van Deuveren, a Dutch timber trading company, has opted for a colour scheme for its racking systems that echoes the colours of the buildings. This creates a harmonious unit that reflects the modernity and quality of the company.
Red, blue, yellow, green – and all the shades in between. The world is colourful. Colours influence emotions, give identity and provide orientation. It is no coincidence that colour psychology is an important part of workplace design. Designing workshop spaces, production halls or offices in colour helps to keep people motivated and focused. For example, a combination of blue and green can create a feeling of space and relaxation in production facilities. Or stimulating colour elements, for instance on hall pillars or doors, can have an invigorating effect on monotonous work. Colours are often used to identify different work areas.
Colour-coordinated warehouse and factory equipment can also reflect the corporate design and convey the company’s brand. Particularly when customers enter the warehouse area – for example in DIY stores – attention should be paid to the colour design of the hall and the racking technology installed in it.
Rack colour adapted to the architecture
A good example of the effect of a harmonious colour concept is the new headquarters of the Dutch timber trading company van Deuveren. Here, the colour of the racking installed in the halls and in the outdoor area was matched to the colour scheme of the surrounding architecture.
Founded 25 years ago, the company is one of the leading distributors of timber products in the Overijssel region. As the previous location had reached its limits, the storage capacity could no longer be expanded and access was difficult due to the location in a residential area, van Deuveren decided to move to the new company headquarters in Dedemsvaart.
Anthracite, fire red and light grey
Companies, tradesmen and private individuals are supplied with wood and connecting elements from here. All goods can also be collected on-site. “It was therefore important for us to have an appealing, modern and architecturally sophisticated design for the building and warehouse facilities,” explains Ronald van Deuveren, Managing Director of the timber trading company.
The racks for the outdoor area were painted in the colour RAL 7016 “anthracite”. They thus echo the colour of the facade of the halls between which they are positioned. The window frames of the halls, the façade cladding of the office wing and the supporting structures of the halls are painted in RAL 3000 “Fire Red”. This colour is repeated on the racks inside this part of the building.
In a third complex, where products are primarily stored around the roof and façade, the racking is painted in light grey (RAL 7035) and echoes the colour of the steel structures in this hall. The façade design of the various buildings and the interior and exterior racking thus form a harmonious unit thanks to repeating colours, reflecting the modernity and quality of “Houthandel van Deuveren”.
Robust and flexible racking
The timber merchant van Deuveren opted for racking systems from OHRA, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of heavy-duty storage technology. “We had already used racking from OHRA in our previous warehouses and had good experiences,” says Ronald van Deuveren. The racking, made from hot-rolled steel profiles, is particularly robust and enables high load capacities with a slim design.
“As the cantilever arms are simply hooked in – without any tools – the system remains flexible and is easy to install,” adds Berry Vanneer, OHRA’s sales manager for the Netherlands.
OHRA always manufactures the racking individually according to the customer’s requirements. In van Deuveren’s case, this applied not only to the dimensions and load capacities, but also to the colour scheme. OHRA offers the racks as standard in the colours RAL 5015, RAL 6011, RAL 3000 and RAL 7035 at no extra charge. However, other colours are also available as an option.
“As the surcharge for special colours is not high, more and more customers are taking advantage of the option of custom colouring,” says Vanneer. “Large companies and corporations, in particular, are increasingly matching the rack colours to their corporate colours.”
The colour transports functions
The paintwork at van Deuveren does not have to meet such high requirements; design reasons spoke in favour of the individual colour scheme. But it can also have a practical function, as Berry Vanneer reports: “Companies use different coloured racks, for example, to signal different load capacities or to identify different storage areas.” However, the colour of the stored goods should always be kept in mind: grey plastic pallets on grey racking beams do not necessarily make it easier for warehouse staff to pick up a pallet.
“Ideally, the support frames and beams should stand out from the warehouse goods,” says Berry Vanneer. “This makes it easier for the forklift driver to differentiate them by colour, especially with higher racks, and thus ensures greater safety and efficiency during storage and retrieval.”
For van Deuveren, the individual colouring of the racks certainly ensures positive feedback. “We keep hearing from customers how tidy and solid the storage areas look. Professional is a term that is often used,” says Ronald van Deuveren.
