Pictured here. I see thesde shelving units EVERYWHERE! At my work, at restaurants, at warehouses, on TV shows…
I’m just wondering if it’s one company making all of these. Because, if so, that company must be worth a fortune.
I seriously doubt it. They are just steel, and not hard to produce. I imagine these shelving units are a commodity item that any machine shop could make.
Multiple companies make them. The are also made manufactured on behalf of other companies. For example if you buy them from U-line they have ‘U-line’ stamped into the corners. U-line doesn’t manufacture them themselves.
I’ve worked at a few different warehouses that used them. For those looking for the best value Costco sells a 5 shelf unit with wheels in their stores for about a hundred bucks.
I believe this sort of shelving was invented by a company called Metro, although it’s now available from various companies.
Don’t know but I have several smaller ones in a storage unit. Bought at Target for $39, wheels optional at $13/4
The target, wal-mart, etc are lighter gauge than the commercial ones. 350lbs a shelf vs 800lbs a shelf on commercial unit.
A quick Amazon search will show there to be lots of manufacturers. Different gauge and poles sizes too…
I like this style shelving as it is quite flexible and can be configured versatilely.
Okay, so it’s multiple companies, but they look exactly alike?
That seems like a patent infringement.
Anyway, thanks for the responses guys,.
They were patented by Louis Maslow in 1950, who founded Metropolitan Wire Goods Corporation. A patents last 20 years.
And that’s just about the time the prices went from $100 per shelf from one company to $10 per shelf by a hundred US & Chinese imitators.
You used to only be able to get genuine Metro shelving from specialty commercial or fancy-foodie outlets. Suddenly it was on the endcap at Home Depot.
The company isn’t worth a fortune because it’s in a market where many competitors can arise, and it’s not actually adding much value. It’s just buying steel wire and creating painted, welded steel shelves from that wire. While that would be rather tricky to do in your garage, you can just buy industrial equipment that makes the task easy (and probably mostly automated). You can then just hire some people who either have experience in the area or the credentials to pick it up quick.
It’s kind of a “turn key” business - if you have the money to rent a factory space, rent/buy the machinery, and hire the people, you too could be churning these things out a few months after you started. There’s minimal quality difference - the nicer grade ones might be a little smoother, a little better welded, but even the lower end ones are probably going to work fine.
High value manufacturing involves making something really high end you can’t just make anywhere, and it probably involves significant complexity and intellectual property and quality control. For example, aircraft components, certain forms of industrial machinery, medical equipment, that kind of thing.
This is why a company like GE is worth a lot and consistently pays dividends to it’s shareholders, because they own a lot of subsidiaries who are making high value goods. And consumers and purchasers know that GE brand electrical equipment, for example, is less likely to spontaneously burst into flames, so it’s worth paying a premium over the less reputable brands.
Maslow’s Heirarchy of Shelving