Herochu Heavy-Duty Drawer-Type Sheet Metal Storage Rack
Industrial-grade order for the most stubborn inventory problem in every workshop: sheet and plate.
When every square metre of the workshop earns its keep, loose stacks of mild-steel, aluminium, copper or stainless sheets become an expensive liability. Herochu eliminates that waste with a welded-steel drawer rack that lets one operator handle ten tonnes of sheet metal in under two minutes—without a forklift and without edge damage. The system starts at 3,660 USD, is CE, EU and ISO 9001 certified, and is engineered down to the last millimetre for the dimensions you send us.
1. Built for the weight, built for the pace
Each drawer rides on sealed, maintenance-free ball-bearing rollers rated for 5,000 kg. The slideway is a single-piece, laser-cut steel profile, gusset-reinforced every 200 mm and stress-relieved after welding to prevent long-term sag. A 20 mm high-tensile spindle at the rear locks the drawer automatically the moment it reaches 80 % extension, eliminating the risk of accidental roll-out while a magnet or crane positions a sheet. Need more? Add the optional mechanical roll-out aid (a 1:4 ratio hand-crank) or the 0.75 kW electric drive for one-touch movement at 6 m/min.
2. 100 % access, zero deflection
Full extension means you can place a suction lifter or C-hook anywhere along the 4 m length of a drawer without the taper or “diving board” effect common in lighter racks. Drawer floors are open as standard for instant water drainage and grit fall-through, yet we can fit 18 mm hardwood planks or 4 mm checker plate if you store smaller off-cuts. Reinforced 40 × 40 mm edge angles stop thin sheets from creeping sideways when the drawer accelerates.
3. Density that pays for itself in months
A 3 m × 1.2 m footprint houses up to twenty drawers—enough for 120 t of 6 mm plate—while leaving a 900 mm service aisle on one side. Compare that to traditional A-frame racks that need 40 m² for the same tonnage and still force you to shift half the stock to reach the middle. Herochu customers regularly reclaim 25 % of floor space, which can be re-leased to subcontract work or a second CNC cell.
4. Sensitive-sheet protection
PVC extruded edge strips, 3 mm felt liners and divider slots every 100 mm keep polished, painted or PVC-coated sheets pristine. Drawers close against a replaceable rubber bump strip that removes the metallic “snap” and prevents fretting between parts. For high-value stainless or pre-painted automotive skin, we supply a low-friction UHMW-PE insert that reduces surface pressure to 0.2 N/mm²—below the yield point of the softest coil-coated stock.
5. Modular today, expandable tomorrow
Start with four shelves and add one intermediate level every 350 mm as new alloys arrive. Heights range from 1.6 m to 6 m; bay lengths from 1 m to 4.5 m. Roof storage decks, mesh side screens and removable crane gallows are bolt-on options that install in under an hour. All uprights are slotted on a 50 mm pitch so you can relocate drawers higher or lower without re-welding.
6. Safety credentials that satisfy insurers
- Rod locking on every drawer, tested to 15,000 cycles
- 1 000 h salt-spray rated powder coat (Ral 5012 grey as standard)
- Fire-class A2 floor decking, eliminating concealed flame paths
- Earth bonding point on each bay for ATEX grounding
- Clear aisle marking laser-etched into the top beam—no stickers to peel
7. Custom workflow, not catalogue compromise
Send us five data points and we return a GA drawing within 24 h:
- Maximum sheet size (L × W × thickness)
- Target load per drawer (kg)
- Clear building height and preferred aisle width
- Crane hook height or forklift mast clearance
- Frequency of access (cycles/day)
From that we determine drawer count, slide resistance, handle position and whether you need the electric assist. Every rack leaves our plant pre-assembled, laser-levelled and photographed for your sign-off. Bolts, levelling plates and a magnetic manual are packed in a single carton—no loose bags to lose on site.
8. Installation without production stop
A two-person crew can build a 10-drawer unit in 90 minutes using only an impact wrench and a spirit level. Base plates are slotted 30 mm so you can shim over existing floor irregularities without grinding. Once upright, the rack is free-standing; no chemical anchors required unless seismic zone 3 or higher. We supply M16 fixings rated for 12 kN shear should you choose to anchor anyway.
9. Real numbers from real workshops
- German fabrication job-shop: 38 % faster changeover, 1 100 m² floor freed, ROI 11 months
- Italian white-goods OEM: scratch claims down 92 % in first quarter
- Polish subcontract laser: crane idle time cut by 4.3 h/week, saving 18 400 €/year in operator hours
10. Ordering and logistics
Herochu maintains stock of raw profiles and rollers in Hamburg and Shanghai, allowing us to ship standard bays in 15 business days and fully custom racks in 25 days. Packaging is export-grade steel stillage with VCI film; total gross weight is declared to the nearest 10 kg to avoid ISPM-15 delays. Incoterms 2020 FOB, CIF or DDP available. Prices locked for 60 days from quotation.
Ready to reclaim your floor?
Stop feeding money into wasted aisle space and damaged sheets. Move every plate into a Herochu drawer, lock it, and watch your bottleneck disappear.
