Montel Inc., a leading manufacturer of high-density storage products for office, institutional and industrial applications, today announced that its flexible and innovative hybrid 4-Post shelving system, the SmartShelf, earned a “Gold” in the 2005 Awards for Design Excellence (ADEX), a prestigious awards program for product design. Design Journal, an international trade publication for the architecture and design community, is the proud sponsor of the ADEX awards.

“We are honoured that the ADEX panel of professionals selected a Montel product for this distinction”, announced Jerome Doucet, Vice President Sales & Marketing at Montel. “We feel that the SmartShelf combines innovative features and aesthetics. With our R&D and marketing efforts, we are pleased that the SmartShelf is receiving significant attention from interior designers, architects and facility managers.”

Developed to optimize space capacity, the SmartShelf exceeds the shelving system industry standards. Wanting to allow more storage capacity than any other system, the SmartShelf provides additional linear storage capacity of ¾” per shelf. Available in 39 3/8” wide sections, the SmartShelf stores perfectly three archive boxes without loosing space capacity.

Designed to be the most adaptable storage shelving system in the industry, the SmartShelf can be configured and reconfigured at any time to satisfy changing storage needs and space availability, enabling the possibility to anticipate potential storage needs. For storing objects of various heights, shelves are adjustable by 1” increments with hooks for lighter objects, or by 1 ½” increments with supports for heavier objects. In the same section, hooks and supports can be used together.

The SmartShelf offers an innovative feature that consists of the only storage system that can be configured as a full-depth or back-to-back system, or a combination of both. For storing large objects of various lengths, full-depth shelves can be used while back-to-back shelves can be used for smaller objects.

The SmartShelf is a user-friendly easy to install storage product. No tools are required to assemble, remove, or reconfigure the shelves. In addition, the full-depth double-side shelves can be put in or taken out without moving or taking off the shelves above or below. For fixed units only, each post shall have an integrated leveler which allows for ¾” adjustment to accommodate for uneven floor surface.

“Along with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office approving the SmartShelf late 2004, this ADEX Gold award will offer the SmartShelf an additional competitive advantage within the architecture and design community,” concluded Jerome Doucet.