets from the extended drawer.
- A remote control for the crane: This lets the operator control the crane while standing at the rack, so they don’t have to run back and forth between the crane and the drawer.
A metal fabrication shop in Illinois uses hand-cranked racks for 5,000-lb steel sheets. They use their existing overhead crane with a plate clamp, and one operator handles the entire process: Cranks the drawer open, controls the crane to lift the sheet, and moves it to the press brake. “It used to take two people—one to run the crane, one to guide the sheet,” said their shop foreman. “Now, it’s one person, and it’s faster.”
For Forklift-Accessible Racks (Loads up to 10,000 lbs+)
Forklift-accessible racks are the most versatile—they let you move entire drawers of material to your machine, so you don’t need a crane at all. You’ll need:
- A standard forklift: Any forklift with a rated capacity matching your drawer weight (e.g., a 10,000-lb forklift for 10,000-lb drawers) will work. The drawers are designed with forklift tine pockets, so the forklift can easily slide under and lift them.
A distribution center in Georgia uses forklift-accessible racks for 8,000-lb sheet metal bundles. They have three forklifts, and each operator can retrieve a drawer, transport it to the assembly line, and slide it back into the rack when done—no other equipment needed. “We used to have a crane and a forklift working together,” said their warehouse manager. “Now, it’s just the forklift—we cut our equipment costs by 30%.”
Ready to Learn More? Let’s Talk About Your Workshop
At Herochu, we know that choosing heavy duty sheet metal racks is a big decision—and we want you to feel confident in your choice. That’s why we offer a free workflow assessment: Our team will visit your shop (or do a virtual walkthrough) to understand your space, your materials, and your pain points. We’ll answer any additional questions you have, show you examples of racks we’ve built for similar shops, and provide a custom quote (starting at $5,500) that fits your budget.
All our racks are CE, UE, and ISO 9001 certified, so you know you’re getting a safe, high-quality product. And with our customization options, you’ll get a rack that works for your workshop—not the other way around.
Don’t let disorganized, unsafe storage hold you back. Contact us today to schedule your free assessment and take the first step toward a more efficient, safer, and more profitable operation.
