Pipe warehouses occupy an odd place in industrial logistics. The goods are heavy, the stock is long, and the floor space needed to move them usually dwarfs the space needed to store them. Static cantilever racks are the standard answer, but they lock the warehouse into a fixed layout: every aisle has to stay open permanently, even when nobody is working in it. Herochu’s mobile rail-type cantilever shelves replace that static layout with a storage block that opens and closes on demand.
The operating principle is simple. Complete rack rows run on a single ground rail installed in the warehouse floor. In normal operation the rows sit compressed together, forming one dense block of stored pipes. When a specific material is required, the motorized drive separates the rows and creates an aisle exactly where the operator has to work. Only one aisle exists at any moment, and it moves to wherever the job is.
One ground rail, one working aisle
All racks in the group share the same ground rail, which keeps the whole system aligned and removes the need for multiple travel lanes. Between the shelves, only one aisle is required for loading and unloading. The rail bed is anchored to the floor with precision fixings, carries the dead load of the racks plus the live load of the material, and keeps the carriage running straight for years.
Removing fixed aisles changes the economics of the building. In a conventional layout, aisles can account for a large share of the floor plan. With one shared aisle, up to 80% of that circulation space is reclaimed, and storage capacity within the same footprint rises by up to 400%. A pipe warehouse that stores 500 tons today can hold close to 2,000 tons in the same hall after conversion.
Rack travel speed is adjustable between 1 and 5 m/min for careful positioning.
Carriage movement is electrically assisted, so even 12,000 mm pipe bundles move without manual pushing.
The closed formation protects stored stock from dust, damage and casual interference.
How the aisle follows the work
A typical day shows the advantage. The morning picking list arrives, and the operator selects the first rack on the control panel. The group glides apart at a controlled speed, and a clean aisle opens in front of the target bay. The crane lifts the required bundle, the operator confirms the pick, and the racks close again while the next order is being prepared. Storage space is never idle and never blocked; it simply moves to where the work is.
Cantilever arms for long and irregular material
The rack bodies use cantilever arms that project from a central steel column. There are no front legs and no horizontal beams across the opening, so material can be loaded and removed from the side without threading it through frames. This column-free arrangement suits metal pipes, structural steel tubes, profiles, bars, wires, sheet metal and any irregular goods that do not sit well in standard shelving.
Herochu matches arm length, arm spacing and layer height to the pipe sizes actually stored, so every level earns its space.
Per-level load capacity of 3,000 to 5,000 kg depending on configuration.
A single rack unit supports more than 10 tons of stored material in total.
Optional dividers and end stops keep round material from rolling off the arms.
Arm positions adjust as the product mix changes, without structural modification.
Overhead crane and forklift compatibility
Because the front of each rack is open, overhead cranes, hoists and vacuum suction lifters can lower pipes into place or lift them out directly from above. There is no top beam to swing around and no frame to hit. Forklifts work from the single designated aisle, which removes the constant maneuvering through narrow channels that slows operators and damages rack frames.
Built for low-ceiling and space-limited warehouses
High-density storage usually means building upward, but not every facility has the headroom. Mobile rail-type cantilever shelves generate density horizontally, which makes them a practical fit for low-clearance warehouses, mezzanine levels and rented halls where height is fixed. The wide-open view across the storage block also simplifies stock audits: operators can walk the aisle and see every bay at a glance, and cycle counts take a fraction of the time.
Installation adds no demands on the building itself: the rails sit on the existing floor slab, with no overhead structure and no ceiling anchoring. The system can also be relocated if the warehouse layout changes.
Control and automation
Each rack group moves independently under motorized drive with Siemens PLC control. The operator selects the required rack from a panel, and the system opens the aisle in front of it. Independent movement allows one rack to remain open at the picking position while the rest of the block stays closed. Optional WMS integration lets the system move racks based on picking orders, turning the storage area into a semi-automated operation without investing in conveyors or robots.
Standard configurations
Herochu builds the shelves in three standard sizes: a 6,000 mm model with five layers and a 3,000 kg per-level rating, a 9,000 mm model with five layers at 5,000 kg, and a 12,000 mm model with six layers at 5,000 kg. Layer counts, tower numbers and arm layouts are customizable, and the carriage travels at 27 mm/s with electric-assisted discharge.
| Parameter | HC-G6053EM-5 | HC-G9055EM-7 | HC-G12065EM-7 |
| Pipe length | 6,000 mm | 9,000 mm | 12,000 mm |
| Number of layers | 5 (customizable) | 5 (customizable) | 6 (customizable) |
| Max. load per level | 3,000 kg | 5,000 kg | 5,000 kg |
| Number of racks | 5 towers (customizable) | 7 towers (customizable) | 7 towers (customizable) |
| Carriage speed | 27 mm/s | ||
| Racking travel speed | 1-5 m/min | ||
| Material discharge method | Electric assistance | ||
| Control method | Siemens PLC | ||
Build quality and certification
Herochu manufactures the system at Jinan Constant Storage Machinery Co., Ltd. using Q235B high-strength steel, precision-ground rails and heavy-duty carriages. Production follows ISO 9001 quality procedures, and the equipment is CE certified for European markets. Galvanized or zinc-coated finishes are available for humid environments, and multi-tier layouts such as 5+1 levels are offered for operations that need extra density.
The business case
The numbers matter more than the hardware. Reclaiming 80% of aisle space can postpone or remove the need for a building extension. Faster picking cuts labor cost per ton handled. Open access reduces damage to expensive pipe stock. And mechanized movement means operators never drag heavy bundles by hand, which lowers the risk of workplace injuries. For distributors, fabricators and steel service centers, a Herochu rail-type system pays for itself through space alone.
Mobile rail-type cantilever shelves convert fixed pipe storage into a flexible, high-density asset. If your warehouse is short on floor space and cannot grow upward, contact Herochu with your pipe lengths, layer loads and inventory volume. The engineering team will produce a layout, a capacity comparison and a payback estimate for your specific building.
