Borroughs Flexi-Bin Drawers and Shelves for Ken Garff St. George Ford

Project Snapshot

Ken Garff St. George Ford is a Ford dealership in St. George, in the southwest corner of Utah. Its parts storage already used Borroughs Flexi-Bin shelving, the shallow steel parts shelving Borroughs originally designed for automotive parts departments. Rather than buy new units, the dealership asked Material Handling USA for components that fit into its existing Flexi-Bin frames.

This case study is based on our quote, purchase order and manufacturer shipping records for the two orders. We do not publish quantities, pricing, contacts or room details for customer projects.

What We Supplied: Borroughs Flexi-Bin Components

Every item on the two orders is a standard Borroughs Flexi-Bin component listed in the manufacturer’s Flexi-Bin literature. The table shows each part and which order included it.

Part numbers and descriptions from the Borroughs Flexi-Bin product literature. Finish on both orders: Mist Gray.

Flexi-Bin drawers for the smallest parts

Flexi-Bin drawers slide into the Flexi-Bin frame in place of an open shelf opening. Borroughs equips them with a backstop that prevents a drawer from being pulled all the way out by accident, which matters at a busy parts counter where drawers are opened dozens of times a shift.

Drawers suit the parts that are hardest to keep in order on an open shelf: small fasteners, clips, retainers, O-rings, bulbs and fuses. Closing them in a drawer keeps them together, keeps dust off them and stops small bags from sliding behind the shelf. Borroughs even offers a pre-configured drawer unit, the FB108, with 108 drawers in one 38-inch-wide frame, which shows how far the concept can go when a whole unit is devoted to small hardware.

Drawer dividers to split each drawer

Both orders paired the drawers with Borroughs drawer dividers. Dividers are optional on Flexi-Bin drawers, and they turn one drawer into several compartments so a single opening can hold more than one part number. For a dealership, that usually means grouping related small parts, such as different sizes of the same clip, in one drawer while keeping each size separate and countable.

Slide-in shelves to re-space openings

The December order also added Flexi-Bin slide-in shelves. Flexi-Bin shelves adjust on 1-1/2-inch increments and lock in place automatically, and Borroughs states they can be raised or lowered without disturbing what is on them. Adding shelves to an existing frame creates more, shorter openings, which is the usual answer when boxed parts have become smaller or when a unit holds many low-profile items.

Each Flexi-Bin shelf is rated by Borroughs at 150 lbs., and the shallow 12-inch depth keeps parts in sight at the front of the shelf. For more on shelf spacing and pre-configured units, see our Borroughs Flexi-Bin shelving guide.

Matching the existing finish

Both orders were specified in Borroughs Mist Gray, one of the standard Flexi-Bin frame colors alongside black, blue, industrial gray, pebble, red and white. When you add components to an existing Flexi-Bin run, the color is worth confirming at quote time so new parts do not stand out against the old ones.

Lessons for Dealerships Adding to Existing Flexi-Bin Shelving

The points below are general guidance from our work with Flexi-Bin systems, not details of the St. George project. They are the questions we ask any parts department that wants to add drawers, shelves or dividers to Flexi-Bin units it already owns.

• Confirm it really is Flexi-Bin. Many parts rooms mix brands. Flexi-Bin frames are 38 inches wide and 12 inches deep, in 84-inch or 96-inch heights, and Borroughs components are made for those frames. A photo of a frame and a shelf edge is usually enough for us to check.
• Know your finish. Borroughs offers several frame colors. Tell us the color of the existing units, or send a photo, so added components match.
• Decide drawer or divider opening by opening. Sliding shelf dividers, available in 1-1/2, 3, 4-1/2 and 6-inch heights, work well for boxed and bagged parts that you want to see. Drawers work better for loose small hardware that tends to spill or migrate.
• Count openings, not just units. The most useful thing you can send is how many openings you want to change and what will go in them. That drives shelf, drawer and divider quantities more than the number of frames.
• Plan labels with the change. Flexi-Bin sliding dividers have a formed-in label holder that travels with the divider, and Borroughs offers full-length label holders and blank labels. Re-labeling at the same time keeps the parts sequence intact.
• Stage the work. A components order can be installed a few openings at a time so the parts counter keeps working. It can also be split into rounds, as this dealership did.

Keep parts in sequence. Borroughs designed Flexi-Bins so parts stay in proper order for quick identification and retrieval. When new drawers or shelves go in, it is worth deciding where each part number will live before the first box moves, so the new openings extend the existing sequence instead of breaking it.

Use your parts data. If you can export a parts list from your dealer management system, our SKU upload analyzer can help turn part counts into shelf, divider and drawer quantities before you order.

Related Borroughs Parts-Room Resources

Borroughs Flexi-Bin Shelving in UtahModels, components and planning notes for Utah parts rooms.

Dealership Parts Room, Brigham City, UTA Ford dealership parts room fitted with Borroughs divider shelving and drawer cabinets.

Borroughs Automotive Shelving, Salt Lake CityHow we plan complete Borroughs parts rooms for Utah dealerships.

Planning a bigger change? Our Borroughs automotive shelving page covers the rest of the Borroughs parts-room line, bin shelving in Utah compares divider shelving and shelf bins from several manufacturers, and you can browse more projects in our case study library or the full Borroughs shelving range.

Flexi-Bin Drawer and Shelf FAQs