Interarch: A Promising Future Ahead for PEB Industry

"The market for pre-engineered steel construction is growing exponentially in India with consumers opting for new-age technologies for quality and speedy construction," avers Mr Gautam Suri - Founder Director of Interarch in an interaction with Maria R.

Giving an overview of pre-engineered building system in India, Mr. Suri said that the PEB industry is still in its infancy but, over the last six years, there has been a phenomenal growth in this sector due to increasing awareness amongst consultants and customers. PEB has started getting its due credit as a favorable alternative construction methodology today.

With this, Indian pre-engineered consecution market is now experiencing a demand shift to new applications due to infrastructure development in the country like airports, multi-story buildings, stadiums, metro stations etc. The country will see increased economic growth, and the removal of barriers to foreign investment will "spur demand for construction" over the coming few years.

Pre-Engineered steel construction market has been growing in double figure year-on-year for the last few years. Also it would certainly not be an exaggeration if we say the industry is catching-up very rapidly. Sectors such as automotive, power, logistics, Pharma, FMCG, and retail provide huge growth opportunity for PEB in India. There is undoubtedly, a very promising future for this sector in the coming years.

Elaborating on the emerging business growth opportunities in coming years with government's thrust on infrastructure development, he apprises, "The pace of infrastructure development in the country is going to accelerate in years to come. Stemming from the Pre-engineered buildings industry, what is taking shape is the application of pre-engineered construction to new Heavy Engineering and larger Infrastructure projects which is the next in line for development in the country. Projects like 100 smart cities, new no frill airports at various cities, International terminals, Industry corridors, power plants, ports etc. require heavy steel structures and a different approach in comparison to Pre-engineered buildings. The opportunity in these sectors is huge and we are all geared up."

On being asked about the cost sensitive Indian market where the initial higher cost is one of the reasons for lower uptake of PEB, Mr. Suri clarified that the higher cost barrier is just a preconceived perception of people who have never used pre-Engineered buildings. It has been witnessed that now more customers & companies are realizing that low cost does not always mean better and superior quality.

Explaining about the Pre Engineered steel buildings' unmatched advantages over a concrete building, he says, the most influencing factors are:

Construction time is reduced by at-most 30-40% which gives early occupancy and early ROI
Large clear span structures upto 100 m & Clear height of up to 30 m are possible and mezzanine floors can be constructed which help in maximum usage of space and hence provide better utilization of money spent on every sq.ft
Less energy consumption due to natural lighting available, hence less electricity bill
Easy to construct and easy to expand in future when required without disturbing existing operations
Fire and earthquake resistant –Very low or negligible maintenance cost which again saves in overall cost of the building
Cheaper below ground due to lighter foundations
If a complete life cycle is seen of a pre-engineered building and RCC, then it is observed that a pre-engineered building is much more economical than an RCC one.

Providing details about the initiative being taken by Interarch for spreading awareness amongst the building owners, he says, "At Interarch, we take many initiative to educate customers and key stakeholders such as: we release monthly newsletter and emails campaigns to relevant Target audience. We executes Building Innovators forum for knowledge leaders and innovators of the steel buildings community of India at various cities across the year. Interarch Building Innovators aim to bring together the best minds in the country to commemorate modern Indian engineering and infrastructure development using steel. In addition, Interarch conducts Young Builder Program at Engineering and Architecture College to give an insight and educates Young Architects & Engineers about the Indian Pre-Engineered Steel Industry, various applications & nomenclature of Metal buildings. Last but not the least, we also participate in many seminars and exhibitions and educate the visitors."

Informing about Interarch's innovative solution, Mr. Suri quips, "We're providing innovative solutions to Indian market right from its inception in 1984. Many innovative solutions have been accomplished by Interarch in recent years right from Multi-storey buildings to a 99.8 M Clear-Span to installation of 125 MT crane at a height of 22 M to delivering a 33 M long bridge girder for Delhi Metro. Moreover, Interarch is in the process of delivering first Ground +7 Multi-Storey Hospital Building for Fortis Healtcare in Bangalore; a 99.8 M clear span building, largest in India for Ultratech Cement ltd in Raipur; G+ 10 multi-level process structure for CP India in Maharashtra and G + 6 multistory process plants buildings for HUL at multiple locations and many more projects in pipelines."

On Company's strength and USP, he states, "Interarch is today one of India's leading turnkey pre-engineered metal building & steel construction companies and has been in the business of metal building products for the last 30 years. Interarch's capability is extending all over India with our nationwide sales and project support offices spread over 20 locations and serviced by three manufacturing units in India at Pantnagar & Kichha (Uttarakhand) and Sriperumbudur, Chennai with a combined capacity of over 1,20,000 MT per annum of steel buildings and over 40,000 MT per annum for its Tracdek Roof & Wall systems. Moreover, we've one of the largest design & engineering teams of 150 professional in 2 design centers in Noida and Chennai and has expertise of over 6000 Completed projects for various construction sectors like industrial, Automotive, Agro, Textile, Pharma, Warehousing, Infrastructure, Retail and Airport Terminal spaces in India. This can provide a good engineering support for all customers' requirements."

He adds, "We at Interach follow a very transparent system; always work for customer satisfaction and on-time projects delivery. We are the only company which invites customers to plants for inspection of raw material as well as finished goods and has un-matched quality control setup in manufacturing facilities. We're the only company in India to provide turnkey solutions with a certified builder's network of more than 60 certified builders across India. We ensure quality and timely delivery at site through: 1. Quarterly training sessions to site engineers and certified builders. 2. Technological upgradation know-how and half-yearly rating system. 3. We practice stringent safety rules and international standard and propagate Zero accident at our sites."

When asked about the Interarch's strategies for floating in the current difficult economic condition, he says, "We are able to sail through the tough times because of our strong financial backing and solid management systems in place. In the last few years, we have consolidated our operations and penetrated into new sectors; opening new applications for steel buildings, in India such as cement industry, multi-storey buildings and power sector."

Expressing satisfaction on the support and policy-push from the government for creating a conducive environment for the use of PEB, he states, "We are happy with government current initiative like Make in India campaign, allocation of funds for new infra projects like metro, 100 smart cities, hospitals etc. The GST regime will make the use more cost-effective as the customer will be able to utilize the input credit from a manufactured building."

In his concluding remarks, Mr. Suri says, "We feel the market for pre-engineered steel construction is growing exponentially in India with consumers opting for new-age technologies as well as the need for fast construction. All sectors in India are expanding in terms of business and more companies are coming here which gives pre-engineered steel sector huge potential to grow. We are confident that consumers are getting ahead of the price sensitive market and are considering reputed companies to provide better and quality product."