Maximize Your Lab Space with Customizable Lab Shelving Units

Static wire and steel shelving, wall-mounted shelving, and mobile high-density systems — sized and configured for your laboratory, not pulled off a generic warehouse shelf.

Bright laboratory with black phenolic-resin countertops, open steel wall shelving holding reagent bottles, and large windows

~50%

Less floor space with mobile shelving1

1.5″

Shelf height adjustment increments1

Tool-Free

Quik-Lok keyhole assembly, no bolts

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Talk to a lab storage specialist

Shelving That Fits the Lab, Not the Other Way Around

OverviewStatic & Wire ShelvingWall & Bench ShelvingPhenolic-Resistant SurfacesMobile & High-DensityCase StudySpecificationsHow We WorkFAQsShop Online
Laboratory island workbench with overhead open shelving for reagent storage and a city skyline visible through the windows
A lab bench with overhead open shelving keeps reagents within reach without giving up floor space

Laboratories store an unusual mix of items in a small footprint: boxed reagents and test kits, glassware, sample archives, PPE, records that may need to be retained for years, and equipment that keeps changing as protocols change. Generic warehouse shelving handles bulk storage well; it does not handle a lab’s mix of small containers, chemical exposure, and repeated reconfiguration nearly as well.

Material Handling USA and Labs USA supply and install customizable lab shelving built from a handful of real building blocks — wire or solid-steel shelves, wall-mounted or floor-standing frames, and static or mobile (high-density) carriages — combined to fit your room instead of a one-size layout.

The rest of this page walks through those building blocks, a real mobile shelving project we completed for a genomics laboratory, and the specification differences that should drive your choice.

Not sure which shelving type fits your lab?

Send us your room dimensions, storage volume and any chemical exposure concerns, and we will recommend a configuration and a real quote — not a generic catalog page.

Request a Quote Laboratory Design Services Call (800) 326-4403

Static & Wire Shelving for Everyday Lab Storage

Most labs still run mostly on static shelving, and for good reason: it is the least expensive option, the fastest to install, and it needs no rail or power. The choice is mainly between open wire and solid steel shelves.

Chrome wire shelving unit in a medical storage room loaded with labeled supply bins and packaged lab consumablesAdjustable Wire ShelvingOpen-wire construction lets air, light and sprinkler coverage pass through the shelf, which is why wire shelving is common for supply rooms, cold storage anterooms and anywhere lint or dust accumulation on a solid shelf is a problem. Shelves adjust without tools and posts break down for moves.
Adjustable steel wall shelving loaded with organized supply bins along a storeroom wallHeavy-Duty Steel ShelvingSolid-shelf steel units carry boxed reagents, bulk consumables and archived records where a flat, closed surface is preferred over open wire. Sold in open or closed-side configurations and sized to the room rather than a fixed footprint.
Boltless rivet shelving unit assembled for dense general storageBoltless / Rivet ShelvingA rivet-and-boltless frame goes together and reconfigures with a rubber mallet, no wrench required. It is the fastest static option to install and the easiest to resize later as a stockroom or supply closet grows.

Wall-Mounted & Bench Shelving

When floor space is the constraint rather than shelf capacity, wall-mounted and bench-top shelving move storage up and off the floor entirely.

Empty wall-mounted open steel shelving installed in a white laboratory room, ready for reagents and suppliesWall-Mounted Open ShelvingTrack-mounted wall shelving reclaims vertical space above a bench without adding a floor footprint. Shelf brackets relocate on the wall track in minutes as equipment and storage needs change.
Laboratory bench with overhead wall-mounted shelving holding reagent bottles beside an automated dispensing arm and storage drawers belowBench-Top Reagent ShelvingMulti-tier shelf risers mounted directly to a bench keep working reagents, sample racks and small instruments within reach without consuming counter workspace, and stay out of the way of overhead service arms or fixtures.
Lab casework with wall-mounted glass-front cabinets above a black countertop, configured for a specific customer storage layoutCustom Cabinet & Shelving ConfigurationsGlass-front upper cabinets, open shelving and closed base cabinets are mixed on the same wall run so visible inventory, secured items and bulk supplies each get the storage type they need.

Phenolic-Resistant Work Surfaces

Chemistry laboratory with black phenolic-resin countertops, overhead open shelving, and fume hoods along the wall
Open steel shelving above a phenolic-resin countertop in a working chemistry lab

Shelving and casework near a bench that handles acids, solvents or stains typically pairs a powder-coated steel or wire shelf above the bench with a phenolic-resin countertop at the work surface itself, because the countertop is what actually contacts spilled chemicals. Phenolic resin resists heat, moisture and most common lab chemicals better than laminate or painted steel, which is why it shows up so often on working bench tops in chemistry and process labs.

Labs USA, our sister company, specifies phenolic and other chemical-resistant work surfaces alongside the shelving and casework covered on this page, so a project can be quoted as one system instead of separate shelving and countertop purchases.

Mobile & High-Density Shelving

Mobile (high-density) shelving mounts static shelving on carriages that ride a floor rail. Instead of a fixed aisle between every row, one aisle opens wherever it is needed and closes again, which is how these systems fit more storage into the same room.

Empty high-density mobile shelving aisle on a rail system with plywood decking during installationMechanical-Assist Mobile ShelvingCarriages ride on a rail system and glide open with a wheel or handle, eliminating every aisle but one. This is the configuration Material Handling USA installed for the Myriad Genetics laboratory case study below.
Mobile shelving loaded with labeled medication and supply containers in a pharmacy storage roomElectric & Manual High-Density SystemsElectric-powered carriages open at the touch of a button for high-traffic rooms; manual push/pull systems cost less and need no power run for lower-traffic archive and supply rooms.
Man standing beside wood-finish mobile shelving units with rotating handles in a warehouse settingReconfigurable Carriage ShelvingCarriages accept the same wire, steel or wall-shelf inserts used elsewhere in the lab, so a mobile system can be resized or re-shelved later instead of replaced outright.

See the full mobile shelving line

Electric, mechanical-assist and manual mobile shelving systems, sized for labs, records rooms and high-density archives.

Request a Quote Mobile Shelving Overview Call (800) 326-4403

Real Project: Myriad Genetics Laboratory

Aurora mobile shelving aisle at Myriad Genetics laboratory holding sample jars and lab supplies on adjustable shelves
The installed Aurora mobile shelving aisle at the Myriad Genetics laboratory

Myriad Genetics runs one of the busiest reproductive-health genomics laboratories in the country from its South San Francisco facility, processing thousands of genetic samples, test kits and lab supplies. In a high-cost biotech real estate market, static shelving and filing cabinets were consuming floor space the lab needed for testing operations and equipment.

Material Handling USA designed and installed an Aurora mechanical-assist mobile shelving system with multiple carriages on a precision rail. Verified specifics from the installed system:

  • Shelves adjust in 1.5-inch increments to fit everything from small sample containers to large supply boxes
  • Aurora’s patented concave-wheel / convex-rail guidance keeps carriages tracking smoothly even fully loaded
  • Quik-Lok tool-free keyhole-and-rivet assembly — no nuts, bolts or sway braces, so shelves reconfigure quickly
  • Gloss-Tek powder-coat finish is 100% non-emissive and free of formaldehyde and solvents
  • Stores the same volume of material in roughly half the floor space of the static shelving and filing cabinets it replaced

Read the full Myriad Genetics case study →

Comparing Lab Shelving Types

Every lab ends up mixing more than one of these, most often static wire or steel for general storage plus wall-mounted or mobile shelving wherever floor space is the binding constraint.

Shelving Type Footprint Adjustability Best For
Static wire shelving Fixed aisles, open shelf Tool-free, 1″ increments (typical) Cold rooms, supply rooms, autoclave staging — anywhere air/light flow-through matters
Static steel shelving Fixed aisles, solid shelf Tool-free clip or boltless adjustment Boxed reagents, bulk consumables, archived lab records
Wall-mounted shelving No floor footprint Relocatable wall-track brackets Reclaiming vertical space above a bench without losing floor area
Mechanical-assist mobile One aisle, hand/wheel-driven carriages 1.5″ increments (Aurora, verified1) Rooms that need static-shelving capacity in roughly half the floor space1
Electric mobile One aisle, powered carriages Same shelf inserts as mechanical-assist High-traffic rooms where opening an aisle by hand repeatedly is impractical

1 Verified from the Myriad Genetics installation described above; other systems and manufacturers may vary. Ask us to confirm specifications for your exact configuration before ordering.

How We Design Your Lab Shelving

1

Assess the room and workflow

We look at floor space, ceiling height, door and aisle widths, and how staff actually move through the room, plus any chemical exposure or washdown requirements.

2

Recommend a configuration

Static, wall-mounted, or mobile — or a mix — based on what needs to be stored, how often it is accessed, and how much floor space you can give up.

3

Provide layout and a real quote

A shelving layout and an itemized quote, not a placeholder price, so you know what you are approving before you order.

4

Coordinate delivery and installation

We schedule delivery and installation around your lab’s operating hours and handle punch-list items after the system is in.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes lab shelving “customizable”?
The frame, shelf type and configuration are chosen separately: wire or solid steel shelves, open or closed sides, wall-mounted or floor-standing, and static or mobile carriages. The same posts and shelf hardware can usually be reconfigured later as a room changes, rather than replaced outright.
When does mobile (high-density) shelving make sense over static shelving?
When floor space is expensive or already spoken for. On the Myriad Genetics project referenced below, Material Handling USA installed an Aurora mechanical-assist mobile system that stores the same volume of material in roughly half the floor space of static shelving by collapsing every aisle but one onto moving carriages.
Can lab shelving handle chemical exposure and washdown?
It depends on the surface. Powder-coated steel shelving resists incidental contact and spills; for direct chemical exposure at a bench, a phenolic-resin work surface (see below) is the more common answer than powder-coated steel shelving alone. We will recommend the right surface for the actual chemicals and cleaning regime in your lab rather than defaulting to one finish.
Do you supply both the shelving and the lab casework/countertops?
Yes. Material Handling USA and its sister company Labs USA cover both the storage shelving side (wire, steel, wall-mounted and mobile shelving) and lab furniture/casework, so a project can specify shelving, benches and countertops together instead of piecing it together from separate vendors.
How is mobile shelving assembled and reconfigured?
Aurora Quik-Lok shelving, the system used on our verified Myriad Genetics case study, uses a keyhole-and-rivet design that requires no nuts, bolts or sway braces, so shelves reconfigure quickly as storage needs change. Shelves adjust in 1.5-inch increments to fit items from small sample containers to large supply boxes.
Is the shelving finish safe for a lab where specimen integrity matters?
The Gloss-Tek powder-coat finish used on the Myriad Genetics mobile shelving system is 100% non-emissive and free of formaldehyde and solvents, which matters in labs where off-gassing near stored specimens or reagents is a concern. We can confirm finish specifications for any system before you order.
Do you handle the layout and installation, or just sell the shelving?
Both. Our laboratory design service (mh-usa.com/laboratory-design) covers measuring the room, laying out shelving and workflow, and coordinating delivery and installation, the same process used on our published lab shelving case studies.

Ready to Redesign Your Lab Storage?

Tell us your room dimensions and what you need to store — our team will recommend a shelving configuration and provide a real quote.

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