Storage mezzanines are raised platforms that are used to create extra space for long and short-term storage for a range of commercial and industrial operations. A storage mezzanine can be used to store anything provided that the storage platform is large enough and the construction material is strong enough to support it.
Storage mezzanines are used in industrial, retail and commercial contexts to store, stock and organize bulky, large or heavy equipment and items not being used. Mezzanine storage keeps valuable, expensive and breakable parts and equipment out of the way and safe from workers and automated vehicles. They are strong enough to store very heavy equipment, as well as stock large numbers of boxes and containers in large volumes. By taking advantage of the space mezzanines offer, businesses are able to extend their limits of production volume easily and inexpensively. Companies whose operations are based in factories and warehouses must concern themselves with efficient use of space in order to be effective. At a certain point, though, there is no alternative to adding more space once the space capacity of a facility has been reached. When an operation is about to outgrow its facilities, it is presented with a few choices. The company can relocate to other facilities, expand current facilities, do nothing (and accept the indefinite stagnation of its business) or construct mezzanines.
New building construction and relocation efforts are expensive and time consuming; there is also a host of expenses like construction and labor, building permits, taxes and other costs associated with these kinds of expansions. Mezzanines effectively double the capacities of the areas in which they are installed, and they incur only a small fraction of the expenses involved in new construction or expansion. Mezzanine construction features a platform and a support system of beams, columns and fasteners. The beams and columns are designed in a way that minimizes impedance to operations below without sacrificing structural stability. Steel is often the material of choice for mezzanine construction because of its sturdiness, though other materials like fiberglass can be used in lower-demand applications. Storage mezzanines can be free-standing or structural. Free-standing mezzanines are most useful in applications in which an established, growing operation needs to create more space within existing facilities. They are easily assembled and disassembled, relocated and expanded. Structural mezzanines are integrated into the construction of buildings and are not easily moved, but they can be the sturdiest variety of mezzanines because they are supported by permanent structural components.
