How global supply chain leaders design, scale, and procure high-density automated high-bay warehouses up to 45m with sub-millimetre precision.
Clad-Rack Structural Engineering
Eliminate conventional structural columns. The racking forms the load-bearing building skeleton.
Send an Inquiry
Zero-Loss Low Temperature HBW
Conserve thermal energy and achieve up to 40% operating power savings down to -30°C.
Send an Inquiry
Precision Partner for Integrators
Complete structural static analysis, dynamic seismic design, and FEM compliant manufacturing.
Send an InquiryAn Automated High-Bay Warehouse (HBW) represents the apex of modern intralogistics engineering, consolidating maximum pallet density and lights-out autonomous operations within minimal physical footprints.
Global manufacturers, third-party logistics providers (3PLs), pharmaceutical distributors, and cold storage operators face intense pressures: soaring industrial real estate prices, persistent forklift operator shortages, and demanding 24/7 fulfillment SLAs. A DEXION RACKING Automated High-Bay Warehouse transforms these systemic bottlenecks into long-term operational leverage.
Whether engineered as a standalone freestanding rack system inside an existing envelope or designed as a complete clad-rack building where the steel structure bears the roof, wall cladding, wind loads, and seismic forces, every DEXION RACKING high-bay system is built to stringent European EN 15512 and EN 15620 specifications. We ensure horizontal and vertical deflection parameters are rigorously calibrated to match high-acceleration automated stacker cranes (SRMs) and multi-level autonomous shuttles.
Technical Analysis: Structural engineering tolerances and installation precision in high-bay automated warehouses.
Selecting the optimal automated high-bay racking architecture requires balancing floor space, building height, SKU velocity, and material handling mechanization.
Maximum Selectivity Engineered for high-throughput distribution hubs demanding 100% SKU availability. Paired with high-speed automated storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) cranes, single-deep racks deliver rapid cycle times, while double-deep profiles increase storage density by up to 30% per aisle.
| Height Limits | Up to 45 metres |
|---|---|
| Throughput Rate | 40 to 65 pallets / hr / crane |
| Standard Code | EN 15620 Class 100/200 |
Lowest CapEx/Pallet The steel racking serves as the core load-bearing structure for the facility's roof and external walls. This approach eliminates external building columns, accelerates overall construction timelines by months, and drastically reduces civil building material costs.
| Structural Role | Integrated Building & Storage |
|---|---|
| Environmental Loads | Engineered for Wind, Snow & Seismic |
| Height Range | 20 to 45+ metres |
Maximum Cube Density Combining vertical stacker cranes or vertical lifters with autonomous multi-deep 2D or 3D pallet shuttles. Ideal for FMCG, food manufacturing, and cold chain environments with high pallet volumes per SKU, achieving unmatched volumetric space utilization.
| Storage Depth | Up to 25 pallets deep |
|---|---|
| Energy Savings | Up to 40% in Cold Stores |
| FMCG Match | Optimal for FIFO / LIFO Batching |
Procurement directors and engineering teams are transitioning away from fragmented hardware purchases toward holistic, lifecycle-guaranteed automated storage structures.
As logistics operations adapt to macroeconomic shifts, global supply chain procurement in automated high-bay warehouses is governed by several core structural and commercial developments:
Next-Generation Intralogistics: Energy-efficient drive systems and AI-orchestrated stacker crane movements within a DEXION RACKING high-bay matrix.
The future of automated storage lies in agile automation, edge-computing integration, and ultra-low energy thermal performance.
Traditional Automated High-Bay Warehouses relied on rigid, single-crane-per-aisle configurations. While single-crane systems remain the benchmark for pure vertical lift and high-bay capacity, material handling architecture is rapidly expanding across three fronts:
1. Dynamic Aisles and Aisle-Switching Stacker Cranes: Modern crane engineering utilizes curved tracks and automated transfer cars, allowing a single stacker crane to service multiple aisles during off-peak shifts. This reduces initial mechanical CapEx while retaining the ability to scale crane density as throughput demands expand.
2. 3D Pallet Roaming Shuttles: Emerging autonomous pallet shuttles break free from fixed guide rails, transitioning smoothly between vertical lifts and horizontal rack lanes. This decouples storage capacity from system throughput, allowing supply chain engineers to scale each axis independently.
3. Regenerative Braking and Thermal Conservation: High-bay AS/RS cranes continuously decelerate and lower multi-tonne loads. Modern installations capture this kinetic and potential energy through regenerative drives, returning power directly to the facility grid. When deployed in frozen cold stores, high-bay cube condensation reduces building exterior envelope area by up to 60%, delivering sustained reductions in thermal dissipation and refrigeration bills.
High-Bay Innovation: Integration of robotic picking cells and automated pallet transfer stations at the input/output head of an HBW.
Delivering high-bay structures where millimetres define the boundary between continuous 24/7 throughput and costly operational downtime.
Engineering Expertise Our dedicated structural engineering departments execute complex FEA calculations assessing static dead loads, dynamic moving crane impacts, seismic risk spectra, wind loads, and thermal gradients under EN 15512, EN 1993 (Eurocode 3), and EN 15620 guidelines.
Manufacturing Control From prime European high-yield micro-alloyed steel coils to automated multi-stage roll-forming lines, our high-bay uprights and beams undergo continuous automated quality auditing, guaranteed dimensional precision, and certified chemical batch tracing.
Lifecycle Service We work collaboratively with global warehouse automation system integrators. DEXION RACKING provides comprehensive BIM Revit models, precise guide-rail anchor calculations, certified on-site surveying, and EN 15635 compliance auditing across the lifespan of the asset.
A rigorous, data-validated project management process designed to mitigate risk for international procurement teams and system integrators.
We analyze SKU velocity profiles, load unit deflection curves, seismic risk categories, and crane acceleration parameters to develop the core bay geometry.
Structural calculations verify upright profiles, diagonal bracing systems, guide rail anchor loads, and foundation slab stress distributions under EN 15512.
Automated roll-forming with inline laser indexing guarantees sub-millimetre upright hole pitch consistency essential for automated optical positioning.
Certified installation crews erect the high-bay racking utilizing precision total stations and 3D laser surveying, ensuring strict alignment within EN 15620 classes.
Comprehensive load testing, stacker crane dry-run clearance verification, full documentation supply, and periodic EN 15635 rack safety audit programs.
An Automated High-Bay Warehouse is inherently more sustainable than sprawling single-storey buildings. By tripling or quadrupling the usable storage height on an identical footprint, companies conserve greenfield land, reduce concrete consumption, cut internal HVAC energy usage, and eliminate fossil-fueled mobile forklift traffic.
Comprehensive technical answers directly from our senior structural and intralogistics engineering specialists to support feasibility planning.