Steel in warehouse construction

Steel is the natural choice for the construction of modern warehouses. The high level of prefabrication quickens construction speed and its 100% recyclability contributes to sustainability at the end of a building’s use phase. Steel also allows for more simple compliance with fire safety measures required for all types of warehouse builds.

Due to its durability, high load-bearing capacity, and the option to combine storage racks with the building frame, steel is the preferred material for warehouse structures. Warehouse roofing and facades are commonly made of steel due to its lightness, rapid installation, thermal efficiency solutions, and freedom of design to comply with corporate architecture.

ArcelorMittal offers a wide range of steel products and solutions for modern warehouse construction, such as:

• metallic coated Magnelis® combined with structural steel grades, enabling the design and erection of light steel frame racks and structures made from cold profiles or tubes
• structural steel sections in a wide variety of dimensions and in standard and high strength grades
• Amstrong® and Amstrong® Ultra high strength steels to create cost effective, low maintenance racking systems and profiled shelving
• an extensive offer of prepainted steels in the Granite® range, providing UV and corrosion protection in all environments in addition to a vast selection of colour and surface appearances that fulfil aesthetic requirements and corporate colour schemes
• Estetic® Clean, a best in class product for cold store warehouses, ensuring proper cleanability and resistance to chemicals - especially for the food or pharmaceutical industries
• trapezoidal and sinusoidal cladding sheets, sidings, and sandwich panels for functional and aesthetic warehouse facades
• a wide range of high-quality steel fibres to reinforce warehouse floors, creating resistant, serviceable floor slabs according to the requirements of each project
• crane rails for overhead systems for moving heavy loads

Warehouse design

Architecturally, warehouses are large plain buildings, and their function lies at the core of the buildings’ concept. More and more warehouses are automated (with very few workers inside) and include a structure that combines both the building’s structure and very high interior racks that make up the storage system. This concept, known as a high-bay warehouse, has an impact on the design and dimensions of warehouses.

Reliability and high quality, of both the building materials and the construction work, are of utter importance to guarantee durability and sustainability and enhance functionality.

Depending on the goods stored in them, warehouses may require special features such as specific safety measures or refrigeration in the case of cold store warehouses. Growing numbers of smart warehouses rely on the Internet of Things (IoT) to guarantee the automatic tracking of products at all stages.

Warehouses consume a great deal of energy and have high operational costs, which is why sustainability is increasingly important in warehouse design and construction. The use of solar roof panels as a source of renewable energy results in greener warehouses that comply with sustainable construction criteria.