Swimart – Pool Shop

Salt is deceptively demanding to store. A single pallet can weigh between 1,200 and 1,300 kilograms, and in humid conditions, that weight can increase as the salt absorbs moisture from the air. This immediately places salt into the heavy-duty storage category and requires careful engineering beyond standard pallet racking assumptions.

Before the expansion, Swimart relied on a rented shipping container and pallet-on-pallet stacking to manage overflow stock. Capacity was limited to only a handful of pallets, and triple-stacking introduced safety risks, damaged product packaging, and made stock rotation difficult. It was also an expensive and inefficient long-term solution.

The business owner, having experienced severe salt shortages and price spikes during the COVID and La Niña periods, wanted the ability to buy ahead of peak season and hold sufficient stock on site. The challenge was achieving that within a very confined retail environment while maintaining compliance, safety, and accessibility.

Without a compliant, high-density storage solution, Swimart faced ongoing supply constraints during peak summer periods, lost margin opportunities when wholesale salt became available, and continued reliance on off-site storage.

The existing approach also carried workplace health and safety risks. Pallet-on-pallet stacking is not compliant. From an operational perspective, poor storage limited visibility, slowed customer service, and forced stock into outdoor or container storage where moisture exposure can further increase product weight and degradation.

QLD Storage Systems designed and installed a heavy-duty selective pallet racking system specifically for salt storage. The racking was designed to safely handle not only the nominal pallet weight, but also additional load tolerance to account for moisture absorption in humid conditions.

Selective racking was chosen to allow proper stock rotation with First In First Out (FIFO), ensuring older salt remained easily accessible while newer pallets could be stored above. It also enabled the selectability for the segregation of different salt types, which is becoming increasingly important as alternatives such as magnesium chloride are becoming more popular in the market.

The system was carefully configured to work within a low-ceiling, semi-retail environment, balancing forklift access, safety clearances, and customer-facing considerations. By moving stock indoors and into racking, Swimart was able to eliminate reliance on shipping containers and unsafe stacking practices.

The completed installation increased Swimart’s on-site salt storage capacity to up to eighteen pallets, effectively tripling what had previously been possible. Stock is now stored in a dry, visible, and controlled environment, improving product integrity and simplifying inventory management.

With increased capacity, the business can confidently purchase salt ahead of peak season, protect margins, and ensure more reliable supply during high-demand periods. The new layout also improves safety, eliminating the risks associated with pallet stacking, and keeps stock contained within the footprint rather than spilling into external areas such as car parks.

This project demonstrates how even small, retail-based warehouses can benefit from engineered, heavy-duty pallet racking storage solutions. By understanding product weight, environmental factors, and workflow requirements, QLD Storage Systems delivered a compliant, high-capacity solution tailored to Swimart’s operational realities.

If your business is struggling with heavy products, limited space, or potentially unsafe storage practices, QLD Storage Systems can help you design a solution that increases capacity, improves safety, and supports long-term growth all within your existing footprint.