What do Staples, the world’s largest dealer in office equipment, Rexel, the market leader in the distribution of electrical material and technical equipment, Volkswagen Parts and small businesses everywhere have in common?

They all chose to install the same storage system: the Dexion Hi280. So how can a system that allows multinational retailers like Staples to pick and dispatch up to 60,000 stationery and office items daily also be the best choice for companies with one warehouse or outlet? The answer is in its genesis.

What makes a perfect small parts storage system?

When the Dexion R&D department were tasked with coming up with a new system to complement their existing products, they were given a free rein to take it back to basics. They started by asking questions: What do customers like and dislike about their existing system? How could it be improved? What was on their wish list? Did specific industries need specific solutions? As well as asking the buyers of the systems, they also asked the people who work with the systems for their input: Was there anything about the products they used day- in and dayout that worked well and made their job easier- and also what annoyed them? Armed with the answers and research into competitor products, they came up with a list of ‘must-haves’ that could apply to any companywhatever their size. These included:

• Quick and easy to install

• High load capacity

• Easy to reconfigure

• Option to be single and multi tiered

• Stable and robust construction

• Range of shelf spans

• Safe.

After extensive tweaking, testing and inspecting, the Hi280 was launched. Since then, it has become one of the most successful shelving systems available with installations not only for some of the world’s largest companies, but also for the smallest company just starting out.

What is the Hi280?

The Hi280 is a unique, modular system that can be used as a traditional shelving system right through to an automated high-rise racking installation. It consists of standard sized uprights and shelves made from high-grade pre-galvanised steel, a range of standard components to make it stable and adaptable for any industry, plus a range of accessories. You can start out with just a single shelf supported by uprights and as the business grows or changes, you can add extra components and accessories when required.

The system

It can be configured in numerous ways to address location specific requirements:

• No room to expand? Multi-tier installation with interposed mezzanine floor doubles your picking area

• Need deeper or longer shelves? Wider width and medium span and short span shelving can be easily combined.

• Use cranes or man up trucks? Hi280 Narrow Aisle/high rise system optimises high space and floor utilisation.

• Need secure storage or more space? Hi280 Mobile units can double storage capacity and can be securely locked to prevent unauthorised access.

The components and accessories

When it came to the accessories, the team once again took inspiration from their research: What are all the possible items that need storing? The list was endless and resulted in shelf dividers, shelf drawers, pull-out trays, plastic trays and bins, as well as tube rails, tyre brackets and infill panels. Of course, some small parts have additional requirements. Electrical Sensitive Devices (ESD) are a case in point, which is why Dexion undertook to get the Hi280 shelving system tested recently by the DNV GL for conductivity.

The nuts and bolts of the system

When used in a single tier, the system needs no nuts or bolts- it simply slots together. Keeping things simple is a concept that was created by the original founder of Dexion who designed the Slotted Angle, the world’s first adjustable shelving system back in 1947, and which is still widely used today.

“By designing a complete modular system that can grow with the company, customers have the reassurance that it is completely future-proof. It can be removed, rebuilt, extended or reconfigured and adapted whenever storage needs change,” said Matt Grierson, Managing Director, Constructor Group UK (Parent of Dexion). Using standard parts makes sense. By designing it based on what customers want, the Dexion team has created a product that ticks all the boxes.

Find out more about the Hi280 at http://www.dexion.co.uk/Product- Categories/Small-Part-Handling/Hi280- Shelving-System-Standard/

DEXION

www.dexion.co.uk

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