Is Schaefer racking the same as SSI Schäfer?

Yes, 'Schaefer' is the shorthand used in the Australian market for SSI Schäfer's storage and racking equipment.

Is Schaefer racking common secondhand?

Less so than older, higher-volume Australian brands. It's more often encountered through a direct supply arrangement than a general auction or liquidation listing.

Can Schaefer beams be mixed with another brand's frames?

Only if the manufacturer or a competent person confirms the combination was engineered to work together. A physical fit between two brands' components is not evidence of that.

Does buying from an international brand change the inspection requirement?

No. The general duty to keep racking safe, and the standard regulators point to for meeting it, applies the same way regardless of where the equipment was manufactured.

Schaefer racking

Schaefer racking usually means equipment from SSI Schäfer, an international storage and intralogistics supplier with a presence in the Australian market. It's less likely to turn up in a general secondhand auction than Dexion or Colby, and more likely to arrive as part of a planned warehouse fit-out.

Last updated 2026-08-23

SSI Schäfer in the Australian market

'Schaefer' racking generally refers to equipment supplied under the SSI Schäfer name, an international storage and warehouse systems company that also serves Australian customers. Compared with the Dexion system or Stow, it's encountered more often through a direct fit-out project than a used-equipment listing, though secondhand Schaefer stock does exist.

That project-led route into a warehouse means the specification behind a Schaefer installation is more likely to survive somewhere, whether with the original installer, the business's own records, or the distributor. It's worth chasing that paper trail before assuming nothing is recoverable, particularly for a system installed within the last decade or so.

What it's typically used for

Schaefer's range covers standard pallet racking through to more specialised storage systems, including options aimed at cantilever systems for long or awkward loads. Which product line is actually installed on a site changes what beam level heights and clearances the rest of the warehouse needs to plan around, so confirm the specific range rather than assuming a generic pallet racking layout.

A single site can also run more than one Schaefer product line at once: standard pallet storage in one zone, a cantilever run for long stock in another, and a lighter shelving system somewhere else again. Treat each zone as its own question when you're checking specifications, rather than assuming one range's clearances apply across the whole warehouse.

Buying secondhand Schaefer

As with any less common brand in the general secondhand market, confirming the brand and range matters more than usual, because parts and documentation are less likely to be something a generalist reseller can supply on request. Claims that a component is compatible with a well-known name are worth treating with particular caution when the racking on offer is actually something else entirely.

Inspection and maintenance intervals

How often a system needs checking doesn't change because of the manufacturer, but knowing the exact range does change what a competent person needs to identify correctly before signing off on anything. That's true of Schaefer racking as much as any other brand.

Where an international brand can help is documentation: a supplier with a formal distributor relationship is often better placed to produce original specification sheets on request than a brand that has largely left the new-build market. Ask for that documentation before an inspection rather than during one, so the inspector isn't starting from a blank page.

Fleet compatibility matters too

It's worth checking the forklift fleet a warehouse actually runs against the aisle widths and lift heights a given Schaefer range was designed around, particularly in higher-density layouts where the racking and the handling equipment were effectively specified as a pair.

Common questions

Is Schaefer racking the same as SSI Schäfer?: Yes, 'Schaefer' is the shorthand used in the Australian market for SSI Schäfer's storage and racking equipment.
Is Schaefer racking common secondhand?: Less so than older, higher-volume Australian brands. It's more often encountered through a direct supply arrangement than a general auction or liquidation listing.
Can Schaefer beams be mixed with another brand's frames?: Only if the manufacturer or a competent person confirms the combination was engineered to work together. A physical fit between two brands' components is not evidence of that.
Does buying from an international brand change the inspection requirement?: No. The general duty to keep racking safe, and the standard regulators point to for meeting it, applies the same way regardless of where the equipment was manufactured.

Part of our guide to who makes pallet racking.