Auer Packaging - Sortimo alternative for small parts storage?

[The Frisco Kid]

I have been absolutely locked up trying to evaluate all of my options for shop storage. I have landed somewhere in the realm of either Sortimo ($$$$) containers or Durham steel drawers. I like the Sortimo due to much lighter weight and the flexibility of the cases. The Durham is attractive due to the time tested and durable steel design, but it is not very flexible in how and where in my shop I would put a few stacks of Durham drawers. Compared to the Sortimo, the metal drawers would actually be less expensive and turnkey. However, I am very intrigued by the Auer alternative.

Auer is another German manufacturer of plastics. They have some good reviews. The drawers that I am looking at would be 44cm (17.3”) by 35.5cm (13.9”) which makes them comparable in size to the Dewalt Deep Storage unit.


Dewalt DWST14825 - 17.4” by 13.9” - 10 compartments $20
Auer - 17.3” by 13.9” with up to 48 compartments (2” square each) ~ $45-$50 after taxes and shipping

I want to order a few of these to try out and see if I like the build quality and functionality.







Has anyone tried these Auer units? Is there a better source to get them in the US? The VAT and shipping kills some of the deal.

 

[LeeG]

I can't help you with the Auer ones, but I have been extremely happy with my Allit bins from Lee Valley tools. Made in Germany. I have 28 of them. You can buy just the bins also. I end up using lots of the 2"x2" bins. I had a review type post about them here. Some of mine have 10+ pounds of fasteners in them and they hold up just fine.

Lee Valley has free shipping deals on a fairly regular basis, so if you wait for one of those, you can get a lot for not much money.

 

[danski0224]

The Sortimo ones are awesome.

Knapheide is a USA Sortimo distributor, and some truck/van upfitters (INLAD, American Van, etc.) carry Sortimo stuff too.

 

[IndyGarage]

Probably 7-8 years ago I built a rack that holds 24 of the Harbor Freight sorters - 12 of the deep ones and 12 of the shallower ones. One of the best things I've ever done - I'm in that rack constantly.

Before I built it I bought 1 each of every kind of storage units I could find and I actually found I liked the HF ones better than some that were much more expensive. I really liked the sturdiness of the Milwaukee and DeWalt's, but they didn't have a flexible internal arrangement. I did not like any of the ones with the little plastic dividers that you have to arrange and I did not like any that had permanent compartments. I also tried some of the box kits - like the festool and the Bosch boxes.

One of the biggest things you want is one that will hold contents in place when you hold it vertical - several brands had lids that didn't fit tight enough to keep stuff from slipping between the compartments. Another thing that I did is I have many small parts "kits" that come in their own boxes. I take the compartments out and just put the kits in their in their boxes. One bin can hold 6-8 of the kit boxes.

Those Auer ones look nice. It would be an extra $1000 or so to have used them - not sure there's that much extra value for me.

 

[username2]

This is for fasteners and the like? I bought a steel map cabinet and put some wheels on it.

 

[cvairwerks]

I'm using the Milwaukee Jobsite Organizers until we get moved and in a new shop. Will be going to Lista/Vidmar/Rousseau cabinets then.

Jobsite Organizer

The Milwaukee Jobsite organizer is the most versatile of its kind and was designed for increased productivity and up to 20% more capacity than the competition.

www.milwaukeetool.com

 

[The Frisco Kid]

I can't help you with the Auer ones, but I have been extremely happy with my Allit bins from Lee Valley tools. Made in Germany. I have 28 of them. You can buy just the bins also. I end up using lots of the 2"x2" bins. I had a review type post about them here. Some of mine have 10+ pounds of fasteners in them and they hold up just fine.

Lee Valley has free shipping deals on a fairly regular basis, so if you wait for one of those, you can get a lot for not much money.

I have one of these ordered now. I will check it out.

 

[The Frisco Kid]

The Sortimo ones are awesome.

Knapheide is a USA Sortimo distributor, and some truck/van upfitters (INLAD, American Van, etc.) carry Sortimo stuff too.

I have an RFQ into the local Sortimo "guy" but I am not particularly hopeful that the quote comes back much better than list. I am just installing in my shop, not in a full fleet of trucks.

This is for fasteners and the like? I bought a steel map cabinet and put some wheels on it.

This is what the Durham metal drawers would most resemble, but they would allow for me to lift them out and take them around the shop or out in the field.

I'm using the Milwaukee Jobsite Organizers until we get moved and in a new shop. Will be going to Lista/Vidmar/Rousseau cabinets then.

Jobsite Organizer

The Milwaukee Jobsite organizer is the most versatile of its kind and was designed for increased productivity and up to 20% more capacity than the competition.

www.milwaukeetool.com

I really like the Rousseau cabinet concept lined with Schaller boxes (or similar). This may be the sweet spot where I end up. It's not that much more expensive to just buy a 44" tall parts cabinet, but I lose the ability to "take it with me", which I think that I would use quite often.

 

[The Frisco Kid]

Probably 7-8 years ago I built a rack that holds 24 of the Harbor Freight sorters - 12 of the deep ones and 12 of the shallower ones. One of the best things I've ever done - I'm in that rack constantly.

Before I built it I bought 1 each of every kind of storage units I could find and I actually found I liked the HF ones better than some that were much more expensive. I really liked the sturdiness of the Milwaukee and DeWalt's, but they didn't have a flexible internal arrangement. I did not like any of the ones with the little plastic dividers that you have to arrange and I did not like any that had permanent compartments. I also tried some of the box kits - like the festool and the Bosch boxes.

One of the biggest things you want is one that will hold contents in place when you hold it vertical - several brands had lids that didn't fit tight enough to keep stuff from slipping between the compartments. Another thing that I did is I have many small parts "kits" that come in their own boxes. I take the compartments out and just put the kits in their in their boxes. One bin can hold 6-8 of the kit boxes.

Those Auer ones look nice. It would be an extra $1000 or so to have used them - not sure there's that much extra value for me.

I wanted to reply to this post on its own, as this has been something else that I have been seriously considering... how much "value" will I get with a stack of $30-40 bin boxes for parts? I have seen many installs with the Harbor Freight parts sorting boxes, and they look great. After 7-8 years, how is the durability? Honestly, even if you lose a few, I think that you could replace them pretty easily and the value upside is huge.

I really like the Milwaukee and DeWalt sturdiness, but they don't give me the small parts flexibility without 3D printing my own internal cups (which is also on the things-I-am-considering list).

 

[IndyGarage]

I can't help you with the Auer ones, but I have been extremely happy with my Allit bins from Lee Valley tools. Made in Germany. I have 28 of them. You can buy just the bins also. I end up using lots of the 2"x2" bins. I had a review type post about them here. Some of mine have 10+ pounds of fasteners in them and they hold up just fine.

Lee Valley has free shipping deals on a fairly regular basis, so if you wait for one of those, you can get a lot for not much money.

The thing I don't like about those is the latch mechanism. I tried several with that plastic click tab mechanism and I think they have to use a softer plastic for the whole lid in order to make that latch work. None of them lasted very long and none of the lids would hold stuff properly when you held it vertically. To be fair I didn't try this brand, but several that were similar.

I really like the Rousseau cabinet concept lined with Schaller boxes (or similar). This may be the sweet spot where I end up. It's not that much more expensive to just buy a 44" tall parts cabinet, but I lose the ability to "take it with me", which I think that I would use quite often.

"Take it with me" is very important. I will pull a bin out of my rack and carry it over to the work, quite frequently. The only thing wrong with my rack is that i don't have a shelf on it to set the bins on and open them. I've got a plan to build a second rack with more bins but only half height, so I can set the bins on them to open them.

 

[IndyGarage]

I wanted to reply to this post on its own, as this has been something else that I have been seriously considering... how much "value" will I get with a stack of $30-40 bin boxes for parts? I have seen many installs with the Harbor Freight parts sorting boxes, and they look great. After 7-8 years, how is the durability? Honestly, even if you lose a few, I think that you could replace them pretty easily and the value upside is huge.

I really like the Milwaukee and DeWalt sturdiness, but they don't give me the small parts flexibility without 3D printing my own internal cups (which is also on the things-I-am-considering list).

I think I built my rack in 2014. I'm into the bins on a daily basis when I'm in the shop - which is probably 4-5 days a week on average. Some of them get pulled out and used a lot, and some rarely. Not a single one of them has broken or had any problems. I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again.

I seriously considered the Milwaukee and DeWalt because I really like the sturdiness as well and they aren't that much more expensive than the HF. I don't remember why I rejected DeWalt, but there was a reason. The Milwaukee only had two sizes of bins - fairly large and really large - which wasn't enough flexibility and yeah I didn't want to build new cups. At the time, Milwaukee only had one size of box and I liked the two sizes that HF offered. I think since then Milwaukee has expanded the line a lot with their stacking system.

 

[cvairwerks]

For me, portability is not even in the discussion when you have hundreds of different nuts, bolts, washers and screws. For example, there are 4 possible materials, 6 different coatings and up to 6 different thicknesses for each size washer. I don't normally stock them all, but just the commonly needed ones. For example, for a #10 washer, I keep a dozen different part numbers on hand. Now multiply that by the 5 sizes and then add in the same for nuts, and then add in 5 versions of each diameter bolt, with up to 20 or so grip lengths and the stock gets bulky and heavy, and that's just nuts, bolts and washers....

 

[LeeG]

I'll offer some additional feedback on my Allit storage cases. I made my first order on these in September of 2017 and they are still holding up fine as far as hinges and latches. I am just a hobbyist and don't get into them every day or even every week, but they are stored indoors in a non-climate controlled garage and the plastic on them doesn't seem any different than the ones I ordered this past summer. They sort of have a handle for vertical carry, but I always carry them over to the bench horizontally as to not risk spilling them.

I had started with the HF/Dewalt containers, and my only real gripes with them were that the bins were much too large for most of what I wanted to store, and there wasn't any way to get more of a particular size without just buying new bins.

With the Allit, I just buy bins of the size I need. I have one for each M4, M5, M6, M8 (2 of these), 6-32, 8-32, 10-24, 10-32, 1/4-20 (3 of these), pop rivets, rivnuts, set screws, and a few others. The smaller fasteners are all in 2"x2" bins. The larger ones might use some 2x4 or 4x4.

I also use a few of the Festool systainers with storage bins. I like them, but again, too big for the small fasteners and much more expensive. If I were starting from scratch right now, I'd be tempted by some of the Milewaukee offerings, but they are much more expensive.

 

[IndyGarage]

Just FYI. I found a photo of mine. I just made it out of 3/4 inch plywood and glued in strips of PVC corner trim for the bin slides. Looks like it holds more bins than I thought. It's probably about 6 feet tall.

 

[username2]

This is what the Durham metal drawers would most resemble, but they would allow for me to lift them out and take them around the shop or out in the field.

(this was referring to my use of a steel map cabinet).

I admit that you're not going to be lifting one of those huge drawers out anytime soon. Everyone's use case is different of course, I rarely (ie. never) need to haul around a box of fasteners. No doubt those guys with vans full of bit and pieces need portability over anything.

My choice was neatness + cheap. Free map cabinet (although they're usually not that expensive, and you can find ones that stack) + Amazon Warehouse casters + a bunch of those USPS small flat rate boxes as bins in the drawers. Plus it gives you a decent table or fits nicely under a workbench. Opening only a few giant drawers to poke through is another minor advantage to me.

Given the huge number of specialty cables I always end up with, the large drawers work great. Honestly I could stand another one.

 

[username2]

Just FYI. I found a photo of mine. I just made it out of 3/4 inch plywood and glued in strips of PVC corner trim for the bin slides. Looks like it holds more bins than I thought. It's probably about 6 feet tall.

How do you know what's in what?

 

[kbeefy]

how much "value" will I get with a stack of $30-40 bin boxes for parts? I have seen many installs with the Harbor Freight parts sorting boxes, and they look great. After 7-8 years, how is the durability? Honestly, even if you lose a few, I think that you could replace them pretty easily and the value upside is huge.

This is the route I went with also. I would buy 8 every time the went on sale ($7-8 IIRC).
I built some not as nice as Indy's racks to hang on the wall, and a few more to sit on benchtops.
I have about 24 now. Some have broken/missing latches, but are otherwise intact.

I wouldn't trust them carried vertically with small hardware in them.

A flat surface or bench nearby is a must for grabbing one or two things and not the entire bin.

I also have some Durham draweres and they're nice, but heavy.

 

[IndyGarage]

How do you know what's in what?

That picture is while I was building it. I hadn't bought all the bins yet. I labeled them with a brother label maker. Generally I'm in and out of them so much I know what's in each bin, but some of the lesser used ones - which I keep toward the bottom, I don't remember what's in them.

Last time I rolled it, it was really heavy.

 

[The Frisco Kid]

Well I got my response back from Auer, which was basically **** a frankfurter... so I guess I am not going that way

Lots of concepts in this thread and many others on GJ, so I'll wait until I get a few more containers to evaluate and see what shines. Thanks for the ideas, guys.

 

[Trapps]

The Dewalt Deep Pro are often on sale for $10. They are tough and stackable. I often take 3 at a time locked together. Because of the locating tabs molded in the lid, you can take out a few bins and the remaining ones stay in their place. While not a perfect modular solution, you can store larger/odd shaped items too.

 

[The Frisco Kid]

The Dewalt Deep Pro are often on sale for $10. They are tough and stackable. I often take 3 at a time locked together. Because of the locating tabs molded in the lid, you can take out a few bins and the remaining ones stay in their place. While not a perfect modular solution, you can store larger/odd shaped items too.

If the Dewalt Deep Pro or the Milwaukee (Packout or parts bins) had smaller bins available, I would already be done with this exercise... For $10 on sale, that one is hard to beat for larger screws and such. I would gladly pay $30-40 for a more durable container than the HF, but everyone seems to be pretty happy with the HF. At $80 a bin, the Sortimo is out of range. The search for the perfect affordable-ish solution available in the US continues.

 

[tarbellb]

Of the deeper/big bin options, I really like the Husky from HD.

>$20 usually about $12-15 ea. Real beefy, clear top, metal locking latch, stackable+latchable, not to much wasted space like some

Husky-10-Compartment-Interlocking-Small-Parts-Organizer

 

[CJM8515]

Ive got a hole pile of the HDX (home depot brand) organizers. They work super well for the price, but they dont have removable bin. I keep assortments of metric nuts, bolts and washers in them. probably like 500 bucks in fasteners lol