In the past three decades, the pre-engineered building system (PEB) witnessed a growth pattern parallel to the overall economic infrastructure of the country. The traditional construction industry failed to cope up with the demand for steel structures of the accelerating sectors such as FMCG, automotive, power, warehousing and logistics, and pharmaceutical. A European technology, brought by Middle-Eastern companies to India, envisaged the market potential of PEBs in India. The PEB was a game changer. Turnaround time, scalability, hassles free and pre-determined construction method have made the pre-engineered building system a widely accepted solution with proven benefits for the Indian construction industry.
Zamil Steel Building Company, a sector business of Zamil Industrial Investment Co. (Zamil Industrial), had stepped into India. Although Zamil Steel had entered the Indian market in the 90s by importing the finished products from its main plant in Saudi Arabia, the company began its production from their state-of-the-art manufacturing plant in Pune only in 2008.
Zamil Steel, a Saudi Arabian based organisation established in 1977 with extensive market reach in the Middle East, Africa, South East Asia and Europe, is recognised as a world leader in steel construction and the largest exporter of pre-engineered steel buildings, with an annual manufacturing capacity of more than 500,000 tonnes of fabricated steel. Zamil Steel has more than 65,000 PEB buildings that stand in over 90 countries.
Future of PEB business in IndiaThe PEB building system will play a significant role in the next industrial boom as no other system can match its speed, value and quality. Although the current market situation looks bleak as many projects have either been cancelled or put on hold, India’s economic growth slowdown will not last long as the government moves to make foreign investment easier and push forward new infrastructure projects.
Advantages of using steel as building materialStructural steel advances RCC as a building material with its unique benchmark characteristics. Flexibility in shaping structural steel makes it much stronger in both tension and compression. In addition, off-site shop fabrication of steel boosts productivity and delivery dates and provides higher quality control. Steel construction is easily erected in much shorter periods which provides owners with buildings that generate revenue earlier, and maximise the amount and use of floor space> The buildings are also easy to modify and sell, and are aesthetically pleasing. Finally, structural steel gives the customer freedom to own naturally beautiful, open and airy structures with many opportunities to be creative in architectural design.
Disadvantages of structural steelDespite its competitive advantages, there are quite a few disadvantages to using structural steel. Structural steel is very sensitive to fire so fireproofing or fire rating must be used for structures subject to fire risk. The added cost for fireproofing may influence the economy of steel structures. Also, iron, the main component of steel, is vulnerable to rust and corrosion and needs a sustainable protection and maintenance.
Innovations in PEB and steel structuresPEB steel structures are widely used since long time to provide lightweight building solutions for industrial purposes, so innovations are currently rare in this segment. However, attempts are continues to get lighter weights and faster fabrication and erection periods.
Zamil Steel: different from othersThe PEBs are not a rocket technology; anybody can make a steel buildings. To emerge as an ultimate steel building solution provider, one just needs a strong system as well as a robust engineering and manufacturing capabilities. Zamil Steel has a strong engineering team that consists of 600 design and development engineers. The company invested heavily in product R&D to provide innovative products and systems that meet market challenges and demand for flexible, reliable building systems.
Alakesh Roy, Managing Director, Zamil Steel Building India Pvt. Ltd.
Khaled Ezzat, Technical Head of Zamil Steel’s Global Engineering
Article contributed by:Venugopal KuriyakotteHead of Marketing Zamil Steel India Pvt. Ltd.www.zamilsteel.co.in