The company has adopted new innovative methods across design, detailing, fabrication and construction which has widened the scope of operations, says D Raju, Managing Director, Kirby Building Systems & Structures India Pvt Ltd.

What are the advantages of PEB structures compared to conventional buildings? How does it improve timelines and cost efficiency?

Steel buildings are steadily increasing their market share in the construction and civil engineering sector. Steel construction is a good option for a diversity of projects for many reasons, including durability, affordability and sustainability. Steel is versatile, tensile, highly durable, recyclable and has good scrap value. It can also withstand external pressures such as earthquakes when used in the form of a building. It has a high strength-to-weight ratio which means it has high strength per unit mass. So, no matter how large the overall structure is, the steel sections are stronger than other building materials and have a good load-carrying capacity. Steel can be easily fabricated as it is flexible and can be moulded into any shape without changing its properties and also converted into sheets or other products as per the design.

Components of a pre-engineered steel structure can quickly be fabricated off-site in different customised sizes and then transported to the construction site when needed, minimising onsite labour requirements and reducing the impact of variables that can delay a project. 

PEB is one of the choices when it comes to sustainable and eco-friendly construction as steel is 100 per cent recyclable and can be re-used for making other products again and again when compared to conventional buildings. PEBs use simple nut-and-bolt connection for installation of sections which are transported from the factory as per the customer’s requirement and erected as per the standard procedures with world-class safety protocols. All the sections of PEB are lightweight, quicker design and detailing, factory-fabricated with quality control, faster completion, future expansion and easily transportable when compared to conventional buildings.

Green buildings have caught the attention of many builders and developers, across India and are making inroads across all types of construction. Kirby India is at the forefront of this innovation and is leading the green construction in the country through its PEB technology, thereby contributing to the green building movement. These buildings are cost-effective, energy-efficient and provide a better quality environment as they are cooler in hot conditions due to the favourable roofing material, suitable insulation and natural ventilation. 

Which are the key digital technologies involved in the PEB construction? How is technology evolving in the PEB segment?

Kirby India has grown manifolds over the last few years from simple box-like buildings for warehouses to very complex industrial buildings to high-rise structures. The company is now adopting new innovative methods across design, detailing, fabrication and construction which has widened the scope of operations. 

Kirby with its rich experience and continuous learning at every stage of executing more than 35,000 diverse buildings for different industry segments across India over the last two decades has enabled to evolve with a new type of construction methodologies, thereby completing the building in a much faster and safer way and meeting the customer project timelines.

Kirby has implemented many new methodologies in PEB construction such as POD lifting which saves time in construction and results in faster project completion. One of the important factors that have gained prominence over the last few years is safety at the job sites, which has become an important part of any project, whether small or large. Kirby India has improved and implemented many innovative, safe practices across all its job sites by providing training to all the workforce and certified builders on safe erection practices over these years of operations and continues to do so to have incident-free sites till project completion.

The company is also evolving ways of strategising and extracting value from the existing portfolio to spur innovation and provide more value to our customers in addition to moving to digital-first or digital-only customer journeys. Emerging technologies are being explored such as augmented reality to extend the brand and drive effective and engaging virtualised service with innovation at every area of the project lifecycle. AI is construction technology’s next frontier as it is a wide-ranging tool that is already impacting every aspect of life and is going to play a key role in the PEB industry across various stages.

What is the current market scenario of PEBs in India? How do you assess the PEB market outlook in the coming five years? 

PEB industry is one the fastest growing technologies in the construction sector – an advanced, futuristic, eco-friendly and sustainable construction technology that has grown by leaps and bounds over the last two decades of its existence in India. But it is yet to achieve its true potential in some of the industry segments where the acceptability is yet to be tapped. It is still far, but completely achievable as the industry consisting of many companies is maturing to take it to the next level of growth trajectory. 

The industry has evolved from designing, manufacturing and constructing simple box-like buildings to very complex industrial buildings to high rise structures each of which is unique and innovative. The current market size of PEB is estimated to be between 650,000 MT to 700,000 MT per annum and is rapidly growing, mainly because of infrastructure and industrial segments. Steel represents a significant share of the material used in construction – industrial, commercial and multi-story residential buildings and other construction avenues. 

Beyond the immediate economic volatility currently experienced by the global economy, several underlying trends are driving the future demand for steel in the building and construction sector especially steel structures. At the heart of many of these trends is progressive urbanisation, infrastructure development, push to the manufacturing sector for increasing the overall share in the GDP, Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, Product Linked Incentives (PLIs), and the growth of so-called ‘smart cities’ which can create a significant opportunity for steel producers to evolve their thinking of how steel can play a role in the buildings and cities of the future in the form of PEB. The material embraces full, end-to-end lifecycle thinking, starting with the architect’s vision and design thinking through to the end-of-life or perhaps re-purposing of a building many years in the future.

Other sectors expected to create demand for steel buildings include e-commerce and warehousing, automotive, tyre, textile, engineering, food and beverages, consumer goods, agro-based, defense etc. Kirby India has already ventured into the construction of commercial buildings and data centres either completely in steel or composite form which is slowly being accepted by builders and developers as being witnessed in major cities across India. 

The company has already executed some high-rise buildings for commercial and residential segments and is currently executing over G+20 floors commercial office buildings and many more are in the pipeline. This will lead to an increase in demand for steel structures in the coming years in the manufacturing segment, commercial buildings, and data centres. Kirby India being a leader will continue to achieve excellence and create new benchmarks for the industry as a whole.