Tata Steel primarily deals into steel materials business. Services & Solutions was created as a separate focused division, to develop products and solutions to come closer to the endconsumer and serve them directly with steel-intensive offerings. One of the businesses within Services & Solutions is Nest-In, Tata Steel’s prefabricated construction solutions brand. At Nest-In, we are revolutionising the way India sees construction, and providing turnkey offerings in the spaces of large infrastructure projects, sanitation, portable cabins, and lifestyle solutions for the retail customer. 

What are the key solutions of Tata Steel Nest-In? 

We offer solutions for large infrastructure projects through HabiNest, a Light Gauge Steel Frame construction technology; modular solutions for sanitation, safe water and portable cabins; and premium home solutions to retail customers through Nestudio. 

HabiNest is a light gauge steel frame solution, suitable for academic buildings, residential complexes, industrial amenities, community centres and more. HabiNest buildings are constructed in almost 1/3rd the time it takes for conventional construction, and provides environmental savings in the range of 48 percent to 61 percent over a range of life cycle categories in comparison similar to brick-and-mortar structures. 

Nestudio is a premium PUF panel based housing solution, suited for constructing cottages, farmhouses and vertical home extensions. With a suite of design options and premium fittings, Nestudio offers a comfortable and hassle-free service to our customers. At present, we offer Nestudio in Delhi NCR and Bengaluru markets. 

Talking about our solutions in the modular solutions space, we have the following key offerings: EzyNest modular toilets provide an effective end-toend sanitation solution. 

EzyNest toilets were vastly deployed during the Swacchh Bharat Mission across the country, and we have done more than 10000 installations in India. 

Smart EzyNest is a range of automated smart toilets, that provides a one-stop solution to unhygienic sanitation practices in India by providing a smart selfclean technology. With our MobiNest solution, we are trying to redefine the portable cabins by using virgin steel, and making it available across the country. These cabins are traditionally used as site offices and guard huts. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we transformed and modified these cabins to function as quarantine & isolation facilities. 

How do you view the demand for PUF panels and LGSF for construction? 

When we started LGSF technology back in 2012, there were concerns over life and longevity of these structures. Back then, prefabricated construction was primarily used to build factories with the help of PEB structures and not with LGSF. But with the increasing demand and evident advantages of having a prefabricated construction, acceptance for LGSF has increased. LGSF as a technology is on the top-notch node if we look at the parameters like quality, speed and the conventional look of it. If we look at the CAGR, prefabricated structures are expected to expand by more than 8.5 percent. This provides us with ample opportunities to create new market streams across the industries along with with category conversion.

How does LGSF and metal structure maintain a percent balance between cost and energy efficiency? 

This can be answered in two parts –the life-cycle cost assessment (LCCA), life-cycle assessment (LCA). 

Talking about LCCA of a construction, we look at the overall holistic cost right from construction commencement, usage of the building, and eventually the end of life for that building. If you look at the overall cost structure of a pre-fab building v/s a conventional building, pre-fab is always at a premium of a 15-20 percent in terms of an absolute cost that our customer is paying at the time of purchase. But if you look at the overall lifecycle cost of the building, then the customer will actually get benefits in terms of the overall out of pocket expenses that he’s going to incur during the overall lifetime. 

LGSF construction is also 2x-3x faster than conventional construction. Another key benefit is the salvage value of the construction. People today do not consider end of life cost as an aspect, but the cost of disposal & the cost of recovery of the structure are much more beneficial when it comes to prefab. In fact, we recently concluded a life cycle assessment study that found that if we consider a 2400 Sq. Ft. construction, the energy savings from an LGSF structure vis-a-vis a traditional brick-andmortar structure is equivalent to the fuel burned while travelling 3.2 Lakh Km in an average passenger car. 

What are the key advantages of having LGSF technology?

An LGSF construction is done using certain software that enables the service providers to design the structure for different terrains and climates as the construction conditions vary from location to location. Our solution is designed to bear seismic resistance and high-speed wind forces. 

Another key advantage for this kind of construction is the speed of construction If a project using RCC construction takes 3 years for completion, LGSF can allow you to complete it in 10 months. Nest-In has recently completed construction of a 55,000 Sq. Ft. library building within 8 months. Lastly, you can dis-assemble your structure and move the entire set-up to a new location, providing flexibility to the customers.

What kind of projects are you currently presently working on? 

Using HabiNest, our LGSF solution, we are constructing a library and academic block spanning 2.5 Lakh Sq. Ft. for a private medical college. We are also constructing 150 ITI Centres for the Govt. of Karnataka. 

Using our modular solutions, we took up some critical and worthy projects to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. We constructed a COVID-19 Isolation Facility spanning 80,000 Sq. Ft. in Kerala in 2020, followed by hospitals in Faridabad, Assam and Odisha. In our retail segment, we are undertaking marquee projects using Nestudio (PUF Panel technology). We are looking at projects in the hills of Uttarakhand where we are constructing a G+1 house for a retail customer and multiple rooftop houses in NCR.

What kind of opportunities do you foresee for LGSF and PUF Panels? 

If we look at infrastructure demand in India, I think it is at its peak now, and infrastructure and construction segment particularly will have a bright future. LGSF is poised to garner huge acceptance when we look at constructions up till G+7 levels, and going beyond using hybrid construction where we are merging it along with the heavy steel structures and using LGSF as the non-load bearing walls. Our vision is that retail market is going to be a huge market for LGSF and PUF construction.

How do you describe the life of these LGSF structures? 

These structures are designed as per the IS Codes and IS standards, with a design life of 25- 50 years, based on the business and the customer’s requirement. The design is done and accordingly the life of the construction and each of the houses comes with a structural certificate in terms of the safety