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MacGregor Potato Storage Building utilizing Behlen's Insulated Metal Panels, MacGregor, MB. M A R C H 2 0 2 2 | 21 Steel Building Systems P H OTO G R A P H Y CO U RT E S Y B EH L EN I N DUS T R I E S The steel building systems industry has a propensity for innovation, which is helping it through some challenging times by ROBIN BRUNET L ike virtually all of the other con- struction sectors, the commercial and industrial steel buildings market in 2022 seems unstoppa- bly robust, thanks to benefits that more and more cost-conscious cli- ents are beginning to appreciate. They include lower initial and lifecycle costs as well as energy efficiency (a well-insulated steel building can cut energy bills up to 50 percent). Various studies suggest that up to 95 percent of new industrial construction is steel made, thanks partly to another benefit: their ease in meeting advanced building ratings. And as Sean Lepper, VP and general manager, Behlen Industries, points out, "Steel continues to be very expensive but isn't increasing as drastically as it was, and 2022 is going to be very busy." This comes on the heels of a far better than expected 2021. "Mining and large industrial projects were common, and Behlen supplied nine buildings to LNG Canada at Kitimat," Lepper says. "Some of these were very large structures, and on top of that the qual- ity requirements were challenging. Behlen supplied a full breakdown of all the steel certifications of each piece of steel supplied on each building. Each building is unique, and the combination of the types and sizes of steel were enormous. We developed an auto track- ing system for the steel certifications using bar codes on each part; this was the biggest test that we've had for this system, and it passed with flying colours." Lepper goes on to note, "Behlen has a healthy backlog that takes us well into the second quarter, with industrial work leading the way. As for the lin- gering issue of supply chain, the company has been fortunate in that so far we've only experienced some minor disruptions to our deliveries. This has forced us to inventory a higher volume of steel and com- ponents, and to compensate for the shortages we've expanded our vendor lists and brought on new sup- pliers. It was a difficult undertaking but will be very beneficial for Behlen in the future." Behlen has also successfully continued to expand its sales into the Insulated Metal Panel (IMP) sector. "In order to meet the Canadian Energy Code require- ments IMP is becoming more and more popular, and Behlen's Artspan IMP is now a staple product offering," Lepper says. "We have successfully sup- plied projects from coast to coast and for uses such as freezers for packing plants, mining structures, and commercial buildings. Behlen offers a variety of pro- files and colours for walls and standing seam roofs." When asked to give an example of how the pan- demic and supply chain issues affected recent projects, Nucor Buildings Group district sales man- ager Denny Maodus cites a 202,000-square-foot warehouse project in Ontario last year. "The primary challenge was managing expectations with respect to lead times," he says. "This particular township had seen permit lead times triple during the pandemic, and this coupled with industry lead times for most products created some definite challenges." Nucor's propensity for innovation – from its pro- prietary design products such as TrussFrame to its insulated metal panels with cool coating technology – makes it well positioned to cater to clients in 2022. Time To BRACE YOURSELF

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