Vidir Shelving Carousel Case Study: Soltek Pacific, Ridgecrest, California
How a federal design-build general contractor specified an 11-carrier Vidir Shelving Carousel for high-density technical shop parts storage at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake.
Customer
Soltek Pacific Construction Company
Location
Ridgecrest, CA (Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake)
Product
Vidir Shelving Carousel, Model S39191-1134-12, 11 carriers
Application
Federal design-build project, technical shop parts storage
About the project
Soltek Pacific Construction Company is a California-based general contractor that builds design-build facilities for the U.S. Navy and other federal agencies. On the design-build of the Technical Services Laboratory / Ordnance Testing and Evaluation Facility at Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake in Ridgecrest, California, Soltek Pacific specified a Vidir Shelving Carousel to serve the high-density parts and small-item storage needs of the facility’s technical support shops.
Material Handling USA supplied and coordinated delivery of a Vidir Shelving Carousel, a motorized vertical storage system that rotates enclosed carriers to an operator at a fixed access window, so technicians retrieve stored items without walking rows of static shelving.
Project scope at a glance
The situation
The Technical Services Laboratory / Ordnance Testing and Evaluation Facility at NAWS China Lake houses a mix of technical shops — including plumbing, HVAC and electric shops — that need to fit a large volume of small parts, tools and maintenance supplies into a limited footprint, while still meeting the base’s access-control and accountability standards. Shops like these need frequent, fast retrieval of small items without dedicating a large floor area to static shelving aisles.
A motorized shelving carousel addresses both requirements: it stores parts vertically in enclosed carriers rather than across open shelving, and it brings the requested carrier to the operator at a single secured access point, controlled by a keypad, instead of leaving stored items openly accessible on shop floor shelving.
What Material Handling USA supplied
Material Handling USA supplied a Vidir Shelving Carousel Model S39191-1134-12: a single freestanding vertical carousel with 11 enclosed carriers on a powered chain drive, front-mounted forward/reverse push-button controls, a security keypad, a mushroom emergency stop and main power disconnect, and upright framing with 2-inch wire mesh guarding front and back. The carousel was anchored to the floor with 5/8-inch HILTI KB-TZ concrete stud anchors per the manufacturer’s installation specification.
Freight, delivery coordination and installation were included in the order, with a typical lead time of about 26 weeks from purchase order to delivery for this model.
Full product specifications
Because a shelving carousel is a manufactured machine rather than a built-to-suit layout, the full specification sheet is public information and worth showing in detail — it is exactly how this unit was selected and sized for the project’s technical shop storage.
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Model | S39191-1134-12 |
| Product type | Shelving Carousel |
| Overall height | 16′ 3″ |
| Overall width | 14′ 9″ |
| Overall depth | 6′ 2″ |
| Overall weight capacity | 13,000 lbs |
| Carrier type | S2018.5-1000 |
| Total carriers | 11 |
| Live load capacity | 10,184 lbs |
| Max. weight per carrier | 1,000 lbs |
| Avg. weight capacity per carrier | 926 lbs |
| Useable carrier width | 152″ |
| Useable carrier depth | 20″ |
| Useable carrier height | 18.5″ (Includes 1.5″ lip) |
| Total storage volume | 358.09 cubic ft |
| Drive system | (2) 1.5 HP motors |
| Carousel electrical | 208V, 3-phase, 15 amp |
| Carousel controls | Forward/reverse push button |
| Control options | Mushroom E-stop, main power disconnect, security keypad |
| Control location | Front | control tower |
| Max. retrieval speed | 21′ per minute |
| Carousel guarding | Uprights, 2″ wire mesh front/back |
| Foot plate dimensions | 10.5″ D x 6″ W x .375″ H |
| Concrete anchors | 5/8″ HILTI KB-TZ stud anchor |
| Primary carousel color | VM White Textured (300-1106) |
| Carrier color | VM Grey Textured (300-1107) |
What Soltek Pacific gained
- Vertical storage of parts and small items instead of a large static shelving footprint, freeing shop floor space for the technical trades using the building.
- A single secured access point with a keypad, rather than open shelving accessible from any aisle.
- Forward/reverse push-button retrieval that brings the requested carrier to the operator instead of manual searching.
- Enclosed wire mesh guarding that keeps carriers protected from impact and debris while the machine is in motion.
- A factory-specified, code-compliant anchoring and electrical installation suited to a federal design-build project.
Shelving carousel or static shelving?
Static shelving is the lower-cost option for low-turnover storage with plenty of available floor area. A motorized shelving carousel makes sense once floor space is limited, retrieval speed matters, or the storage needs a single controlled access point rather than open aisles — all three applied to this project’s technical shop storage inside an active, access-controlled facility.
How a federal general contractor specifies a vertical carousel
On a design-build federal project, the general contractor typically specifies storage equipment as part of the facility’s overall fit-out, working from the building’s storage volume requirements and the base’s access-control standards. For this project, Soltek Pacific worked with Material Handling USA to size a Vidir Shelving Carousel that matched the technical shops’ storage volume needs while meeting the electrical, anchoring and security-control specifications required for the installation.
Compare every carousel model, industry and project example on our main Vidir vertical storage carousels page.
Frequently asked questions
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Specifying storage equipment for a federal or military facility?
Material Handling USA supplies and installs Vidir carousels and other high-density storage systems for design-build contractors, military bases and federal agencies nationwide.