Battery and Advanced Manufacturing Storage Racking in Reno and TRIC
Pallet rack, wire decking and layouts for battery, electronics and advanced manufacturers in Sparks, the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center and the North Valleys, planned around Reno and Storey County fire and seismic rules.
Since 1997
Storage systems experience
Free
Layout design and quote
6 ft rule
Reno high-hazard height trigger
Reno to TRIC
Delivery and installation
Shop Pallet Rack Online for Reno Manufacturers
Starter and add-on sections, wire decking and column protectors with current online prices. Freight is quoted by destination, and some common sizes are in stock at select manufacturers, subject to confirmation. For a manufacturing layout by work cell, request a free quote.
Battery and advanced manufacturing in Northern Nevada
The Tahoe Reno Industrial Center in Storey County and the Sparks area have become one of the country’s main places to make batteries. Panasonic’s Nevada plant at TRIC has been described as the largest lithium-ion battery factory in the world, and Tesla, recyclers, electronics makers and a long list of suppliers and contract manufacturers have followed. Each of those plants needs storage for components, work in process, packaging and finished goods.
This page is for the engineers, plant managers and facilities teams planning that storage. It covers what you store, how Reno and Storey County fire rules treat batteries, how rack design changes, and what a permit needs. It does not replace the advice of your fire protection engineer. For the general Reno picture, including the City of Reno rack permit table and seismic design, see our main pallet racking in Reno page.
What a battery or electronics plant stores
Not everything in a battery plant is a fire concern. The storage need depends on the material, so we start by listing what goes on the rack.
| Material | Usual rack | Fire and layout notes |
|---|---|---|
| Packaging, cartons, pallets and dunnage | Selective pallet rack | Ordinary commodity; usually the easy part of the layout |
| Structural parts, enclosures, trays and metal housings | Selective rack, wire decking for crates | Noncombustible stock; check the packaging it ships in |
| Electrode and separator rolls, raw materials | Selective or cantilever rack, sized to roll weight | Chemical and dust hazards may add their own rules |
| Battery cells and packs, new in packaging | Pallet rack with the layout set by the fire engineer | Lithium-ion batteries have specific fire code rules (see below) |
| Batteries awaiting test, rework or recycling | Usually not ordinary rack; often a separate protected room | Damaged or defective cells are the highest hazard |
| Finished goods, packed for shipment | Selective or push-back rack | Depends on the packaging and the commodity class |
| Spare parts and tooling | Decked rack and shelving | Maintenance and engineering storerooms |
Tell us the commodity first
The most useful thing you can send with a layout request is a list of what you store, how it is packaged and how high you want to stack it. Rack is a structural product; what goes on it decides the fire design, and the fire design can change the layout.
Rack that is fine for cartons of components may not be allowed for cells or packs. We draw the rack to match the plan your fire protection engineer and the fire code official approve.
Lithium-ion batteries and Reno fire rules
The height trigger. Reno counts rack storage as high-piled at 12 feet to the top of storage, or over 6 feet for high-hazard commodities such as tires, Group A plastics, flammable liquids and batteries. High-piled storage needs a Reno Fire Department operational permit. Above that height, batteries are the kind of commodity that gets a closer look.
The 2024 fire code. Reno enforces the 2024 International Fire Code. The 2024 code has a section on lithium-ion and lithium metal battery storage (Section 320). As published on UpCodes, it lets a facility keep up to 15 cubic feet of these batteries in containers under limited rules. Larger storage areas must follow the indoor storage area requirements, which include a technical opinion and report approved by the fire code official, 2-hour fire-rated separation from the rest of the building in many cases, an approved sprinkler or suppression system designed from that report, and fire detection and alarm.
Reno is looking at its battery rules
In November 2025, local news reported that the Reno Fire Department was considering requiring a hazardous materials permit for lithium battery storage above 15 cubic feet. We have not confirmed whether that requirement has been adopted.
Because the rules are moving, call Reno Fire or, at TRIC, Storey County Fire Prevention before you finalize a layout. Our warehouse fire safety and flue space guide covers the sprinkler side of rack design.
What this means for rack. Material Handling USA supplies the rack, not the fire protection design. But the rack has to fit it. A fire engineer’s plan can set the stacking height, the flue spaces between pallets and back-to-back rows, the clearance below sprinklers, and whether solid shelves or wire decking can be used. We build the layout around those limits, and we tell you early if a request looks like it will run into them.
How rack design changes for battery and manufacturing storage
Heavy loads, seismic and wire deck
Battery packs and cells are dense. A pallet of packs often weighs more than a pallet of cartons, so beam and frame ratings matter. Northern Nevada is earthquake country, and dense loads high on a rack raise the sideways forces, so keep the heaviest pallets on the lowest levels where you can and use seismic-ready anchoring.
Wire decking is common because it lets sprinkler water and air pass through, but whether it is allowed for your commodity is a fire engineer’s call. Our weight capacity guide explains how beam, deck and frame ratings work together.
- Work cells. Rack is often arranged by work cell, so material is within reach of the line. Keep aisles wide enough for electric lift trucks and any automated vehicles.
- Protect the rack. Busy plants have a lot of lift truck traffic. Use end-of-aisle guards and column protectors; a bent upright near a high-value load is a risk you want to avoid.
- Keep it flexible. Product lines change quickly. Standard frame depths and beam lengths make it easy to re-slot rack when a line changes.
- Clean-room and ESD areas. Powder-coated or galvanized rack and closed-wall layouts may be needed for clean areas. Ask us if your area has special finish or particle limits.
Advanced manufacturing storage applications in the Reno area
These are the operations we plan rack for, and what each one usually needs.
Regional manufacturing and industrial projects
We have not yet completed a project in the Reno area, and we have not stored lithium batteries on a customer project in this region, so these are real Closed Won projects from elsewhere in the West. They are manufacturing and industrial operations. We describe the business and the work, but we don’t publish client names, layouts, quantities or prices.
If you’re adding to rack you already have, our pallet rack identification and compatibility guide explains how to match it.
Permits for manufacturing racks in Reno, Sparks and TRIC
Rack permits for a manufacturing plant follow the same height rules as any warehouse, with the fire review on top. The City of Reno requires a building permit for any storage rack taller than 5 feet 9 inches. Rack over 8 feet needs structural calculations stamped by a Nevada-licensed engineer, and high-piled or high-hazard storage also needs the Reno Fire Department operational permit. The full table is on our Reno pallet racking page.
Sparks, Washoe County and Storey County, where TRIC sits, each run their own permit offices on the 2024 codes. In Storey County, final pallet racking approval starts with a Storey County Fire Prevention inspection. Our permits and engineering guide explains who prepares what. Moving a line or changing the commodity later goes back through review, so plan heights and products up front.
Commodity list
Send what you store, how it is packed and the heights you want. Include any fire protection engineer’s report.
Layout and engineering
We draw a free layout by work cell and provide the rack details for stamped Nevada calculations.
Delivery
Freight is quoted by destination and scheduled to your dock, often in phases.
Install and sign-off
Frames anchored, beams pinned, inspections done and load plaques posted. See installation.
New vs. used rack in a manufacturing plant
There is plenty of used rack for sale around Reno, but a manufacturing plant is a poor place to gamble on it.
Used savings are usually used up by installation. Rack that has been taken down and moved rarely goes back together cleanly. Bent columns need replacing, connectors don’t seat well, and mixed batches don’t line up. The installer time spent straightening and fitting used parts often costs more than the difference in price, so new rack frequently ends up cheaper once it’s installed. For dense loads like battery packs, stamped calculations need known manufacturer capacities, which are hard to document for unmarked used rack.
Reusing rack you already own can work, especially for a straight move of a known system. Even then, new parts are sometimes cheaper after the fix-up time is counted. Call our sales team with pictures of the rack, the upright labels and the connectors, and we’ll tell you honestly whether it’s worth installing. See our used vs. new pallet rack and pallet rack cost and pricing guides.
Plan your Reno manufacturing rack online
Lay out bays and levels in our free 3D pallet rack configurator, then send the design for a Reno freight and installation quote.
Open the Configurator See All Design Tools Call (800) 326-4403
Reno battery and manufacturing storage FAQs
Can you store lithium-ion batteries on pallet rack in Reno?
Why does 6 feet matter for batteries in Reno?
Is wire decking allowed for battery storage?
What does a rack permit need at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center?
Do you design the fire protection system?
How heavy are battery pack loads for rack?
Is used rack cheaper for a Reno manufacturer?
Related pages: Pallet racking in Reno · Reno warehouse racking systems · Manufacturing storage racking · Las Vegas · Phoenix · All pallet rack
Planning manufacturing storage in Reno or TRIC?
Free layout design by work cell, seismic-ready rack details and delivery and installation across Northern Nevada.