Industrial drawer cabinets for tools, components and tooling
A drawer cabinet earns its place when you need to find one specific item quickly and repeatedly. Shelves and cupboards store bulk well but bury anything behind the first row; a drawer brings the whole layer out to you. For hand tools, measuring equipment, inserts, dies and spares, a steel drawer cabinet is usually the fastest storage format in the workshop — and, because the drawers lock centrally, one of the most secure.
The cabinets on this page come from the Bott Cubio and Bott Verso ranges, plus a GPC under-workstation pedestal. All carry a 10-year extended guarantee.
Cubio or Verso — which drawer cabinet range?
Cubio is the heavy-duty modular system. Housings are rated to a total load capacity of up to 1,500 kg, drawers run on roller-bearing runners at 100% extension with galvanised steel pans, and each drawer takes 75 kg uniformly distributed load. Cubio cabinets are designed to be built into workstation runs, so they accept worktops, plinths, forklift bases, divider systems and electronic locking.
Verso is the more accessible range, built to the same fully welded steel principles but specified for lighter duty and integrated into benches rather than sold as a standalone modular ecosystem. The Verso mobile cabinet, for example, is rated at 50 kg UDL per drawer and 200 kg total.
The practical rule: if the cabinet will sit in a bench run and hold serious weight, specify Cubio. If it is a bench-integrated drawer unit or a mobile tool station, Verso is the sensible spend.
Drawer configurations
Drawer count matters less than drawer heights — a cabinet with the wrong internal split wastes half its volume. Real configurations from the range:
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Cubio 5-drawer — 2 × 100 mm, 2 × 150 mm, 1 × 200 mm. A general-purpose split: small tools up top, bulkier items in the deep bottom drawer. Sizes 1050 × 650 × 800 mm, 800 × 650 × 800 mm and 650 × 650 × 800 mm.
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Cubio 6-drawer — available at 900 mm standard height (1050, 800 and 650 mm widths) and 800 mm low height (1050 and 650 mm widths), so it can be matched to an existing bench height.
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Cubio 7-drawer — 5 × 100 mm plus 2 × 150 mm. The shallow-drawer specification: best where you hold a large number of small, flat items and want each one in its own visible layer. Sizes 1050, 800 and 650 mm wide × 650 × 900 mm.
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Verso 5-drawer mobile cabinet — 2 × 100 mm plus 3 × 175 mm, on 125 mm castors with two braked swivel wheels and a push-pull handle. 800 or 1050 mm wide × 600 × 980 mm, with a 30 mm industrial lino or multiplex worktop so it doubles as a mobile bench.
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Verso bench-integrated cabinets — a 1 × 175 mm single-drawer unit (525 × 550 × 250 mm) or a 3 × 125 mm cabinet (525 × 550 × 450 mm), fitted into framework benches adjustable between 780 and 930 mm.
Load ratings explained
Two numbers matter and they are not interchangeable. Per-drawer UDL is what one drawer will carry — 75 kg on Cubio and on Verso bench cabinets, 50 kg on the Verso mobile. Total cabinet capacity is what the housing will carry — up to 1,500 kg on Cubio, 200 kg on the Verso mobile. You will normally hit the per-drawer limit long before the housing limit, so specify on the drawer figure and treat the total as a ceiling.
All drawers are 100% extension on roller-bearing runners with galvanised steel pans, so the back of the drawer is genuinely reachable rather than trapped under the worktop.
Locking and safety
Cabinets are fitted with central locking and drawer blocking. Drawer blocking is a safety feature as much as a security one: it prevents more than one drawer being pulled out at a time, which is what stops a loaded cabinet tipping forward. Master locking and electronic locking are available where several cabinets share a supervisor key or a site access system.
Fitting out and upgrading
Because Cubio is modular, a cabinet bought today can be reconfigured later. Standard options include multiplex or industrial lino worktops, 4-sided top trays with protective mats, base plinths or forklift bases, metal drawer dividers, inlay mats, plastic trough dividers and storage bins. If the cabinet needs to move around the site by forklift, specify the forklift base at order rather than retrofitting.
Related storage
For a wider comparison of drawer formats and how to choose between them, read the metal drawer cabinets guide and the tool cabinets and tool storage guide. If the cabinet needs to move with the job, see mobile workbenches and the workbench on castors guide. For door-fronted rather than drawer storage, see tool cupboards and roller shutter cupboards, or browse the full workshop storage range.
Industrial drawer cabinet FAQs
What is an industrial drawer cabinet used for?
Storing tools, measuring equipment, inserts, dies and spares in layers, so one specific item can be found quickly. A drawer brings the whole layer out to you, whereas shelves and cupboards bury anything behind the first row.
Cubio or Verso drawer cabinet?
Cubio is the heavy-duty modular system, with housings rated up to 1,500 kg total and 75 kg uniformly distributed load per drawer. Verso is the lighter-duty range built into benches or sold as a mobile tool station, with the mobile cabinet rated at 50 kg per drawer and 200 kg total.
What drawer extension and runners do they have?
All drawers are 100% extension on roller-bearing runners with galvanised steel pans, so the back of the drawer is reachable rather than trapped under the worktop.
What does drawer blocking do?
It stops more than one drawer being pulled out at a time, which is what stops a loaded cabinet tipping forward. It is a safety feature as much as a security one.
How are the cabinets locked?
Central locking with drawer blocking is fitted. Master locking and electronic locking are available where several cabinets share a supervisor key or a site access system.
What drawer configurations are available?
Cubio comes in 5-, 6- and 7-drawer formats, including a shallow 5 x 100 mm plus 2 x 150 mm split for small flat items. The Verso mobile is a 5-drawer cabinet with 2 x 100 mm and 3 x 175 mm drawers on 125 mm castors, and bench-integrated Verso units come as a single 175 mm drawer or a 3 x 125 mm cabinet.
Can I add worktops, dividers or a forklift base?
Yes on Cubio. Options include multiplex or industrial lino worktops, 4-sided top trays with mats, base plinths or forklift bases, metal drawer dividers, inlay mats, plastic trough dividers and storage bins. Specify a forklift base at order rather than retrofitting.
How long is the guarantee?
The Bott Cubio and Verso cabinets on this page carry a 10-year extended guarantee.
Fitting out a garage or home workshop? See garage storage ideas: heavy-duty layouts for a working garage or workshop for how drawer cabinets sit alongside racking, benches and wall storage.
