1) Pre-engineered buildings (PEB) are an emerging technology in India that is specialized for warehouse construction. PEBs provide advantages over traditional construction like faster construction, lower maintenance, and flexibility for expansion. 2) PEBs are well-suited for warehouse construction as they provide large clear spans, allow for mezzanine floors and multi-story structures, and can accommodate cranes and conveyor belts for material handling. 3) Industries like e-commerce, retail, logistics, and food and beverage are increasingly adopting PEB warehouses due to the need for temperature controlled facilities and proximity to transportation hubs. PEB providers offer customized solutions for various warehouse storage and operational needs.

1. MAHENG/2011/38968
ACEUPDATE
Vol 6 Issue 3 • Pages 52 • April 1, 2016 • `100/-
ARCHITECTURE CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING N e w s ana l y sis an d techno l og y
www.aceupdate.comAn I-Tech Media Publication
Modernising
warehouses
with advanced
roofing
technologies
• Embracing PEB for
modernising warehouses
• Why warehouse should
invest in solar?
• Warehouse Insulation
Highlighting the advanced
roofing systems for modern
warehousing facilities

2. April 201618 A C E UPDATEARCHITECTURE CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING
PEBIIIndustry analysis
Creating warehousing infrastructure with PEB
With the boom in E-commerce sector, manufacturing,
domestic consumption, FDIs and international trade,
warehousing in India is seeing an extreme scope and
growth. Unlike the convention storage process, the
warehouse industry is coming up with many value added
services which has resulted in an immense growth every
year. Currently the industry is growing over 10 per cent
annually. At the pace the industry is growing, it needs
new technologies and facilities which will support to
meet its requirements.
Speaking about the advantages of Pre-Engineered
Building (PEB) in creating warehousing infrastructure,
P V Rao, Managing Director, PEBS Pennar says, “PEB
technology is one of the emerging technologies in India
which is specialised for warehouse construction. This PEB
technology has created a revolution in the construction
industry.”
He further explains the several advantages of PEB over
the conventional and the concrete methods as:
High strength to weight ratio: The weight of the
structure made of steel will be less resulting in less
member sizes and foundations.
Uniformity in strength: Properties of steel do not
change as opposed to concrete.
Ductility: Steel can withstand extensive deformation
without failure under high reversal of stresses especially
in the case of earthquakes.
Toughness: Steel has both strength and ductility.
Additions to existing structures: New bays or entire new
wings can be added to existing frame buildings and steel
bridges may easily be widened.
Ability to span long distance: Steel is good for clear and
longer span. With steel, providing column less space is
much economical than RCC.
Faster occupancy: With PEBs, one can save 20 to 25 per
cent time in construction for industrial buildings and
around 40 per cent for multi-storeyed buildings. Early
occupancy generates early returns.
Cost efficiency: Optimised design results in less usage of
steel and cost.
Flexibility of expansion: PEBs are easy to expand or
modify in future.
Low maintenance: PEBs need very minimal maintenance.
Earthquake and hurricane resistant: PEBs are designed to
take care of earthquake and hurricane impact.
Single-source responsibility: In PEBs, responsibility
starting from design till erection lies in single hand,
hence no hassle of multiple agencies .
Factory controlled quality: From raw material till finish,
at every stage, quality is controlled thoroughly.
Re-locatable: PEB buildings can be dismantled and re -
erected at other locations.
Warehouse was PEB’s forte since its inception. Initially
definition of warehouse was ideally meant for a storage
space. Gradually the concept changed. In current
scenario, the inclusion under the name of warehouse
expanded to processing activity too.
Jayanta Chakraborty, Sr. GM - SCM, Phenix Construction
Technologies, explains the prominent advantages of PEB
in warehouse segment as:
More free storage area: the effectiveness of storing area
Embracing PEB for modernising
warehouses
Pre Engineered
Building technology is
one of the emerging
technologies in India
which is specialised
for warehouse
construction.
P V Rao,
Managing
Director, Pebs
Pennar
How PEB can play significant role in
creating warehousing infrastructure

3. Industry analysis II PEB
April 2016 19A C E UPDATEARCHITECTURE CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING
There are possibility
of building multi
story warehouses,
where multi
mezzanine floors
can be built with the
help of deck sheets.
Jayanta Chakraborty,
Sr. GM - SCM,
Phenix Construction
Technologies
is the amount of free space under the cover. If one follows
typical shape of PEB, the column sections taper out wider
as the height increases. Meaning the columns are slim at
the bottom and wider at the top. This provide more floor
space.
The width of a building can be predominantly more
without intermediate support. This also substantially
contributes towards open and free space under the roof.
Heavy EOT cranes can be installed effortlessly to make
material handling efficient and easy. Conveyor belts can
also be incorporated at the apex of the roof that is for
pyramidal structure for ease in process. Arch type of roof
provides much wider span and provide clear storing space.
Multi-storey storing system: There are possibility of
building multi-storey warehouses, where multi mezzanine
floors can be built with the help of deck sheets. This
provides multi-platform under a single roof.
Cold store: To add a solution to modern warehouse, cold
store is added in PEB arm fold where the warehouse is
made out of PEB structure and roof and walls are made
out of Poly Urethane Foam (PUF) panels. This provides
adequate heat insulation from the environment and
gives a majestic look as well. This outer system along
with mezzanine decking system provides all facility a
cold storage looks for.
“Pre-engineered steel buildings technology came into
limelight in the warehousing segment and Kirby Building
Systems India Ltd (Kirby India) is the torchbearer for
introducing this technology in India,” states D Raju,
MD and CEO at Kirby Building Systems India Ltd. Kirby’s
warehouses buildings are customised to meet the unique
demands of the customers. “As a result,” Raju says, “Today
Kirby has become synonymous with PEB warehouse
buildings in the Indian market mainly because of its
unmatched speed of construction, faster delivery,
IOT infra, Gahej,
Gujarat

4. April 201620 A C E UPDATEARCHITECTURE CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING
PEBIIIndustry analysis
superior quality, large clear spans of up to 100 metres,
cost savings, faster return on investment, environmental
friendly, earthquake resistant, maintenance free,
flexibility in expansion, etc.
Explaining about the advantages of using PEB in creating
warehousing infrastructure Raju states, “PEB technology
has become the preferred mode of construction for
warehouses being setting up across India. 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.”
Why industries are opting PEB?
PEB technology has become the centre of attraction
across India especially in the agro, food and beverages,
FMCG, E-commerce industries due to series of measures
announced by the government to provide proper
warehousing and cold storage facilities for storage
of 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 industry is estimated to grow rapidly over next
few years. Other industry segments which are major
drivers behind growth of warehousing industry include
consumer durables, automotive, and all other industry
segments as each and every industry require warehouses
for storage of their raw material, semi-finished products,
final product, etc, at different locations which are well
connected to other nearby cities and easily accessible so
that they can be transported to the required destination
on fast track basis without any hassles.
According to Rao the PEB technology well fits the
industries like retail, logistics, pharmaceuticals,
agriculture, defence, railways, manufacturing, textiles,
etc.
Informing about the different industries that can
embrace PEB warehousing Raju says, “The new segment
which has gained significant prominence in the market
is e-commerce industry which is rapidly growing and
has attracted lot of attention as they are going for
constructing their own warehouses or taking on lease
from third party across all the places in India on war
footing basis and that too in bigger sizes.” This is mainly
because of intense competition in this segment which
requires the e-commerce company to be on their toes
each and every single moment to meet the customer
delivery timelines which are very short and this can be
only met when they have all their products stored in a
warehouse which is very near to the destination. Kirby
India has already constructed warehouses for Flipkart,
and Amazon.
Offering from the companies
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.
Sharing information on offering from Kirby Raju says,
“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. We
are the only player to offer such packaged requirement
and has already supplied such buildings to many of our
clientele.” 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.
PEBS Pennar operates in the market through its
customised services to suit warehouse requirements by
providing high performance steel buildings with 100
per cent leak proof, double-lock standing seam roofing
with 10 years warranty, purlins, girts, eave struts are pre-
galvanised with 275 gsm, primary structures shot-blasted
to Swedish standard SA 2.5 with epoxy primer.
Conclusion
With the scope in the manufacturing and E-commerce
the warehousing industry in India is expected to witness
immense growth. As PEB is an ideal solution for faster
construction, it will become an integral part of the
warehouse construction. n
PEB technology
has become the
preferred mode of
construction for
warehouses being
setting up across
India.
D Raju, MD
CEO - Kirby
Building Systems
India Ltd