Reeves Ace Hardware develops drive-through cantilever building

When Highland, N.C.-based Reeves Ace Hardware decided to improve the efficiency of its building material operations, the company knew it would encounter some obstacles. Cramped, inefficient storage led to the redundant handling of products, resulting in product damage, along with decimating profits.

Since the company didn’t have a fully covered warehouse, Highland’s annual 81 inches of rainfall (43 inches over the U.S. average) caused product damage and prevented Reeves from consistently maintaining a high standard of customer service. In addition, its downtown location is landlocked and subject to restrictive building ordinances, limiting its available space for increased product storage, as well as an attached, climate-controlled office.

With this in mind, Jeff Reeves, corporate president; Jim Luke, manager; and John McCall, sales manager, identified key objectives. They included: the engineering to survive what they called the “storm of the century” (their foresight was substantiated two weeks later, as a snowstorm destroyed their existing lumber shed); a drive-through structure with wide aisles for ease of loading, shopping convenience, increased volume and accessibility; protection from weather damage to reduce product shrinkage; additional storage without additional overhead; and the aesthetic appeal to adhere to local ordinances and enhance Reeves’ image.

A drive-through cantilever building was the perfect choice to meet Reeves’ needs, as the racks are compact and adaptable. The installation of the right system minimizes handling time, employee stress and warehouse space.

The project maximized the 1-acre plat by designing the facility to the fully allowable building size of 100 feet x 92 feet, which was only 22% of plat. It reinforced roofing with heavy-duty roof girders and a roof substructure, resulting in a snow load of 40 pounds per square foot, exceeding the local code, and added sheeting on the outside walls of cantilever runs, which protected products inside the building; meanwhile, 10-foot eaves were used to protect outdoor products. It included the gutter within the roof, which eliminated forklift damage exposure. In addition, the company was able to maximize storage with three runs of double-sided cantilever rack: on outside runs they used two picking levels with two overstock levels and on the center run they used three picking levels with two overstock levels. They used cement board siding to meet local codes, and the interior was upgraded with pre‐galvanized wall girts and purlins, as well as painted girders to match the rack color.

“This project was long overdue,” Luke says. “It’s a great asset to our company, our inventory and our community.”

“We have had many positive comments on the work [the manufacturer and distributor] completed and are very pleased with the results,” McCall adds.

Steel King Industries
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