Kirby India pioneered the concept of pre-engineered buildings (PEB) in India and since then there is no looking back. The company has gained impetus in the construction industry and is leading the PEB revolution with its constant innovation in products and applications thereby setting new benchmarks. D Raju, Managing Director, Kirby Building Systems India Pvt Ltd shares his views on the expansion of PEB industry and its major innovations.
Rapidly expanding industryPEB industry has evolved from catering to applications such as warehouses, fuel stations, workshops, showrooms, simple industrial buildings, etc., constructed in the initial phases of the industry, to include highly complex buildings such as shipyards, metro stations, power plants, steel plants, oil and gas structures, factory buildings with high capacity cranes up to 500-tonnes and also high rise structures which require very specialised design, manufacturing and installation skills. Though, at initial stages, the PEB industry has started addressing niche commercial and residential segments like high-rise structures.”
Talking about the procurement trends of PEB, D Raju said, “The current trend of buying PEB is steadily increasing and rapidly expanding to various other industry segments where it was never heard of. Today PEB is directly competing with the traditional method of construction and will become a dominant construction technology in the Indian construction industry.”
Steel, most preferred material in PEB Steel is the preferred material used in the PEB industry for any type of building application. Speaking on the major innovations happening in the field of PEB materials, D Raju says, “Steel members, joined by continuous welding process as necessary, conform to the physical specifications of ASTM A570 (Grade 50) or equivalent and have a minimum yield strength of 50,000 pounds per square inch (345 MPa). This grade of material is specifically designed and developed for Kirby by the steel mills.”
Going forward, with the advancement in steel technology, increase in end-user requirements and market factors, different grades of steel materials will be used in making of the PEB, he adds.
A mature industryTalking about Indian industry’s maturity to use advanced PEB technology optimally, D Raju observed, “Indian industry is capable enough of using the advanced PEB technology optimally. Kirby also provides all its buildings whether simple or complex in nature with the most optimised design as per the latest international design codes using the latest design and detailing software through its Centre of Engineering Excellence at Hyderabad.”
Why Kirby?Kirby in India has grown from an initial annual capacity of 40,000 tonnes in 1999 to present annual capacity of 200,000 tonnes and executed over 6,000 projects and more than 18,000 buildings spread over an area of 25 million sq. m. during this period.
Talking on the company’s achievements D Raju said, “Today, Kirby has become a generic name in the PEB market in India and has maintained its market leadership because of its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, experienced engineering team with vast technical knowledge, strong project management team, network of over 20 sales offices across India and more than 120 certified builders to cater to the erection procedures as per the international standards who are capable to handle any type of complexity under adverse site conditions.”
The company has executed projects for wide range of applications across all the industry segments right from 1,000 sq. m. to 3,00,000 sq. m. “Kirby India is way ahead of all its competitors across all the stages of the project and even today continues to hold a strong position in the market with its ability to handle any size of the project being unmatched,” concludes D Raju.
———————Kirby Building Systems has gained impetus in the construction industry and is leading the PEB revolution with its constant innovation in products and applications thereby setting new benchmarks.
D Raju, Managing Director, Kirby Building Systems India Pvt Ltd