PEB companies should design and understand the complexity of the building perfectly. The client should also give appropriate time to the designer for precise execution of the project says Sumit Rustogi, Director, Konart Steel Building Pvt Ltd.

Why is the role of PEB even more important in the backdrop of the existing pandemic?
The impact of Covid-19 on the Indian economy has been paramount. It has led to a delay in expansion plans as also the infusion of new funds. As a result of this, most of the new and existing projects have been delayed since March 20. Since the lockdown has eased, a positive sentiment has set in. Companies are willing to resume construction. In this scenario PEB will play a vital role because it will allow them to finish the construction as per original schedule and make good of the losses they faced. This is possible since PEB is much faster/reliable/sustainable as compared to any other construction material.
I also foresee a huge opportunity for Indian PEB companies to export the material to African countries where the demand has shot up. This is mainly owing to a trust deficit with China since the Covid-19 pandemic began. These markets which were otherwise open only to Chinese products are now open to Indian companies too. It’s a good time for India to encash this opportunity with high volumes of export.

Is PEB weatherproof, more so, given the climatic variations being experienced in different parts of India?
Of course. PEB is absolutely weatherproof and suited for the climatic conditions which prevail in India. But PEB companies should design and understand the complexity of the building perfectly. Secondly, the client should also give appropriate time to the designer for precise execution of the project. If proper planning is done, the project site and the project details are studied carefully then the building design will be perfect and weather won’t be much of an issue.

Do you offer customised solutions for PEB? How much time does it usually take to process such orders?
Konart Steel is a customer centric company. We are eveready to take on new challenges and meet our clients requirements in terms of building design and solutions. Earlier PEB building designs were plain and simple but now the attitude has changed. Clients are keen to explore and we are ready to offer a solution. We have an enthusiastic in-house design team that is open to address customisation and customised designs using PEB. In today’s condition depending on the project, the lead time to finish any project ranges from three months to seven months.

What is the uniqueness of your PEB products? What makes it superior to the products being offered by other companies?
We have a very sound and professional in house design team, so the uniqueness begins right there. We are capable of offering optimised design solutions for complex buildings which save both cost and time. Furthermore it enables the customer to utilise the building in an efficient way.

Our project team too adds another level of uniqueness to the services we offer. They fathom the client’s site requirements correctly and execute the project in close synchronisation with the other vendors involved. This enables on-time project delivery.

As far as our product is concerned the main uniqueness of our product is that there are no leakages which is still a major concern of our industry.

Konart Steel also has experienced sales cum technical team who are open to the clients needs and opinions but not without a clear due diligence in place. We try to engage with the clients from the nascent stage of the project and help them cut down unnecessary costs on construction. We brainstorm with them to ensure that they get value for money and design the product keeping maximum utilisation of the building space in mind.

How is PEB enhancing the prices on steel in the current market?
Steel prices play a very important role in the profitability of PEB companies. Almost 85 percent of our contract value depends on the price of steel. In PEB, we use 345 Mpa, Grade 50 HR material. All the major suppliers like JSW/ESSAR/TATA/SAIL are specially manufacturing these materials for PEB companies. Then there is also a price difference between high tensile and low tensile material designed especially for PEB. Hence as the demand for PEB keeps increasing day by day, the steel companies will have to increase the supply volume. So the demand for PEB does enhance the steel industry and this trend is more likely to continue.

How are you maintaining your supply chain in the current scenario?
In today’s scenario, supply chain is a key element in project delivery. Because we are working on a pan India basis as well as managing exports, selecting the right supply chain company is very important for us. Hence we have tied up with very efficient transport and shipping companies for our internal and external material movements. These companies are very professional and offer us real time data on a daily basis regarding our material movement and likewise we too keep our clients updated. We also have an agreement with suppliers who courier or transport the material directly to our sites to avoid any delay.