Storage and racking in the UAE covers the pallet racking, mobile and cantilever racks, industrial shelving, mezzanine floors and automated storage systems fitted in warehouses from Jebel Ali to KEZAD. This page lists UAE racking suppliers and explains the EN 15512 design and EN 15635 inspection standards, SEMA-style damage ratings, how forklift impacts and floors decide rack life, and what drives price and lead time.
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Storage and racking is the steel structure that holds goods in a warehouse: pallet racks, high-density and mobile racks, cantilever arms for long goods, shelving for cartons and parts, mezzanine floors, and automated systems that store and retrieve loads without a driver. On ListGCC it is one of the main families in logistics and material handling in the UAE, and most projects come from free zone distribution centres in JAFZA, Dubai South and KEZAD, 3PL sheds in Dubai Investments Park and Al Quoz, and building materials stores in Sharjah and Ajman.
| System | Typical UAE use | What sets the design |
|---|---|---|
| Adjustable pallet racking | FMCG, retail and 3PL warehouses with many SKUs | Pallet weight and size, beam levels, aisle width for the truck, floor slab capacity |
| Mobile racking on powered bases | Cold stores and chilled rooms where floor space is costly to cool | Number of moving aisles, rail installation in the slab, safety sensors, access speed |
| Cantilever racking for long goods | Steel sections, pipe, timber, aluminium profiles, often outdoors | Arm capacity, load length and deflection, galvanised or painted finish for open yards |
| Industrial shelving and cabinets | Spare parts stores, e-commerce picking, MRO stores | Shelf load, bay size, boltless or longspan, picking height |
| Mezzanine floors | Extra picking or office space inside an existing shed | Floor load, column grid, stair and fire escape layout, building approval |
| Automated storage and retrieval systems | High-throughput distribution, pharma, parts stores, vertical lift modules | Throughput per hour, load unit, software integration, service response |
Racking and trucks are designed together: reach trucks and counterbalance forklifts decide aisle width and top beam height, so ask the racking designer for the truck data sheet before layout. Barcode labels, scanners and pallet wrappers come from warehousing equipment, while dock levellers and conveyors belong to material handling equipment.
Heat does little to rack steel itself; what shortens rack life in UAE warehouses is forklift impact damage, slabs that were not designed for concentrated base plate loads, and corrosion on racks that stand outdoors or near the coast. Design and inspection should target those three.
Most rack damage in a busy warehouse comes from trucks hitting uprights and beams, and a damaged upright loses capacity before it looks dangerous. Specify column guards and end-of-aisle barriers at the design stage, size aisles for the actual truck rather than the brochure minimum, and train drivers to report every strike. EN 15635's inspection regime, explained below, exists mainly because of this.
A high-bay rack puts large point loads onto the slab under each base plate. Give the racking designer the slab thickness, concrete grade and any joint layout, and ask for base plate reactions to be checked by the building's structural engineer. EN 15620 sets tolerances and clearances between racks and handling equipment, which matters most where very narrow aisle trucks run between racks.
Cantilever and pallet racks in open yards in Mussafah, Jebel Ali or Hamriyah face sun, sand and saline air. Ask for hot-dip galvanised or a coating system suitable for outdoor exposure, and check what the supplier's warranty says about outdoor use. Inside air-conditioned or chilled stores, powder-coated racking is normal.
The UAE has no racking-specific federal law; the design and inspection benchmark is the European pair EN 15512 (structural design of adjustable pallet racking) and EN 15635 (application and maintenance), both adopted as Gulf standards by GSO in May 2022. Specifications, landlords and insurers call them up, and we checked their status in October 2026.
| Standard or practice | What it covers | Body |
|---|---|---|
| EN 15512:2020+A1:2022, adopted as GSO EN 15512:2022 | Structural design of steel adjustable pallet racking under mainly static loads; excludes mobile, drive-in and drive-through, push back, shuttle, cantilever and static shelving systems | CEN; GSO |
| EN 16681, used with EN 15512 | Design of adjustable pallet racking in seismic areas | CEN |
| EN 15635:2008, adopted as GSO EN 15635:2022 | Use and maintenance of steel static storage, read with EN 15512, EN 15620 and EN 15629 | CEN; GSO |
| Person responsible for storage equipment safety (PRSES), regular visual checks and an expert inspection at least once a year | Every racking installation run to EN 15635 | Warehouse operator, per EN 15635 practice |
| Load notices on every run | Maximum beam level and bay loads displayed on the rack | Racking supplier and operator |
| Civil defence approval of sprinklers and fire systems | Warehouses, including the layout of high racking | UAE Civil Defence and emirate fire authorities |
In the UK the Storage Equipment Manufacturers' Association (SEMA) trains SEMA Approved Racking Inspectors, whose reports use a traffic light scale; ask any UAE inspector you appoint whether they report on it. Red means serious damage: offload the rack immediately and repair with the original manufacturer's components. Amber needs timely action, normally within four weeks, and the affected locations should not be reloaded until repaired. Green means the damage is within the code's limits and only needs watching. Ask any inspector you appoint for a report on this scale, with photos and location references, so the repair order can be priced directly from it.
Rack height, flue spaces and in-rack sprinklers are set with the fire consultant, and the design needs civil defence approval before the racking is filled. Our guide to UAE Civil Defence approval covers the fire product side. A mezzanine floor adds floor area and escape routes, so ask the municipality or free zone authority whether it needs a building permit before you order.
UAE racking comes from three kinds of supplier: international manufacturers with regional offices and appointed installers, regional fabricators that roll and paint racking in the Gulf, and resellers that supply standard shelving from stock. For pallet racking, buy a designed system from the manufacturer or its authorised partner, with load calculations, a layout drawing and an installation sign-off, rather than mixing components from different makers.
Racking and storage brands carried on ListGCC include Dexion and Constructor from the Gonvarri Material Handling group; Mecalux and AR Racking from Spain; SSI Schaefer and BITO from Germany; Stow (Averys group); Nedcon for high-bay, multi-tier and clad-rack structures; Metalsistem from Italy; Elite Storage Solutions, a UAE-based manufacturer of racking, shelving and mezzanines; Modula for vertical lift modules; Jungheinrich, which supplies racking alongside its trucks and automated systems; and Stronghold for heavy-duty steel cabinets and shelving.
Standard shelving and small pallet racking orders can come from regional stock, while engineered high-bay, mobile, shuttle and automated systems are designed and produced per project. To compare designs and prices, post your racking requirement with the building drawing, pallet data, truck type and the number of pallet positions you need.
Racking price in the UAE is driven by steel tonnage, which follows pallet weight, height and the number of positions, then by the type of system and installation conditions. Two layouts with the same pallet count can differ widely in steel and cost.
Lead time depends on whether the profiles are made in the Gulf or shipped from Europe or Asia through Jebel Ali, plus design approval, civil defence review and installation. Ask for a programme that shows each step, and book the first EN 15635 inspection for the handover.
