D Raju, Managing Director, Kirby Building Systems India Pvt Ltd

The perception about PEB being costlier is only a notion as the industry has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 16+ years and more than 25 players have entered the market since then providing employment to hundreds of people. This growth is in itself shows that these structures are not very expensive but economical in nature as the overall project cost comes down. Also with companies looking for faster project completion which in turn will give faster returns on their investments, PEB is the only one stop solution to fulfill their requirements.
 
D Raju, Managing Director, Kirby Building Systems India Pvt Ltd shares his views with Sandeep Sharma about his company, core competencies, effectiveness of Pre-Engineered building systems, verticals where PEB are highly recommended, market potential of the PEB industry in India, major clientele, projects undertaken, and the kind of government support needed to boost PEB industry in India. Edited excerpts....
 
Tell us in brief about your company and core competencies?
Kirby Building Systems - India is a part of multinational multi-billion dollar business conglomerate - Alghanim Industries based in Kuwait. Kirby Building Systems is one of the world’s largest producers of quality steel buildings and has been operational since 1976. The company pioneered the Pre-Engineered Steel Buildings (PEB) concept in India in the year 1999. Today, at 200,000 MT capacity per annum, Kirby is the market leader in the Indian PEB industry with more than 16,000 buildings spread over 25 million sq m of area. Kirby India is specialized in completing many large and complex projects across diverse applications such as Factories, Warehouses, Cold Storages, Showrooms, Workshops, Offices, Supermarkets, Shopping Malls, High Rise Buildings - Commercial & Residential, Shipyards, Metro Stations, Aircraft Hangars, Sports Stadiums, Auditorium, Power Plants, Steel Plants, Heavy Industrial Structures, etc. spread over different industries. Kirby Building Systems has plants located in Kuwait, Ras-al-Khaimah (UAE) and Vietnam apart from the two plants in India (Hyderabad & Haridwar).
 
Kirby Strengths:

• Largest capacity of 200,000 MT with Hyderabad and Haridwar having 100,000 MT each respectively
• Experience in design, fabrication and erection with over 5,000 satisfied customers having built more than 18,000 buildings spread over 25 million sq m
• Over 20 sales offices across India to service customers locally
• Center of Engineering Excellence at Hyderabad with more than 250 well-qualified & experienced engineering team using latest software for design and detailing
• ISO 9001:2008 certified company by BVQI London
• Well qualified & experienced design and engineering team using latest software for design and detailing.
• Exhaustive roofing system: KR Profile and FM Approved KSS-600 Standing Seam
• Production facility for Storage Solutions & Heavy Fabrication
• Member of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), Institute of Steel Development & Growth (INSDAG), Federation of Telangana & Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FTAPCCI), Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), British Safety Council (BSC), etc.

 
How far going in for Pre-Engineered buildings is cost effective rather than undertaking traditional construction activities?
Over the years, several technological advancements have contributed to the growth of the Indian construction industry. PEB is one of the solutions that have had a significant impact. PEBs entered the Indian construction scenario in the early 2000 and have since emerged as a strong alternative to conventional concrete construction.
 
The perception about PEB being costlier is only a notion as the industry has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 16+ years and more than 25 players have entered the market since then providing employment to hundreds of people. This growth is in itself shows that these structures are not very expensive but economical in nature as the overall project cost comes down. Also with companies looking for faster project completion which in turn will give faster returns on their investments, PEB is the only one stop solution to fulfill their requirements.
 
Each and every sector whether it is manufacturing, energy, infrastructure or electricity is growing at high pace and all of them require superior buildings. PEB enjoys an edge over conventional construction owing to its many advantages. The same is evident from the Kirby India’s success of pioneering the PEB concept in India and constructing more than 16,000 steel buildings spread over an area of 25 million sqm for 5,000+ customers in the Indian market over the last 16 yrs. Today, Kirby India is the market leader and a dominant player in the India PEB market with a very strong brand synonymous with PEB.
 
Which are the verticals where Pre-Engineered buildings and systems are highly recommended?
There is no vertical or segment where a PEB cannot be used as we have executed buildings for each and every industry segments and sub-segments across India. All the industry verticals such as Automotive, Retail & Logistics, FMCG, Food & Beverages, Agro Industry, Building Materials, Packaging, Textile, Light & Heavy Engineering, etc. have adopted the PEB technology and Kirby is the torch bearer in making inroads all these segments.
 
Apart from traditional PEB applications like factories, warehouses, aircraft hangars, etc., Kirby India has played a pivotal role in growing the application segments for PEB like Metro Stations, Shipyards, Power Plants, Steel Plants, High Rise Buildings, etc. These applications require very sophisticated and specialized approach towards design, fabrication, supply and construction of different type of buildings required for each of these segments. The company has already executed many land mark projects in these emerging applications.
 
Some of the rapidly growing industries such as Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals, Railways, Metro Rails, Ports, Power & Power Generation, High Rises for Commercial & Residential, etc. are expected to see increased demand for these buildings over the next few years.
 
What can be the market potential of the Pre-Engineered Building segment in India?
Indian PEB industry is a high growth opportunity market. It is the third largest PEB market in the world after US and China. Indian PEB market size is approx. 0.5 million metric tonne growing at a growth rate of 8%-10%. The major driver of the growth is expected to be investments in industrial, logistics, pharmaceuticals, commercial, and infrastructure segments. Major capex investments will be in industrial segment of more than Rs.2.5 lakh  crore and infrastructure segment of Rs.60 lakh crore as per 12th five year plan.
 
PEB concept gained impetus in the Indian markets in the early 2000 and the usage of steel and especially PEB has growing very rapidly in the Indian construction industry. In the year 2000, when Kirby started its operations in India, PEB concept was not well known in the country. This concept also gained acceptance because of its promotion by Kirby on large scale basis & also due to opening up of the economy and a number of multinationals setting-up their facilities giving preference to metal buildings over conventional methods. 
 
Growth of the urban population and the government´s focus on infrastructure development together has accounted for the overall growth of the construction sector, which in turn has led to increasing demand for PEBs. These buildings come with many benefits like easy and faster construction, quicker return on investment, assured quality and safety, ease of maintenance, design flexibility, eco-friendliness, and easy disassembly or future expansion.
 
Who are your major clientele and which are the projects you have executed so far?
The company has the privilege of partnering most of the leading corporates across all industries by setting up their facilities. To name a few, Kirby India has been associated with companies such as Kansai Nerolac, Cipla Ltd, BASF, Nokia, Skoda, Tata Group, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, Indospace Logistics, UNICEF, BMW, Renault-Nissan, Eicher Motors, Danfoss Industries, Meenakshi Energy, Trident Ltd, Cargill India, Danieli India, Dr. Reddy’s, Aurobindo Pharma, Mankind Pharma, Suzlon Group, Birla Tyres, Apollo Tyres, MRF Ltd, JK Tyre, Bridgestone, Pipavav Shipyard, L&T, Toshiba-JSW, Pepsico, Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Dabur India, ITC Ltd, Delhi Metro, Bangalore Metro, Hyderabad Metro, Essar Steel, JSW Steel, JSPL, Gati, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Honda Motors, Asian Paints, Hindusthan National Glass, Shimizu Corporation, Soma Enterprise, Siemens Ltd, Sterlite Industries, Alstom Bharat Forge, POSCO, Madhucon Projects, Ruchi Group, BRG Group, Base Corporation, SEL Manufacturing, PRP Exports, Kohler, NCC, ABB, Jain Irrigation, Ministry of Defense, DRDO, MIDHANI, IMTMA, Flash Electronics, Cheyyer SEZ and many more.
 
Kirby has executed many projects right from a simple warehouse building to very complex structures such as shipyard and power plants catering to different applications spanning all the industry verticals. We have executed the World’s largest PEB at a single location spanning over 300,000 sqm of area & 23,000 MT of Steel for Renault Nissan near Chennai. Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Cipla Ltd, JSW Steel Ltd, Meenakshi Energy, Apollo Tyres, Skipper Electricals, POSCO India, ITC Ltd, L&T, IMTMA, Flash Electronics, Mankind Pharma, Indospace Logistics, Unicharm, Royal Enfield, etc. are some of the key clients for whom projects are under execution. Apart from these, there are many other projects that are in various stages of project cycle across India. All these projects are in different sizes of area varying from as small as 10,000 square feet to over 1 million square feet.
 
What kind of support the PEB industry needs from the Government?
Construction industry accounts for more than 66% of total steel consumption and in advanced countries more than 2/3rd of the buildings are made in steel. The government should promote steel as construction material for speedy implementation of the projects and avoid cost overruns and project delays. Our government is planning for implementation of 100 smart cities and this can be efficiently done using pre-engineered steel construction as done in developed countries providing an affordable and sustainable material for construction.
 
With adequate attention from the government, this industry can dramatically reduce construction time for industrial and infrastructure sectors. Pre-engineered construction impacts speed, quality and pricing of industrial construction, has green benefits, and a high resale value. The government should give PEB as a separate industry status, tax incentives, etc. to give further boost to the industry. 
 
Central government’s Make in India campaign and development of infrastructure and industry related projects will further give a boost to the economic growth. These reforms and many other such initiatives in coming future as promised by the government is expected to make the Indian construction and infrastructure segments much more stronger and increase its percentage share in the overall GDP contribution thereby giving a positive growth momentum to the PEB industry in the coming decade or so.