The SHOREFIT Story

On the drive to the firehouse to celebrate her retirement after 28 years with Plainfield (IN) Fire Territory, Daniel Klinger asked his wife Carole “So what sort of training do you receive for responding to a pallet rack collapse?” The question was not as odd as it might seem. Daniel is the founder of MTAC Industrial Solutions which, for more than 25 years, has spent its days working to prevent such catastrophes through patented pallet rack repair solutions. Carole’s answer left Daniel momentarily speechless:

“None.”

That unexpected answer led to deeper conversations and a shared vision to raise awareness of the need for such training. In May 2023, MTAC, in coordination with Plainfield Fire Territory Deputy Chief Jeffrey A. Dixon, hosted the first-of-its-kind, county-wide, awareness and training event with team members of the Hendricks County (IN) Rescue Task Force. The meeting featured a presentation on Pallet Rack Collapse Response, followed by Q&A through the lunch hour. The program was well-received and definitely eye-opening to the participants, which included multiple Fire Chiefs from around the county. All of these safety leaders agreed that there is a critical need for first responder pallet rack collapse training, especially given the couple hundred warehouses that are located in their county.

During the lively Q&A session of the meeting Deputy Chief of Operations Jason Porter of Washington Township / Avon (IN) Fire Department voiced a concern that the presentation had raised for him. Namely, that the shoring struts they currently use would not necessarily engage a collapsed pallet rack effectively. This sparked an in-depth discussion that led to MTAC employing their engineering and design teams to develop several different mechanical connections for effectively engaging shoring struts with a collapsed pallet rack.

The ShoreFit Shoring Strut to Pallet Rack Adapter is the fruit of MTAC’s labor and expertise, and the passion of Daniel and Carole Klinger to see lives saved.

Prior to her role as President of ShoreFit, Carole served as a Firefighter and Paramedic with Plainfield Fire Territory in Indiana for 28 years, retiring March 1, 2023. Carole began her career as a reserve firefighter in March 1995 and was hired full-time in February 1999. A highlight of Carole’s lengthy career came on February 26, 2023 when, for the first time in the department’s 100-year history, an all-female crew staffed a 24-hour duty shift at one of Plainfield Fire Territory’s stations.

In addition to his role as Vice President of ShoreFit, Daniel is also the founder of MTAC Industrial Solutions, where he has over 25 years of experience, and holds multiple patents in warehouse safety innovations, with a focus on pallet rack collapse prevention. Daniel is passionate about preventing these disasters while also increasing the awareness of them, and the urgent need for pallet rack collapse response training for both warehouse staff and first responders alike so that everyone is properly equipped and proactively prepared for “that day”.

Advanced Rescue Solutions (ARS) is the premiere provider of technical rescue training for public safety teams and special rescue units. For over 30 years ARS instructors have been dedicated to safe rescue operations through quality hands-on training that meets or exceeds national standards. ARS is the official training partner of ShoreFit, offering pallet collapse response training which includes proper deployment and use of the ShoreFit Shoring Strut to Pallet Rack Adapter.

Founded in Indianapolis, IN in 1999 by Daniel Klinger, MTAC Industrial Solutions is a subject matter expert in the field of both pallet rack and pallet rack collapse prevention. MTAC has decades of experience, holds multiple patents for warehouse safety innovations and is focused on providing the fastest repair of pallet rack damage in the industry to keep warehouses safer. MTAC inspects, repairs, and maintains hundreds of thousands of frames, and the hugely diverse rack systems they support, in facilities all across the United States.