Despite soaring steel prices, the Rs 1,200-crore Kirby Building Systems India Ltd, a group company of Kuwait-based Alghanim Industries, is bullish on new steel projects in the country. The company has bagged Rs 190 crore order from Renault-Nissan Automotive India for its upcoming car manufacturing facility near Chennai. This is claimed to be the biggest order as Renault would be using pre-engineered building (PEB) in all its automobile processing activities.
The PEB requirements for this project include buildings for stamping, time and chassis, body shop, chassis, power train and painting that have a plan area of over 300,000 sq.metres involving material input of around 20,000 MT. The total project from concept to finish is estimated to be completed in less than nine months as a fast track project.
Meanwhile, after constructing the Pipavav shipyard, the company is eyeing another private shipyard project at Rajapur in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra, which is estimated to be over Rs 600 crore.
?We are in discussions with Electromac Cranes, which is claimed to be primary promoters of this private shipyard, for supplying pre-engineered building steel,?? SV Rao, CEO, Kirby Building said. If the project is allotted to Kirby, the required amount of steel to be supplied is about 75,000 tonnes, he added. The company, having a marketshare of over 60% in pre-engineered building (PEB) steel, has just completed the Pipavav shipyard, the largest private project in Gujarat, supplying about 1,200 tonnes of PEB steel valued at about Rs 90 crore.
The company has executed over 2,500 PEB projects in the country. The demand for steel buildings is seeing an increasing trend across various sectors and some of the projects include Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Reliance Retail, Pipavav Shipyard, Suzlon group, Garden Reach Ship Building, Thermax, ABB, etc. To facilitate its upcoming projects, it has proposed to expand its existing facilities by about 50% from the present installed capacity of 200,000 MT.
Kirby becomes the first PEB manufacturer in South East Asia to get FM Global accreditation for its standing seam roofing for withstanding 90 pounds per sq.ft (psf) wind uplift rating. The accreditation, valid for one year and subsequent renewals, validates the building?s capacity to withstand heavy wind speed at about 400 km/hr. It is bullish on Indian market with its range of products which can withstand seismic and other cyclonic conditions. It has completed a Rs 20-crore Nokia project in Sriperumbudur, BMW?s factory in Chennai, Scoda?s unit in Aurangabad, etc. Its range includes high quality steel buildings, industrial racking systems, warehouses, space frames, etc.