Warehouse, Factory & Industrial Steel Partitions

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What are warehouse partitions?

Warehouse partitions are steel, mesh or wire wall systems that divide a large open building into separate working areas without permanent construction. They create storage bays, secure stock areas, workstations, offices and clean rooms, and they control what passes between those areas: dust, noise, heat and people.

Most systems are demountable. Panels bolt to vertical support posts with floor and ceiling anchors, so a run can be taken down and rebuilt on a different line when the layout changes. That matters in a building you lease, or one where the racking moves every few years.

Floor-to-ceiling single skin steel partitioning warehouse wall dividing the building

Full height single skin steel partition wall being constructed to separate different operations in a warehouse, from floor to ceiling to reduce dust, contamination, and disruption

Factory partitions and industrial partitions

Factory partitions and industrial partitions are the same systems described by the building they sit in. A factory partition might enclose a press line or a robot cell. An industrial partition in a distribution centre might separate bonded stock from the general pick face.

The engineering does not change. What changes is what the wall has to survive: forklift traffic, vibration, temperature differences between one side and the other, and the racking already bolted to the floor.

Storwell has designed, manufactured and installed steel and mesh partitioning in UK warehouses and factories since 1982, for the NHS, the MOD and commercial operators.

Types of industrial partitioning system

Most warehouse and factory jobs come down to four systems. The choice usually turns on three things: whether you need to see through the wall, whether sound and heat have to stay on one side of it, and whether the area needs to lock.

System	Visibility	Sound and heat	Typical use
Single skin steel	Solid	Basic separation	Dividing walls, stores, general zoning
Double skin steel	Solid, or glazed sections	Insulated cavity	Production offices, QC rooms, welfare areas
Steel mesh and wire	See through	None	Stock security, machine guarding, caged aisles
Mesh security cage	See through	None	Bonded stock, high value items, server rooms

Single skin steel partitions

A single layer of steel panel welded to rolled channel steel frames, bolted to vertical posts and anchored at floor and ceiling. It is the most economical way to put a solid, floor to ceiling wall into a warehouse.

Panels take doors, windows, glazed sections and mesh infills, so one run can be solid at the bottom and open at the top where sprinkler coverage or light needs to carry across.

Double skin steel partitions

Two layers of steel panel with an air cavity and a high density Rockwool infill between them. The second skin is what buys the sound reduction and the improved fire performance.

This is the usual choice for production offices, quality control rooms and any space where people work next to running machinery. Both faces are finished, so the wall looks right from the factory floor and from inside the office.

Steel mesh and wire partitions

Welded wire mesh panels in a steel frame. Wire partitions and steel mesh partitions are two names for the same product.

Mesh gives you a physical barrier while keeping sight lines and airflow, which matters for sprinkler coverage and for supervising an area without walking into it. The standard aperture is 50 x 50mm, with 25 x 25mm used where security or containment needs a tighter grid. Expanded metal and punched sheet steel are available where panels have to resist a determined attack.

More on mesh partitions | Mesh panel options

Mesh security cages and enclosures

When a partition run closes into a full enclosure with a lockable door and a mesh roof, it becomes a security cage.

Cages go inside otherwise open warehouses for bonded stock, high value inventory, controlled substances, tooling and server equipment. They can be built freestanding or fixed to existing racking uprights, which is often the quickest way to secure a bay without touching the floor.

Where warehouse and factory partitions are used

Warehouse zoning and storage segregation

Splitting a floor plate into goods in, pick, pack and despatch, with clear separation between pedestrian and vehicle routes. Mesh suits this because supervisors keep sight of the whole floor.

Factory offices and production line segregation

Double skin partitioning drops an office, a supervisor’s cabin or a meeting room straight onto the factory floor, and the insulated cavity keeps the noise where it belongs. See steel office partitioning.

Machine and robot cell enclosures

Guarding around presses, robots and automated cells. Mesh gives the visibility to see a fault without opening the cell, and panels can be lifted out for maintenance access.

Clean rooms and controlled environments

Where the partition has to hold a controlled atmosphere, sealed double skin construction with flush panels and glazed vision panels is used. See clean room partitioning.

Laboratory and test areas

Test cells, QC labs and calibration rooms built inside a working factory. See laboratory partitioning.

Secure and bonded storage

Caged areas for goods held under bond or awaiting clearance, where the barrier has to be visibly secure and lockable. See bonded warehouse storage cages.

Diagram showing a four-step process with a hand writing 'Plan, Act, Do, Check' that Storwell Systems follows for each project

Designing a partition around an existing building

Very few industrial partitions go into an empty shell. Most have to work around what is already there, which is what the site survey is for.

Existing racking and mezzanines

Mesh panels can be fixed straight to racking uprights instead of standing on their own frame, which saves floor space and installation time. Anti collapse mesh is used where a partition backs onto a loaded pallet run.

Forklift traffic and impact protection

Any partition bordering a vehicle route needs protecting. Armco barrier set in front of the panel line takes the hit instead of the wall.

Sprinklers, lighting and services

A floor to ceiling wall changes sprinkler coverage and can cut light to one side. Part height partitions, mesh upper sections and glazed panels are the usual answers.

Dust, noise and temperature

If the point of the wall is to hold dust or noise, it has to be sealed at the head and the base. A mesh partition will not do it, and double skin is normally the honest answer.

Specification

Panel sizes, door positions and infills are made to suit the building, so treat this as the usual starting point rather than a fixed range.

Panel heights	2,200mm and 3,000mm are the most economical standard heights. Other heights made to order.
Construction	Steel panels welded to rolled channel steel frames, bolted to vertical support posts with floor and ceiling anchors.
Single skin	One panel face. Cost effective solid division.
Double skin	Two faces, air cavity, high density Rockwool infill. Improved acoustic and fire performance.
Mesh aperture	50 x 50mm standard, 25 x 25mm for higher security and containment.
Wire gauge	12g (2.5mm) and 10g (3mm).
Mesh types	Welded wire, expanded metal, punched sheet steel.
Infill options	Doors, windows, glazed panels, mesh sections.
Finishes	Powder coated or hot dip galvanised.
Standard colours	RAL 9005 Jet Black, RAL 9010 Warm White, RAL 7016 Anthracite Grey.
Fire rated	Fire rated configurations are available. Tell us the rating your building control officer needs and we will specify to it.

Data sheets and guides | Colour options | Lock options

How a Storwell installation works

Tell us the space and what needs separating, and the first quote usually goes out within 48 hours. Once you approve it, a surveyor is normally on site within 7 days to measure up and note access points, obstructions and anything else that affects the install.

You then get a pre manufacture layout drawing with panel sizes, door positions and a written specification to check. Nothing is cut until you have signed that off. Panels are manufactured to the approved drawing and installed by our own fitters.

Storwell has been doing this since 1982. We started out building storage for videotape libraries at the BBC and ITV, moved into steel partitioning and mesh storage for the NHS and the MOD, and still design, manufacture and install from Redditch.

The full process, step by step

Warehouse and industrial partitioning FAQs

Do warehouse partitions need building regulations approval?

It depends what the partition does. A demountable mesh or single skin divider inside an existing building is often treated as an internal fitting rather than construction. Anything that forms a fire compartment, encloses a workspace with its own means of escape, or changes the sprinkler design will need checking against the Building Regulations. Ask at enquiry stage and we will tell you where you stand.

Complete the short form and we’ll get straight back to you.

Notebook with 'Need Help' written, tape measure and glasses inviting potential clients to contact for advice and quotations on steel partitioning, mesh storage cages, or mobile shelving projects.

Warehouse, Factory & Industrial Partitions