An overview on why Pre-Engineered Building (PEB) is considered as a preferred choice in warehousing.

In earlier days, warehouses were built with traditional brick and mortar construction and then structural steel building with trusses and other types of sections made inroads in the warehousing construction. But with the advent of sustainable construction, Pre-Engineered Steel Buildings (PEB) technology came into limelight in the warehousing segment and Kirby Building Systems India Ltd. Kirby India is the torch bearer for introducing this technology in India. Kirby’s warehouses buildings are customised to meet the unique demands of the customers. As a result, today Kirby has become synonymous with PEB warehouse buildings in the Indian market mainly because of its unmatched speed of construction, quicker delivery, highest quality and commitment, excellent customer service, good safety practices, etc.

Warehousing construction
D Raju, MD, Kirby Building Systems India Pvt Ltd says, “The success of PEB in warehousing is because of usage of standard heavy sections having more weight in structural steel buildings thereby making them more expensive. This has enabled PEB technology to become one of the preferred modes of construction for warehouses being setting up across India.” He further states, “This erstwhile concept in India has now become a widely accepted solution with proven benefits for construction in the Indian environment. Also with eco-friendly construction fast catching up the growth curve in the Indian market, PEB is the most viable construction solution as it is a green product with very little impact on the environment. PEB is also perfect fit for developing warehousing sites because of the recyclable nature of steel used in the buildings. Kirby already designs buildings that meet the green building and eco friendly construction norms.”

Moreover, penetration of PEB in rural areas is still miniscule where many agricultural warehouses exist in smaller sizes which use the local vendor for onsite fabrication mainly because of cost advantage. Kirby India has already introduced a cost effective PEB solution for such smaller warehouses thereby making inroads in the rural areas.

Modern warehouse infrastructure
Lack of modern warehouses and inefficient infrastructure and supply chain management have led to heavy losses in billions due to tonnes of food grains lying in rotten condition over many decades. “But the scenario has changed with the demand for modern warehouses has witnessed an tremendous increase over the last decade or so because of influx of multinational companies or manufacturers which has attracted many private equity firms to invest in the warehouse infrastructure,” believes Raju.

Most of the warehouses are standard box type buildings as the design and other infrastructure for any warehouse depends on the storage requirements. Kirby has always taken care of all these requirements right before starting the design of the building.

In current market scenario, more than 80 per cent of warehouses are being built with PEB which has taken over the conventional mode of construction mainly because of its various advantages such as cost savings, faster return on investment, quicker delivery, faster installation, single source responsibility, low maintenance, flexibility in expansion, earthquake resistant, superior quality, etc. which have become vital for any type of warehouse construction.

Trends in warehouses
Warehouses are increasingly addressing specific requirements for its customers such as offering bare storage, storage with crane facilities, food storage, storage with multi-level stacking and open storage. Kirby India provides a package solution for these types of requirements with its new concept of Rack supported warehouses based on the end use of that warehouse. “It is the only player to offer such packaged requirement and has already supplied such buildings to leading logistic companies,” comments Raju. Kirby is present in both in PEB and storage solutions and it becomes strategic for the company to provide end-to-end solution for increasing demand
for such type of requirements in the market.

PEB technology has become the centre of attraction across India especially in the Agro and Food and Beverages industries due to series of measures announced by the government to provide proper warehousing and cold storage facilities for fruits and vegetables, food grains, etc. Lack of temperature controlled warehouses close to farms and transportation of same in temperature controlled vehicles has become a major concern as they preserve the quality, integrity and longevity of the product.

This has given huge opportunity to logistic players to set up temperature controlled warehouses or cold storages as the building part of these cold storages can be done by this technology. Other industry segments which are major drivers behind growth of warehousing industry include FMCG, pharmaceuticals, etc.

Kirby has already executed such type of warehouses and is in the process of creating a separate packaged solution citing the increasing demand for cold storages. A well maintained warehouse also increases the life of the product and PEB technology acts as a major contributor to this because of its environmental friendly nature apart from the temperature control environment. Raju explains, “Most of the modern warehouses coming up nowadays have multi-purpose functionality i.e. they can maintain various temperature levels at the same time for different variety of products as all the temperature controlled warehouses or cold chains built over 4-5 decades back does not have this facility.”

Efficient and flexible
India has witnessed significant strides in e-commerce business in the last few years. The logistics chains and warehousing facilities across the country are a backbone to support this e-retail and e-commerce revolution. The strategic business objectives of these large multinational organisations are serving as catalyst in transforming conventional structures to engineered steel building solutions.

Today, warehousing companies’ demands are multifaceted. Including state-of-the-art construction, next generation technology, a structure with zero maintenance, fast construction with ease in future expansion etc. to name a few. Here PEB techniques are most preferred as compared to conventional mode of construction. Spokesperson from Tata BlueScope Steel Ltd, says, “PEB buildings made of steel, come with high strength, are lighter in weight, and are more efficient and flexible.” He further adds, “These buildings are inherently ‘green’ or environment friendly and contain a high quantity of recyclable content which is a prerequisite for many progressive companies.”

Reliable solution offering combination of quality
ECOBUILD Building Systems from TBSL is an advanced, reliable solution that offers a unique combination of quality, on time project execution, safety and cost efficiency. ECOBUILD Building Systems can be specially customised to match various design and load codes, functions, sizes as well as other special requirements so as to provide the best value and help enhance Return on Investment (ROI). The engineering and design team is equipped with sophisticated analysis and design tools that ensure optimisation of building design and enable the most efficient use of raw materials. “Our multi-locational manufacturing facilities ensure timely and constant supply of raw materials. For a time bound and hassle free project execution; ECOBUILD buildings are erected by certified builders that work under TBSL guidelines,” asserts spokesperson.

ECOBUILD building systems offer a variety of roof and wall cladding options, come with excellent spanning capacity, are corrosion resistant and are available in various colours using long lasting coated steel manufactured from ZINCALUME steel and COLORBOND steel products.

“Systems enable effortless execution of projects and facilitate our customers to focus on their core business priorities,” opines spokesperson.

Emerging as perfect alternative to conventional construction
Dr. Sandeep Gupta, MD, Richa Industries Ltd, says, “Today, steel is one of the most preferred materials of construction not only in India but across the world. Research shows, out of the 40 million tons of steel produced in India, two – thirds finds its way into the construction segment. Steel buildings are high in strength, lighter in weight and are more efficient and flexible in comparison to traditional construction.”

He adds, “These buildings are inherently ‘green’ or environment friendly buildings and contain high quantity of recyclable content which is increasing its popularity. These buildings are completely manufactured in the factory under systematic and automated controls and hence do not leave any negative impact on environment.”

Warehouses in high demand
Gupta observed the demand of warehouses is immense in the country. Every industry like agriculture, FMCG or consumer durable etc., needs a warehouse to stock their commodity and release in the market as per the market demand. He opines, “To match the pace of fast growing demand of warehouses in the country,
PEB are emerging as perfect alternative to conventional construction and taking construction industry to next level by efficiently meeting the requirement.”

PEB: Best option to meet soaring demand of warehouses
PEB industry in India is well equipped and using most modern technologies in the world and geared up to play much wider role. There is immense scope of PEB in warehousing. Time and cost benefits are two of the most attractive features of PEB which make it the best option to meet the soaring demand of warehouses. Therefore, PEB is a perfect fit for developing a well-tuned and modern warehouse.

Richa has vast experience of manufacturing most advanced warehouses in all across India. Delivering all types of warehousing solutions for bare storage, open storage, multi-level and storage with crane facility etc. To provide cost benefits to it’s customers, skylights are being used for natural lighting in the warehouse.