Returnable racksBuilt around your part
For about 25 years, PSS has designed and built custom steel racks and dunnage for automotive and industrial parts, from Roseville, Michigan. Every rack starts with the part. Pick the rack type closest to what you need, or open the 3D Packaging Studio and let your part decide.
Rack types
Flipper racks
Panels stand on edge between pivoting dunnage flippers. Hoods, doors, liftgates, roofs, fenders.
Flipper racks ›
Load flipper racks
Flat parts lie tier on tier on swing-down steel flippers. Frame rails, crossmembers, floor pans.
Load flipper racks ›
Bag racks
Sewn fabric dunnage cells for lighter parts. Soft trim, carpets, insulators, trim panels.
Bag racks ›Shelf racks
Levels with strips, combs, trays or dividers, and a lock across the front. Tanks, radiators, modules.
Shelf racks ›
Cantilever racks
Arms reach in from the back, so the front stays open. Carpets, trim and panels.
Cantilever racks ›
Dunnage carts & dollies
Steel carts on casters for lineside delivery, pushed by hand or towed in a tugger train.
Dunnage carts & dollies ›Not sure which rack?
Open the Studio and pick what you are packaging: a fuel tank, a hood, a seat, a radiator. It starts from the rack PSS usually builds for that part, and you can change anything.
Open the Studio ›What every PSS rack gets right
Easy to load
A rule of thumb we design to: keep the rack about 53 in tall or less, so parts are easy to load and unload. A rack only goes taller when the part needs it.
No marks on show surfaces
Class A (painted or show) surfaces never touch bare steel. Contact is urethane, plastic, foam, fabric or vinyl, chosen for the part.
Stacks and forks
Shipping racks stack on caps at the corner posts and sit on a low profile or truss base with 4-way fork entry.
Shipping or in-plant
Shipping racks carry parts between plants and lock them in for the truck. Work-in-process racks move parts between operations inside the plant.
Prototype first
A prototype checks fit, function and durability before the production fleet is built.
Support after launch
Repairs, reworks for part changes, upgrades, replacement dunnage and fleet additions.
Collapsible is an option, not a rack type
Many PSS racks can be made collapsible, so an empty rack folds down and more of them fit on the truck going back. Flipper racks, flipper tower racks, bag racks and cantilever racks can all be built this way, and so can steel bins.
On PSS's folding rack each corner post is a short stub with a cap. The two sides that carry the dunnage lift and fold flat over the base, one on top of the other, and a gravity lock seats each side when it is standing, with no loose pins. Folded racks stack on the stub caps.
The Studio shows the folded height and how many racks fit on a return trailer folded against standing. PSS reviews every collapsible request before anything is built.
How a PSS rack project runs
- Try it on your partOpen the 3D Packaging Studio, free in your browser. Upload a STEP, IGES, STL, OBJ or GLB file, or type in the part size. Your CAD file stays on your computer.
- Send it to PSSRequest a PSS review from the Studio, or send us your part and ask for a free concept design.
- Design and prototype3D CAD around your part, then a prototype to check fit, function and durability before production.
- Build and supportProduction fleet, delivery, and later repairs, reworks, replacement dunnage and fleet additions.
Questions we hear
What does PSS make?
Custom steel returnable racks and dunnage for automotive and industrial parts: flipper, load flipper, bag, shelf and cantilever racks, dunnage carts and dollies, steel bins, and the dunnage inside them. PSS also supplies plastic bins, totes and pallets.
Where is PSS?
Roseville, Michigan. PSS has been designing and building returnable packaging for about 25 years.
Is a concept design free?
Yes. Try your part in the 3D Packaging Studio for free, or send PSS the part and ask for a free concept design.
Do you also repair or rework racks already in service?
Yes: maintenance and weld repair, caster replacement, reworks for part changes, upgrades, replacement dunnage and fleet additions.
Start with your part
Upload a STEP, IGES, STL, OBJ or GLB file, or type in the part size, and see a rack concept around your part in a few minutes. Or send PSS the part and ask for a free concept design.