Efficient car recycling: Space-saving storage of end-of-life vehicles

Cantilever Racks Car Recycler Relies on the Densest Possible Packing of its Scrap Cars

2025-08-27 From Bernd Maienschein | Translated by AI 2 min Reading Time

Related Vendors

The most striking difference between the road and a car recycler is the distance between vehicles: on the road, they should remain as contact-free as possible, while at the recycler, they are tightly packed because space costs money. Silverlake Automotive Recycling in Hampshire (UK) stores up to 2,500 end-of-life vehicles space-efficiently and safely in 19 cantilever racks from Ohra.

Nearly 80 years in business: Silverlake recycles 98 percent of scrap cars at its ATF-certified car scrapyard.(Image: Ohra) — Nearly 80 years in business: Silverlake recycles 98 percent of scrap cars at its ATF-certified car scrapyard.
(Image: Ohra)

The British company Silverlake Automotive Recycling in Shedfield (Hampshire County on the south coast) aims to have as many end-of-life vehicles as possible readily accessible. Cars, SUVs, and vans are stored in 8-meter-high (approx. 26 ft) cantilever racks from the German rack supplier Ohra, based in Kerpen, which provide space for five vehicles, each weighing up to 2 tons, stacked on top of one another. This allows for up to 2,500 end-of-life vehicles to be stored. The rack rows are equipped with guide rails, enabling the loading and unloading of vehicles with a side loader. This setup allows the aisles between the racks to be particularly narrow, making it possible to install more racks within the available space.

Hot-Rolled Steel Profiles Withstand Rough Everyday Work

According to its own reports, Silverlake Automotive Recycling recycled over 81,000 spare parts from end-of-life vehicles last year, which corresponds to the equivalent of around 34,668 cars and vans that were reused. The 2-meter-long (approx. 7 ft) cantilever arms can be flexibly adjusted up or down in increments of 100 millimeters (approx, 4 inches). Thanks to the patented hook-in system of the cantilever arms, no tools are required for adjustments. This allows Silverlake to quickly adapt the height of the storage levels, for example, to accommodate vans or SUVs.

For Alan Prebble, Managing Director of Silverlake, it wasn't just the high storage capacity enabled by the racks that was a reason to choose Ohra: The stiff and robust construction of the racks made from solid, hot-rolled steel profiles also convinced him. This allows the racks to sustainably withstand the harsh everyday work on the car recycler's premises.

5 Key Tips for Selecting Your Next Laser Cutting Machine

Facing rising demands and labor shortages, manufacturers must choose smarter laser systems. This guide helps you make informed decisions for flatbed and tube cutters—balancing cost, capacity, and future automation needs. Learn more about:

How to size your laser cutter for current and future production needs
Choosing the appropriate laser power for your material mix and thickness
Key differences between entry-level and high-performance cutting systems
When to consider tube laser cutting and how to evaluate its ROI
Why automation readiness is essential for operational efficiency in 2025

Free Download

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

Business E-mail

Please enter a valid mailadress.

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta)

Date: 08.12.2025

Naturally, we always handle your personal data responsibly. Any personal data we receive from you is processed in accordance with applicable data protection legislation. For detailed information please see our privacy policy.

Consent to the use of data for promotional purposes

I hereby consent to Vogel Communications Group GmbH & Co. KG, Max-Planck-Str. 7-9, 97082 Würzburg including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG (hereafter: Vogel Communications Group) using my e-mail address to send editorial newsletters. A list of all affiliated companies can be found here

Newsletter content may include all products and services of any companies mentioned above, including for example specialist journals and books, events and fairs as well as event-related products and services, print and digital media offers and services such as additional (editorial) newsletters, raffles, lead campaigns, market research both online and offline, specialist webportals and e-learning offers. In case my personal telephone number has also been collected, it may be used for offers of aforementioned products, for services of the companies mentioned above, and market research purposes.

Additionally, my consent also includes the processing of my email address and telephone number for data matching for marketing purposes with select advertising partners such as LinkedIn, Google, and Meta. For this, Vogel Communications Group may transmit said data in hashed form to the advertising partners who then use said data to determine whether I am also a member of the mentioned advertising partner portals. Vogel Communications Group uses this feature for the purposes of re-targeting (up-selling, cross-selling, and customer loyalty), generating so-called look-alike audiences for acquisition of new customers, and as basis for exclusion for on-going advertising campaigns. Further information can be found in section “data matching for marketing purposes”.

In case I access protected data on Internet portals of Vogel Communications Group including any affiliated companies according to §§ 15 et seq. AktG, I need to provide further data in order to register for the access to such content. In return for this free access to editorial content, my data may be used in accordance with this consent for the purposes stated here. This does not apply to data matching for marketing purposes.

Right of revocation

I understand that I can revoke my consent at will. My revocation does not change the lawfulness of data processing that was conducted based on my consent leading up to my revocation. One option to declare my revocation is to use the contact form found at https://contact.vogel.de. In case I no longer wish to receive certain newsletters, I have subscribed to, I can also click on the unsubscribe link included at the end of a newsletter. Further information regarding my right of revocation and the implementation of it as well as the consequences of my revocation can be found in the data protection declaration, section editorial newsletter.