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Designing for Galvanizing: What to Look For in Your Steel Fabricator

Why Designing for Galvanizing Requires Special Knowledge and Techniques

Choosing structural materials for your building project involves some of the biggest decisions you’ll make. While designing for galvanizing requires special techniques and knowledge, it offers a variety of critical benefits for your project that include:

  • Lower initial cost
  • Better longevity and durability
  • Availability and sustainability
  • Versatility
  • Aesthetics

No matter what design you’re planning for your building project, designing for galvanizing is a good choice. Initially developed to battle corrosion concerns, hot-dip galvanizing is being used in a variety of settings to support every kind of structure imaginable.

Once you’ve decided on galvanized steel, you need to choose a steel fabricator and erector that has the expertise to work with it.

What is galvanizing? The galvanizing process has been around for 150 years. It involves taking a piece of steel, which has been chemically cleaned, and dipping it into molten zinc that has been heated to over 800 degrees. The resulting chemical reaction provides multiple layers of corrosion protection.

Considerations to keep in mind: Not every steel company is equipped to properly galvanize steel for your design. There are special techniques involved, and even the broader design process requires a high level of collaboration between the various parties involved in the project. The architect, engineer, fabricator and galvanizer should all be communicating openly to address a variety of topics related to designing for galvanizing:

  • The chemistry and surface condition of the steel
  • Size and shape of steel components
  • Welding and threaded parts or connections
  • Process temperature and heat for galvanizing
  • Post galvanizing use of steel for structure

Understanding these aspects of the galvanizing process and how they impact the final structure is critical to the success of your building project. You’ll find that the extra attention is worth the trouble: it is estimated that galvanized steel corrodes at 1/30 the rate of untreated steel. While this rate may vary depending on the environment and climate, galvanized steel is far more able to resist corrosion than other products.

Midland Steel Company is fully equipped to handle your galvanized steel fabrication and erection. Make an appointment with us to discuss your project and we can describe, in detail, the steps our team takes to ensure your galvanized steel is produced to your specifications. Contact us for more information.

How to Choose the Right Steel Fabrication Company

Your Steel Fabrication Company Should Help You Avoid Errors and Delays

There are a lot of decisions to make early in a building project, and one of the key choices is your steel fabrication company. It’s tempting to choose based on cost alone, but if you do, you may end up paying more in the long run, in addition to paying more in terms of how much time you’ll spend trying to adjust your plans to accommodate a problematic fabrication schedule.

As you look at different companies and ask questions, you need to listen between the lines to find out if you’ve got the right fit for your project. Here are two key areas that should influence your decision:

Communication: In the early conversations, when you’re determining whether you’ll use a particular steel fabrication company, look for signs that they prioritize communication. They should also be interested in the following information and listen closely to your plans:

  • The design elements you’d like to include
  • The finished weight and strength requirements
  • Your budget for your project
  • Your deadline for finishing your building

The company should be able to provide detailed examples of similar projects they’ve worked on and tell you how they’ve previously handled any challenges that could come up with your project. Ask them how often you’ll see them on the job site, and who will be there.

Quality: Look for a steel fabrication company that embraces quality as a core value and makes it an integral part of their daily work. Talk with other builders about the company you’re considering and watch for signs of poor quality:

  • A reputation for providing a low bid, but then adding on more costs later with extras or variations in the project
  • Fails to finish a job properly
  • Substitutes cheaper or low-quality materials
  • Does not have a quality-control process

Ask for the testimonials of satisfied customers, and ask what policies and processes are in place to maintain a high-quality level. You should also ask whether they do both fabrication and erection, because there can be added delays if you need to use separate companies for each of these parts of your building process.

Your building project requires many critical decisions, and choosing a steel fabrication company is arguably the most important. Midland Steel Company is committed to a high-quality standard that is carried out on a daily basis, with every task that our workers complete. Make an appointment with us to talk about your project, and we’ll show you examples of completed projects that are similar to yours. We always offer our clients the opportunity to talk with contractors and building owners that have worked with us in the past, so that you have every assurance that your project with be completed with the highest level of quality.

One More Reason to Choose Structural Steel for Your Project

Structural Steel is Made in America

If you’re planning a building project, one of the early decisions to be made is choosing materials for the structure. Whether it’s a commercial building or a residential community, structural steel is an ideal choice for your project. Did you know structural steel is made in America and it supports American workers, as well as local businesses and the overall local economy?

Structural steel in the U.S. is the product of American workers. Across the United States, there are over 2,300 fabricators, and many of them are family-owned businesses. For every 45 tons of steel that are used in a project in the U.S., there’s another American job created. When you consider that there are currently 7.2 million tons used each year, those projects result in 160,000 jobs, with workers handling over 8,000 building projects across the country and working in more than a dozen mills to produce a variety of structural shapes and plates.

Structural steel is a sustainable choice. Structural steel is a recycled material that is locally-sourced, made from steel scrap collected in the United States. An average of over 90 percent of domestic structural steel comes from recycled content. In addition, at the end of its life, 98 percent of American structural steel is recycled into products to be used in a new steel project. For example, an office building five stories high and framed with structural steel uses 500 tons of American steel, which represents 122 recycled appliances, 79 tons of industrial scrap, 360 automobiles and 65 tons of curbside recycling.

The United States structural steel industry is equipped to handle demand. The American structural steel industry can produce nine million tons of structural steel every year. In 2015, there were 7.2 million tons used in buildings and other projects across the country, and the existing number of manufacturers can meet domestic demand.

If you’re still not convinced that structural steel is the ideal choice for your building project, we would love an opportunity to talk with you about other reasons to choose steel: design flexibility, cost and building capacity. Bring in your plans and let’s talk about the benefits that structural steel offers your project.

Midland Steel is committed to the highest quality work, and we also have the experience and technology to keep your project on-schedule and avoid delays related to errors or the use of a separate fabricator and erector. Give us a call and let’s talk about your project. We look forward to hearing from you.

Midland Steel Participates in Construction Project for New Field House

Northwest Missouri State’s Hughes Field House Construction Project Well Under Way

Midland Steel is excited to be part of a construction project for Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, Missouri. The new Hughes Field House is being built by E.L. Crawford Construction and Midland Steel is the steel fabricator and erector for the Field House.

A new video posted on the Facebook page of Crawford Construction offers a bird’s eye view of the construction project, along with some fun footage of close-up work being done on the worksite. The drone videography done by Hidden Perspective Outdoors helps provide a full view of the scope of the project.

Midland Steel has already completed a number of steps toward finishing the Field House, including erecting the structure of the pre-engineered metal building (PEMB), using multiple cranes per lift. Midland also dedicated a large crew size to this important, large-scale project and provided special tooling to meet specifications. There were challenges to getting the building square and plumb as well.

Even as they celebrate the work completed on the construction project, Midland Steel knows that finishing the job with the highest level of quality is just as critical. Upcoming work on the project includes completion of the stainless steel stairs, plus a handrail and guardrail, ladders and lintels. Midland Steel will also fabricate and erect an elevator pit ladder and sill angles, as well as bench brackets and partition posts.

The Hughes Field House, scheduled to open this summer, is located northwest of College Park and Bearcat Stadium. Expected to host a variety of University and community events, the Field House is the result of one of the largest public-private joint projects competed in the University’s history or across the region.

The 137,000+ square foot Field House facility will offer a host of new features, including recreation and exhibition space, 100-yard practice turf, 300-meter indoor track and spectator seating. The Field House will also offer tiered meeting rooms that can serve a variety of purposes.

In an ongoing commitment to sustainability and responsible energy management, the Hughes Field House is being built according to guidelines for the Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) certification.

Midland Steel Company is proud to participate in the building of the Hughes Field House. If you’d like more information about this construction project or another of our building projects, please give us a call.

Midland Steel Company is Expanding

New Addition Will House Handrail and Light Architectural Components

Since its beginning in the early 1960s, Midland Steel Company has been growing. By 1980, the company had already outgrown the existing fabrication shop they’d acquired and it was time to build a new location in Wathena, Kansas. The custom-constructed building was designed to serve the needs of the operation well into the future.

Like any other construction company, Midland Steel has weathered a few ups and downs, riding through each recession and thankful each time to see the other side. The flood of 1993 also created some challenges for the company, particularly when the Missouri River overflowed the levees and the owners of the company required a boat to access headquarters and assess the damage.

Throughout the many tests and trials that a company must weather, Midland Steel has enjoyed steady growth. From building and renovating projects for Missouri Western State University to projects for the Kansas Speedway, the Nelson-Atkins Art Gallery and Arrowhead Stadium, Midland Steel Company appreciates the many opportunities they have had to participate in local commerce.

Midland Steel Company attributes its pattern of growth to the exemplary work ethic of its 65 employees. We are proud of our reputation for getting each project done on time and with the highest quality standards, a characteristic that only endures when every employee commits to excellence.

Time to Expand Again!

As Midland Steel has expanded its customer base, the need for a physical expansion became clear. A new 50 by 90-foot addition will house handrail and light architectural components for the erection and fabrication company. The project is currently being completed by Midland Steel Erection. The new addition is located at 202 Boeh Lane, at the eastern edge of Wathena.

If you’re planning a building project, contact our team at Midland Steel Company. We’ll show you around our new addition, then show you examples of projects we’ve completed that are similar to yours. We look forward to hearing about your project.