How Much Money Could a Metal Stillage Save Your Business?

If you are familiar with, or work directly within warehousing and manufacturing, it is very likely that you have at least once come across a metal stillage. They are incredibly common in factories, workshops and industrial spaces across the UK and are renowned for how useful they are.

However, there are still many who don’t fully understand the exact use of a metal stillage and how it could offer them a great deal of benefits within their business premises. Make sure to read below for our article on why you should invest in metal stillages.

First Things First, What Are Metal Stillages?

Metal stillages are best described as customised pallets. They will allow you to store and transport goods within your business premises.

A metal stillage will be an incredibly useful piece of equipment to invest in within a warehouse, as they can often be personalised to your business’ requirements, and incorporate various accessories such as casters for added mobility and stackable base configurations so that you can maximise your floor space.

Therefore, by investing in a metal stillage, you will be able to make your business premises more organised and it will be a lot easier for your warehouse crew to find products.

Why Choose a Metal Stillage?

Warehouse Space is Expensive and Competitive

The Coronavirus pandemic and resultantly, a boost in online sales and online shopping has signified a watershed moment for warehousing. For every extra £1bn that has been spent online, a further 775,000 sq ft of warehouse space will be needed to meet the additional demand.

This has created a fierce competition for warehouse space, which has also driven up costs and demand is close to record levels in many locations.

To put this more into perspective, in 2018 the average cost of constructing a square metre of warehouse space was £751. In 2021, you could expect to cost anywhere between £690 and £901 per square metre.

If we take into consideration that warehouses, factories and production facilities can reach anywhere between 3,000 and 15,000 square feet, this means you could be facing a shocking £13,515,000 for construction alone.

This high construction value will undoubtedly lead to high rental costs and if you are looking to rent a warehouse, you’ll be under a lot of pressure to offset these costs by refining your processes to expedite output and boost revenue.

Double Your Output

However, the good news is that steel stillages can be customised, so that they can be stacked and interlock. Therefore, depending on the products you manufacture, your steel stillages can be stacked safely several times over.

For example, a caged stillage measures around 3m2. This would equate to an average spatial cost of £2,703. 

With a stackable steel stillage, you’ll be able to maximise the value of your floor space, as you can utilise the vertical space rather than expanding across costly ground space. 

Therefore, you can increase your output and run larger production orders to then generate more capital for your business.

Streamline Your Processes

If there is anything essential for a successful manufacturing business, it is streamlining processes. This is because the overall bottom line is determined by striking the right balance between the revenue you generate and the costs of the process used for production.

This means that at the heart of an efficient operation lies time.

Every second that a light is on, or a machine is running, it will be costing your business money from your bottom line. So, should a process take even three minutes longer than it should, it could have a huge impact, especially should you average 20 process repetitions a day. This would equate to a whole hour lost every working day and 30 hours lost per month.

So, there you have it. Steel stillages are key to tightening up your processes, for many reasons. For example, should your steel stillages be customised to incorporate a half drop front, it will give your employees easy access to goods. With such an investment, you’ll be able to make big changes within your business. Changes for the better.