Expanding an Existing Mobile Shelving System Case Study: Heber, Utah
How the Wasatch County Administration Building added carriages, rail and ramp to a mobile shelving system it already owned, instead of replacing it.
Customer
Wasatch County Administration Building
Location
25 N. Main St, Heber City, UT 84032
Product
Additional mechanical mobile carriages, shelving, extended rail and ramp
Application
Expanding an existing county administrative storage system
About the project
The Wasatch County Administration Building (25 N. Main St, Heber City, UT 84032) had already converted a storage room to high-density mobile shelving. Some years later the room was full again, and the county wanted more capacity without discarding the system it owned.
Material Handling USA extended the existing mobile shelving system in place: additional mechanical carriages with shelving, thirteen more feet of floor rail and matching ramp, and installation by our own crew. The expansion was supplied on the State of Utah cooperative contract, on an approximately four to six week schedule.
Project scope at a glance
The situation
County administration buildings accumulate storage permanently. Retention schedules govern most of what county departments keep, so material moves from active use to long-term storage but rarely leaves the building, and the storage room is expected to absorb every year of it.
When a room like that fills, the county has three real options: rent outside storage, remodel for more square footage, or get more out of the room it already has. Outside storage adds a permanent cost and a retrieval delay, and remodeling a working government building is slow.
Because this room was already on mobile shelving, there was a fourth and much cheaper option: extend the system. The rail, the ramp and the carriage design were all known quantities, so added capacity was a matter of matching hardware rather than starting over.
What Material Handling USA supplied
We supplied additional mechanical mobile carriages complete with shelving, thirteen additional feet of floor rail, matching ramp sections, and installation.
The shelving on the new carriages was specified deep and open rather than as a filing configuration, matching how the room is used for bulk administrative storage: cartons, supplies and bound material rather than loose letter-size folders.
Each new carriage moves with a three-spoke handwheel, the same mechanical assist as the existing run, so staff operate the extended system exactly as they operated the original one and there is nothing new to learn or maintain.
How we matched the existing system
Expanding a mobile shelving system is mostly a matching exercise, and getting it wrong is expensive. Three things have to line up.
Wheel spacing and rail gauge. New carriages have to sit on the same rail centers as the originals. We specified the new carriages against the original factory order, so the wheels track the existing rail rather than requiring a second rail layout.
Rail and ramp continuity. Extending the rail means extending the ramp with it, so the room keeps one continuous floor transition instead of a step where the old run ends.
Drive type and finish. Keeping the same mechanical handwheel drive and a consistent finish means the extension reads and works as one system, which also keeps future parts and service simple.
Two expansion options, compared
| Option A: fewer carriages, taller openings | Option B: more carriages, uniform openings | |
|---|---|---|
| What it adds | One additional carriage plus rail and ramp | Two additional carriages plus shelving |
| Shelf openings | Mixed: some sections with tall openings for bulky material | Uniform openings across all new sections |
| Best for | Rooms storing a mix of bulk and boxed material | Rooms storing one consistent carton or binder size |
| Capacity effect | Fewer new sections, more volume per section | More sections at a standard height |
| Rail work | Included in the extension | Uses the rail already in place |
What the county gained
Mobile shelving sales, service and expansion across Utah
Material Handling USA is based in Salt Lake City and works throughout Utah, including Wasatch County and the Heber Valley. Alongside new installations we extend, relocate and service existing mobile shelving systems, which is often the fastest way for a county or city building to add storage capacity. Utah public agencies can purchase on state cooperative contract.
Related pages: our mobile shelving in Utah overview, the county assessor records case study in Parowan, the North Ogden election office storage case study, and mobile shelving in Provo and Orem.
Call (801) 328-8788 to have an existing mobile shelving system measured for expansion.
Frequently asked questions
Can carriages be added to an existing mobile shelving system?
What information do you need to quote an expansion?
What if the original manufacturer is no longer available?
Does the rail have to be extended?
Can the room stay in use during an expansion?
How long does an expansion take?
Can Utah counties buy an expansion on state contract?
Need more capacity from mobile shelving you already own?
Send us photos of the end of the run and the rail, and we will tell you whether it can be extended and what it takes. Utah installs and service from our Salt Lake City base.