Blog

There is a vibrant second hand pallet racking market in the UK. However it is perhaps not as big a market as you might think. Before deciding whether to buy second hand pallet racking you must ensure that you have taken all reasonable precautions to ensure that the racking is safe. Logically there is no difference between racking that you may have purchased new say five years ago and then dismantled and re-erected in another building to used racking purchased from a third party of the same age. But in this second scenario can you be sure of how the racking has been looked after. One of the biggest problems with second hand pallet racking is if it has been kept outside for any period of time. If it has the inside of the beams could be rusting thus affecting the load carrying capacity. Some Recommendations: Only buy secondhand if you know the history of the racking from new; Beware of “refurbished” racking, this could mean that the rust has been painted over Only buy the racking if it has been kept inside Only buy the racking if the supplier will put SEMA load notices on the racks; Only buy racking that is still readily available new should spares be needed; Always get a price for new as believe it or not it can sometimes be cheaper.

As from the 1st July 2014, anyone supplying non-CE marked fabricated structural steelwork to a site is breaking the law. This includes mezzanine flooring.

CE marking is now the responsibility of the party bringing structural steelwork to the market, such as your mezzanine floor provider, so it is important that you check with all your providers to make sure that they are suitably certified.

What is CE Marking? CE Marking is required for many products and shows that the manufacturer has checked that the product meets EU safety, health or environmental requirements, that the product complies with EU legislation, and that the free movement of the product is allowed within the European Movement.

What happens if you supply non-CE marked materials? Penalties for non-compliance with the new rules at a minimum could result in the issue of prohibition notices, notices to warn, suspension notices and application for forfeiture. For certain offences the penalties can also include a fine, imprisonment or both.

Initially, Trading Standards will be working with any non-certified offenders to ensure compliance, but with banks and insurers now on board, non-CE marked goods will not be paid for, and are likely to be removed and replaced. All of this will be at the distributor’s expense.