Pre-engineered buildings, as their name suggests, are construction fabricated and installed according to specific architectural drawings. These buildings’ components are manufactured at factories to exact size, then are transported to and assembled on-site.
- Fast construction time: Since most components are already fabricated and are ready for assembling once delivered on-site, standard PEB can be quickly constructed.
- Cost efficiency: PEBs require low initial cost, as well as low maintenance and operating costs.
- Architectural flexibility: PEBs are flexible in terms of architecture, can combine easily with other materials if needed.
- Quality control: PEBs are constructed in factories under qualified controlled conditions, therefore, their quality is easier to manage than on-site projects. It also proves to have a long life span.
- Functional versatility: Pre-engineered buildings can be extended easily for future requirements.
The concept of pre-engineered buildings is becoming more commonly known and chosen among international contractors and designers, thanks to the many benefits it brings when compared with traditional concrete buildings.
Since pre-engineered buildings cover the many shortcomings of traditional concrete buildings, they are becoming more frequently chosen for residential constructions and public projects.
Data from Worldsteel showed that steel production in January 2020 reached 154.4 million tons, up 2.1% over the same period in 2019. Crude steel production of the world in 2019 was over 1.86 billion tons. Of which, Asia contributed to producing over 1.34 billion tons. It can be seen from those data that the steel demand is growing ever higher, specifically pre-engineered steel to be used in the construction of warehouses and factories.
Currently, developed countries use mostly steel plates as a part of the construction of their pre-engineered buildings. In Southeast Asia, Thailand and Malaysia are the two countries with higher demands for steel plates in construction than others in the region because of several policies to develop large and super large projects as planned by the government. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, steel demand also grew at a high rate of about 11% in 2019 due to the increasing demand for investment in the expansion of factories moving from China.
According to a survey by Reed Tradex, Vietnam is becoming one of the steel production centers of Southeast Asia along with a growing demand for pre-engineered steel.
Pre-engineered steel buildings can be applied in two main areas: in industrial construction, including workshops, warehouses, manufacturing plants, hangars, or other structures made of steel; and in civil construction with residential houses, offices, hotels, car showrooms.
Industrial production in Vietnam is growing strongly. Thus, the demand for pre-engineered steel buildings will be huge. Some brands of pre-engineered steel buildings have appeared in Vietnam. Vietnam's pre-engineered steel building companies are rated as leading in the region in terms of product and service quality. Notable names in the field include BMB Steel, Zamil Steel, PEB Steel, etc.
According to Mr. Joseph Mathew, General Director of Kirby Vietnam, in the years 2016-2017, the growth rate of the pre-engineered steel building market is from 15-17% per year. He also stated that pre-engineered steel buildings account for more than 70% of industrial factories.
Another prominent player in this field is Zamil Steel. In 2017, Zamil Steel's revenue increased by only 15% compared to the previous year, but profit increased by 60%. That is the best business result of this company during its 20 years of presence in the Vietnamese market.
A representative of PEB Steel, one of the distinguished names in the PEB market, said that with Vietnam signing many bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, such as the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement, the Vietnamese market would most likely play a central role in manufacturing operations in Southeast Asia. Therefore, the transfer of equipment for production infrastructure will promote the demand for pre-engineered steel buildings to develop significantly in the coming time.
The survey of Reed Tradex pointed out Vietnam can become the manufacturing hub of Southeast Asia, which will result in an immense demand for pre-engineered steel buildings. The usage trend of PEBs is also shifting more toward civil constructions. In recent years, PEB Steel has applied pre-engineered steel buildings for civil works such as steel structures on top of VietcomBank building tower, Malloca office and product display building, Aeon Mall, Maximark supermarket in Can Tho. Pre-engineered buildings are the new construction trend that will be widely applied in the near future.
Compiled by VietnamCredit
