Repair kits from MacRak are an excellent, specialty solution for treating mild to moderate damage to racking without putting a major halt on operations. These kits are particularly attractive for handling damage on proprietary or otherwise difficult-to-source racking solutions, as they eliminate the need to replace the entire system. Renegade Racking has utilized these repair kits to support the warehousing efforts of Northern Tool in an efficient way that achieved customer outcomes with minimal downtime. This case study will shed light on the product and the installation process.
Northern Tool is a manufacturer and retailer of light industrial equipment and DIY supplies headquartered in Burnsville, MN. They have over 120 retail locations across the country and a catalog that features over 100,000 tools. They sell many major brands as well as their own exclusive product line.
Northern Tool contacted MacRack regarding their repair kits and MacRack sent Renegade Racking out to perform a survey. Repair kits are a specialty fix and it is important to ensure that the specific damage and customer need is a good candidate for the fix. That is why it is important that a licensed installer, such as the one provided by Renegade Racking, perform a detailed survey of the damage. In the case of Northern Tool, Renegade Racking found 175 racks that would be well served by a repair kit. We also found 35 damaged racks where a full replacement made more sense.
Each repair kit is custom-built to the unique specifications of the racking it is intended to fix. The kits aim to match the damaged area’s exact height, width, style, and even color. And they are cut so as to only replace what is required. The licensed installer takes detailed measurements during the survey to ensure the kit fits seamlessly into the damaged area. The installer then translates these measurements into an order for parts, which MacRak then manufactures.
When performing these kinds of installations and repairs on active warehousing, Renegade Racking takes great care to plan ahead in a way that ensures limited downtime. Each work area is prepped just shortly before work begins ensuring no downtime for our installers–and limited interruption for the client. For Northern Tool, Renegade Racking was able to replace the racks recommended for outright replacement with racking that they had on hand. This allowed us to begin work while MacRack was still manufacturing the repair kits.
Once completed, the repair kits were shipped to the warehouse and Renegade Racking went to work installing them. The process utilizes a proprietary jack that lifts the racking in place. Only minimal inventory needs to be removed from the racks to complete the installation. By planning ahead, as detailed above, Renegade Racking was able to perform these repairs within the span of 5 days with no noticeable disruptions to Northern Tool’s operations.
