Introduction: Steel is at the heart of India’s industrial growth, with warehouses, logistics parks, and factories mushrooming at record pace. Yet the challenge is sharper than ever: material prices have climbed nearly 30 per cent in the past three years, while delivery timelines continue to shrink. The answer lies in redefining efficiency, not just in terms of cost per tonne, but as a holistic equation of design prudence, fabrication intelligence, and lifecycle value. This story captures how industry stakeholders are converging on that vision.
THE INDUSTRIAL PARADOX
“Faster. Cheaper. Stronger.” The holy grail of industrial construction has never been more relevant, yet never more complex. Across India, developers and industrial clients are under pressure to build expansive facilities like warehouses, factories, logistics hubs within tighter timelines and leaner budgets, all while ensuring durability, safety, and sustainability. The paradox lies here: in an era of volatile steel prices, global supply chain disruptions, and growing demand for high-performance assets, what does true cost-efficiency in industrial steel buildings really look like?
Take, for instance, a 1 lakh sq ft warehouse project. The client demands rapid delivery within six months. Steel prices are fluctuating. Performance expectations are non-negotiable. Every design choice, from roof span to fire resistance, becomes a balancing act between immediate affordability and long-term value. It is in these scenarios that value engineering emerges not as a compromise, but as a discipline, one that challenges every stakeholder to optimise performance without inflating budgets.
To explore this evolving equation, SSMB spoke to multiple stakeholders — leading PEB manufacturers, a structural consultant, and a client. Together, they form the backbone of India’s steel construction ecosystem, offering diverse yet interconnected perspectives on efficiency. While manufacturers push the boundaries of design and execution, consultants weigh in with an engineering lens, and clients bring the demand-side reality check of cost, timelines, and performance expectations.
This multi-stakeholder dialogue forms the essence of this cover story. It reveals how efficiency in industrial steel buildings is no longer about “cutting corners,” but about engineering smarter solutions that align design, execution, and economics.
THE USER’S LENS – WHAT CLIENT REALLY WANTS
When it comes to cost-efficiency in industrial real estate, the client’s lens is ultimately the sharpest. Developers and end-users are the ones writing the cheque, and for them, efficiency has very little to do with cutting costs at the design table or driving vendors to the lowest quote. Instead, as Pooja Malik, Head of Leasing at Horizon Industrial Parks, explains, cost-efficiency has evolved into a strategic pursuit of lifecycle value.
“For our clients, cost-efficiency is not about cutting corners or simply chasing the lowest upfront quote. They are looking to maximise the long-term return on every rupee they invest.” This perspective reshapes the very definition of efficiency. For Horizon and its customers, it begins well before the first steel column is erected. Site selection itself is a cost-efficiency strategy: choosing locations that minimise transit costs for goods and raw materials, ease of labour availability, and alignment with supply chain hubs. The right site can deliver long-term logistical savings that far outweigh marginal cost differences in construction.
“Cost-efficiency is not about cutting corners but about maximising lifecycle value.”
POOJA MALIK, Head – Leasing, HI Parks
Next comes design intelligence. High floor loads, optimal clear heights, and layouts pre-engineered for automation and material-handling systems are no longer luxuries but are safeguards against expensive retrofits. “Every avoidable modification post-handover is a dent in the client’s ROI,” Malik stresses. “Efficiency means designing with foresight so that facilities don’t just serve today’s needs, but remain competitive tomorrow.”
Operational efficiency adds yet another layer to this equation. Facilities designed with energy-efficient lighting, climate-responsive systems, rooftop solar arrays, wastewater recycling, and rainwater harvesting not only reduce operating costs but also enhance long-term tenant stickiness and investor appeal. For many customers, sustainability has shifted from being a “good-to-have” to a baseline expectation, driven not only by regulators but also by ESG-conscious investors.
Finally, financial flexibility is redefining efficiency in the client’s eyes. Horizon often pursues phased project delivery, enabling tenants to commence operations sooner while deferring parts of their capital expenditure. Capex support structures, whether for fit-outs, equipment integration, or space holding for future expansion, ensure that clients can deploy resources where ROI is maximised.
“Avoiding retrofits is the first step to avoiding hidden costs.”
From Horizon’s standpoint, cost-efficiency is therefore not a one-dimensional metric. It is a multi-pronged strategy that spans location, design, operations, finance, and compliance. The company’s IGBC Platinum certifications, ISO standards, and global ESG-aligned processes underscore this ethos. As Malik summarises: “Cost efficiency is about creating facilities that remain competitive today and continue to deliver value for decades to come.”
Phased Growth = Smart Investment
Key Practices at HI Parks:
- Phased delivery enables faster go-live
- Capex support for fit-outs & equipment
- Space holding for future expansion
- Green certifications as standard
5 Dimensions of Client Efficiency
A circular infographic showing:
- Site Selection (logistics savings)
- Design Intelligence (clear heights, automation-ready)
- Operational Efficiency (solar, energy, water recycling)
- Financial Flexibility (phased delivery, capex support)
- Compliance & Sustainability (IGBC Platinum, ISO, ESG alignment)
THE CONSULTANT’S LENS – DESIGNING FOR EFFICIENCY
If clients define the destination of efficiency, consultants engineer the pathway to get there. But as Dr. C.N. Srinivasan, Managing Director of CR Narayana Rao Consultants Pvt. Ltd., cautions that pathway is often obstructed by a pervasive inefficiency called overdesign.
“An under-designed building becomes embarrassingly evident, while an overdesigned building is admired by all paid for, of course, by the client,” he observes wryly. In India, layers of regulatory compliance magnify this tendency. Agencies such as the CMDA or DTCP demand design submissions, often without the manpower or expertise to evaluate them rigorously. Designers, naturally risk-averse, err on the side of heavier structures, and the result is industrial buildings that are more costly than they need to be.
“An overdesigned building is admired by all but paid for by the client.”
The solution, Dr. Srinivasan argues, is to treat value engineering as a living, breathing process, not a single stage in design development. “The design and value engineering are both dynamic entities, evolving throughout design, construction, and even service life,” he notes. Only when all stakeholders like architect, consultant, contractor, fabricator, and client are aligned around this principle can costs be optimised without compromising safety or performance.
Real-world examples drive home the point. At a factory in Hyderabad, a crane system became redundant after process changes. Instead of discarding the structural components, his team repurposed crane girders and stanchions to create a mezzanine, effectively doubling usable space without fresh steel input. Lean design, recyclability, and intelligent reuse gave the building a second life at minimal incremental cost.
Technology, too, is transforming efficiency. Simulation and design software allow consultants to anticipate code changes, legislation shifts, and user requirement evolutions from temperature tolerances to expansion joints. These tools eliminate mid-course corrections that are often costlier than the original design, and open opportunities for more flexible, future-ready structures.
“The building is another consumer product. Our job is to give the client the best bang for the buck.”
- C.N. SRINIVASAN, MD, CRN Consultants
Balancing standardisation and customisation is another lever. “The two are not in conflict,” Dr. Srinivasan explains. “From the earliest discussions, the attempt should be to nudge projects toward off-the-shelf standardised solutions, layering customisation only where operationally essential.” The result is a “fit-and-forget” product that is robust, replicable, and reliable.
Above all, he urges the industry to adopt a more nuanced framework: the concept of a building’s “Economic Life.” Instead of designing with open-ended longevity, structures should be engineered around realistic return periods, factoring recyclability, repurposing, and adaptability. “The building is another consumer product,” he says. “Our responsibility is to optimise design, fabrication, erection, and recyclability so the customer gets the best bang for the buck.”
Consultant’s Checklist for Cost-Efficient Design
- Avoid overdesign through early structural inputs
- Use simulation tools to prevent mid-course corrections
- Repurpose structural components where possible
- Balance standardisation with project-specific needs
- Define the “Economic Life” of a building
Taken together, the client’s vision of lifecycle value and the consultant’s insistence on lean, foresight-driven engineering outline a new definition of cost-efficiency in industrial steel buildings. For clients, efficiency is about future-readiness, sustainability, and flexible financing. For consultants, it is about avoiding overdesign, embedding adaptability, and treating buildings as recyclable assets with defined economic lives.
Together, they set the benchmarks of expectation. The next question is how well India’s PEB manufacturers can rise to meet them, delivering solutions that reconcile speed, scalability, and sustainability while staying true to the promise of efficiency.
THE BUILDER’S LENS – MANUFACTURING EFFICIENCY REDEFINED
If clients are demanding lifecycle value and consultants are urging leaner, foresight-driven designs, it falls upon PEB manufacturers to translate those expectations into practical, cost-effective execution. Today’s leading players are no longer just steel fabricators; they are technology-led solution providers, leveraging digital integration, modular design, and intelligent planning to drive down costs while delivering speed and quality.
Smart Fabrication: From Nesting to CNC to Batch Planning
For Anil Singh Baghel, CEO, Smith Structures (India) Pvt Ltd, the new frontier of efficiency is AI-driven fabrication intelligence. Advanced nesting tools now enable material yields of 95–97 per cent, squeezing maximum value from every tonne of steel and directly combating volatility in steel prices. Integrated with BIM and ERP systems, these digital tools ensure design changes translate instantly into optimised cutting plans, keeping projects lean and scrap minimal.
On the shop floor, CNC machining and robotic systems deliver precision at scale. From laser cutting and drilling to robotic welding, automation reduces rework, lowers labour dependence, and links seamlessly with digital twin models. Complementing this is AI/ML-driven batch planning, which groups jobs by material type, profile, and delivery zone, maximising machine uptime and supporting Just-in-Time fabrication. “Clients today expect faster execution with zero defects,” Baghel emphasises, “and digitally trackable fabrication is no longer optional; it is standard.”
Kailash Bansal, Director, Bansal Roofing Products Ltd, echoes the sentiment. For him, nesting is “nothing but intelligent material optimisation” using CNC-driven layouts to reduce waste, speed cutting, and ensure clean, precise components. Batch planning, he adds, “is production streamlining at its best,” reducing setup times, improving workflow, and aligning manpower and inventory to Just-in-Time schedules. When nesting, CNC, and batch planning are integrated properly, he explains, “you move from fragmented processes to a synchronised, lean production model.”
“Digitally trackable fabrication is no longer optional; it’s standard.”
ANIL SINGH BAGHEL, CEO, Smith Structures
Girish More, Director, Urwish Engineers Pvt Ltd, distills the impact in a single sentence: “Smart fabrication enhances material utilisation, streamlines production workflows, and reduces downtime, thereby delivering significant cost savings without sacrificing quality.”
Smart Fabrication in Action
Efficiency Levers:
- AI-driven nesting → 95–97% material yield
- CNC precision → reduced errors, better finish
- Batch planning → Just-in-Time, zero idle time
Impact: Lower scrap, faster production, leaner inventory
Cutting Wastage: The Lean Mantra
When it comes to minimising wastage in mass production, the strategies across manufacturers reveal a clear convergence.
For Smith Structures, the trifecta is intelligent nesting, modular standardisation, and smart batch planning, enabled by advanced software like SigmaNEST and Tekla. By integrating cutting plans with BIM/ERP systems in real time, Baghel’s team reduces scrap by 5–10 per cent and reuses off-cuts more effectively.
“Nesting is nothing but intelligent material optimisation.”
KAILASH BANSAL, Director, Bansal Roofing
Bansal Roofing adds another layer: feedback loops between fabrication teams and designers, ensuring that standard component sizes and hole patterns are baked into designs before they hit the shop floor. The company is also preparing to roll out digital batch planning and QR/barcode traceability for live monitoring, avoiding errors, overproduction, and inventory mismatches.
Urwish Engineers takes a more process-oriented approach:
- Optimised material planning through nesting and standard modules.
- Precision governance via lean workflows, 5S, and live KPI tracking.
- Strategic scrap revalorisation ensuring off-cuts re-enter the production cycle instead of becoming waste.
Together, these practices reflect a shift: wastage reduction is no longer just good housekeeping; it is now central to cost-efficiency and sustainability mandates.
Top 3 Wastage Reduction Strategies
- Intelligent nesting with ERP/BIM integration
- Standardisation & modular design
- Lean batch planning + digital traceability
Result: 5–10% scrap savings + improved stock rotation
Modular vs. Bespoke: Striking the Balance
On the design front, all three manufacturers acknowledge that clients are warming up to modular detailing, especially in warehouses, logistics hubs, and storage buildings.
“Modular is gaining strong momentum,” says Baghel. “It enables faster approvals, fabrication, and execution, ideal for cost and time-sensitive projects. Most top firms now maintain ready-to-use module libraries for rapid deployment.”
Yet the bespoke market remains alive. Heavy industries, airports, educational institutions, and commercial prestige projects still require tailored solutions for process layouts, crane loads, MEP integration, and architectural identity. As Bansal explains, “The PEB industry is in transition. Large-volume developers are increasingly open to modular detailing, but high-spec clients still demand bespoke.”
“Smart fabrication streamlines workflows and cuts downtime without sacrificing quality.”
GIRISH MORE, Director, Urwish Engineers
The emerging consensus is hybridisation: modular where possible, custom where necessary. As More puts it: “Modular delivers speed and repeatability, but bespoke is essential when complexity or branding demands it. The balance is what keeps efficiency without losing functionality.
Modular vs. Bespoke: The Hybrid Path
- Modular: Warehouses, logistics, storage → speed + cost
- Bespoke: Airports, heavy industries, commercial prestige → complexity + branding
- Hybrid: Standard modules + custom zones → the middle ground
The market is shifting toward modular acceptance, but bespoke isn’t going away.
Beyond Steel: Fire, Corrosion, and Finishes
Material efficiency is not limited to fabrication. Manufacturers are also refining fire protection, corrosion treatment, and paint systems to achieve compliance without over-engineering.
Smith Structures advocates zone-based protection, applying intumescent or cementitious coatings only in high-risk areas while complementing passive coatings with active fire systems like sprinklers. Corrosion treatments are tailored to ISO 12944 corrosivity zones, with hot-dip galvanizing and zinc-rich primers used selectively. Finishes lean toward low-VOC epoxy and polyurethane paints, aligned with IGBC/LEED green standards.
Bansal Roofing, by contrast, keeps solutions practical. For most enclosed structures, regular coatings suffice. Fire-rated paints are suggested only in high-risk sectors such as oil & gas or data centres, where norms mandate them. Instead, Bansal recommends investing in active fire protection systems rather than over-coating steel universally.
Urwish Engineers integrate cost-conscious durability through certified coatings, precise surface prep, and optimised applications. Their focus: aligning lifecycle exposure with performance needs to avoid “overspecification in the name of safety.”
Across the board, the shift is clear: the right spec equals the right spend.
Consultants and Shop-Level Ease: Closing the Loop
All three PEB leaders underline the importance of consultants who design with fabrication realities in mind.
Baghel highlights the payoff of early collaboration: “Connection detailing, transport dimensions, erection sequencing. When consultants consider these, we see fewer RFIs, faster approvals, and smoother execution.”
Bansal offers a candid assessment: “Our experience is mixed. Some consultants still are not acquainted with shop-level ease, though it should be a priority today. Standardised component sizes, modular members, and simplified marking can save immense time on the shop floor.”
More adds: “Our most successful projects are with consultants who align designs to available stock sizes, simplify welds, and standardise connections. It results in faster production, fewer errors, and better on-site fitment.”
The message is unambiguous: designing for fabrication = designing for success.
From AI-driven nesting and modular libraries to pragmatic fire safety and consultant collaboration, India’s PEB manufacturers are embracing digitalisation, standardisation, and hybrid approaches to reconcile cost, speed, and performance. Their evolving strategies not only respond to the client’s call for lifecycle value and the consultant’s demand for lean design but also position them as frontline enablers of efficiency in the country’s industrial growth story.
“Designing for fabrication is designing for success.” – Common consensus
TOWARD AN EFFICIENCY-FIRST FUTURE
What emerges from this multifaceted conversation is a striking convergence around one central truth: efficiency is no longer about cost alone, it is about lifecycle value, lean design, and smart execution.
From the client’s lens, efficiency is measured in terms of long-term reliability, sustainability, and adaptability. Developers and end-users now seek not just cost savings but future-ready facilities that can scale, adjust, and remain relevant across evolving processes.
From the consultant’s perspective, the watchwords are prudence and balance. Structural experts caution against the allure of short-term gains, reminding us that efficiency must be tempered with safety, code compliance, and an honest reckoning of a building’s “economic life.” Overdesign may seem wasteful, but under design risks catastrophic fallout, making their voice the necessary counterweight to aggressive cost cutting.
From the manufacturer’s shop floor, the push is toward speed, repeatability, and digital integration. With CNC-driven fabrication, AI-enabled nesting, and batch planning, PEB players are chasing leaner operations and faster delivery cycles, while also introducing modular design strategies that can be replicated at scale. Their optimism rests on the promise that smart fabrication and hybrid modular-bespoke approaches can make Indian steel buildings both cost-competitive and world-class.
Yet, it is in the divergence of these voices that the richness of the debate truly lies.
- Manufacturers emphasise agility, speed, and digital execution.
- Consultants emphasise discipline, codes, and lifecycle prudence.
- Clients emphasise sustainability, resilience, and long-term value.
This dynamic tension is not a weakness, but it is the very engine that can propel Indian industrial construction forward. Efficiency, in this sense, is not a single-dimensional metric, but a shared negotiation between speed, caution, and vision.
Zooming out, this conversation mirrors the broader journey of Viksit Bharat. As India accelerates its industrial growth, the push for cost-effective, steel-intensive infrastructure is shaping a future where innovation, collaboration, and responsibility must coexist. For the nation to achieve its ambitious targets, buildings cannot merely be cheaper, they must be smarter, safer, and more sustainable.
The steel construction ecosystem consisting of clients, consultants, and PEB manufacturers must therefore work not in silos but as partners in progress. Together, they hold the blueprint for industrial buildings that embody both economic pragmatism and aspirational excellence.
Editor’s Note:
Efficiency in steel construction is not about chasing the lowest number on a cost sheet. It is about orchestrating design intelligence, digital fabrication, and lifecycle value into one cohesive narrative. As this dialogue reveals, the future of India’s industrial steel buildings lies in our ability to align speed with safety, and innovation with responsibility. The opportunity before us is not merely to build faster, but to build better for today and for the India of tomorrow.
