Currently, pre-engineered building construction is restricted to larger projects and are catered to by large prefab companies. The SME segment is largely neglected, and they follow the conventional construction model. With Steelion’s better understanding of the SME segment and its strong legacy in tier 2 and 3 markets, the company envisions to transform prefab landscape for SMEs and democratize the market. This will offer them not only a competitive edge over others, but also ensure timely completion of projects at no cost overruns.
The SME sector makes up for 33.4% of the India’s output in manufacturing, giving employment to around 120 million Indians, according to CII. There are 63.4 mn SME units and they form 30% of India’s GDP. By catering to this market segment and focusing on projects that are worth Rs5 crores to Rs50 crores, Steelion sees a huge opportunity to increase its market share. To harness the full potential of Prefab Technology, it should be embraced in design-build construction and made equally accessible to small and medium sized projects in addition to the larger projects. HCT methodology helps make design-build construction using prefab technology available to all business segments and categories, including those that are currently underserved in a very cost-efficient way. For the past few years, Steelion has been nurturing the SME segment by offering turnkey services, which is still a white space for them.
With the e-commerce boom, many small businesses are struggling to supply the diverse inventory, rapid turnarounds, and inexpensive shipping that consumers are demanding these days. In addition to these recent developments, they still need to wrestle with liabilities such as overhead costs, labor, and advertising. Prefab retail buildings can greatly help these small companies adapt to the current marketplace. By simplifying construction, these structures reduce operating costs for small retailers while helping them project the refreshing image they need to attract customers. To top it all, perfect combination of low cost and versatility make prefab buildings a perfect choice for smaller businesses in order to be competitive in this highly dynamic market. Prefab commercial construction imparts small businesses much greater flexibility than traditional construction. From furnishing temporary space to providing a permanent space that can be expanded as the business grows, prefab construction can provide completely customized solutions in much less time than on-site construction.
Moreover, looking from another angle, if we want to take the construction sector to the next phase of growth, SMEs ought to be brought to the next level as they constitute the largest part in construction supply chains. In this regard, increasing BIM and lean construction adoption amongst SMEs is a prerequisite towards achieving the transformation of the construction industry. When even large companies are struggling with financing mechanisms in delivering projects on time due to Covid-19 pandemic impact, it’s the SMEs who have seen the worst of times and prefabrication can bring a ray of hope for the underserved segment, which not only assures zero cost & time overruns but also delivers a lean and quality infrastructure.
Building on a sustainable promise
Steelion uses technology to build efficiency, which ensures a strong client following and increases stickiness to its services. For Steelion, every single project is unique, which requires a distinctive approach based on the esteemed clients’ requirements. Unlike other prefab service providers, Steelion uses systems based on the project requirements, which has offered the company an edge over others in the industry. HCT is geared towards delivering efficiency even after project is completed and cause far less emissions than conventional systems. Its R&D team is continuously working towards building energy efficient projects. The system also ensures that during the construction process there is minimal wastage and landfill. The very premise of Steelion is based on enhancing sustainable expanse in construction and every process it follows; and the company make sure that its projects are sustainable from the word go.