Steel producer leads the way with economically interesting building concepts

Did you know that in countries like France and Germany it is already mandatory to cover parking lots from a certain size with solar panels? "Lobbying is already taking place in our country as well. After all, parking lots offer the optimal opportunity to generate green energy without sacrificing green meadows, as is the case with solar parks," says Ben van Seventer. He works as sales manager at voestalpine Sadef, which has been designing and producing steel building profiles and structures for more than 75 years. This includes industrial buildings, modular buildings, substructures for solar panels and carports.

Van Seventer has been working at voestalpine Sadef since 1988, producing open and closed profiles according to applicable standards, including CE EN1090. She provides both standard solutions and customization with turnkey concepts. Its mission is to provide innovative solutions with cold-formed profiles. It certainly succeeds in this, as it is a forerunner in many areas. These include its modular construction FlexBuild and carport structures for solar panels called FlexPark. "We regularly see competitor companies following us, but we just choose our own path and keep innovating so that we maintain a piece of the lead."

Meccano principle

Building systems from voestalpine Sadef are based on the Meccano principle. "We use integrated connections, perforations for pipes and control options, which makes everything easy and fast to implement. The profiles are connected by bolts, eliminating the need for welding. This works much more efficiently, especially as qualified welders are becoming increasingly scarce. The building profiles are supplied as a kit with clear coding for efficient assembly."

Another major advantage of turnkey concepts is that the customer saves on high development and engineering costs. "And thanks to the short delivery and assembly time, it can also provide a solution when a building structure needs to be delivered quickly. For example, in an emergency such as after a calamity."

Aesthetic

The turnkey concept FlexBuild makes it possible to realize a high-quality structure, such as a store, office or bungalow, in a short time. "One should absolutely not confuse it with container construction," Van Seventer emphasizes. "This system is architecturally much more aesthetic and indistinguishable from a traditionally built building. Moreover, the system is remountable. When it is disassembled, you are left with a practical flatpack that can be easily transported to be reassembled elsewhere."

Carports

Meanwhile, numerous commercial and industrial parking lots are covered with solar panels supported by voestalpine Sadef profiles. These include amusement parks, home improvement stores, hotels, hospitals and motorhome shelters. The company offers customized solutions as well as its turnkey concept FlexPark. "In addition to generating green energy, a parking lot canopy has the advantage of keeping cars in the shade in hot weather. Then again, when it rains, visitors can load and unload their cars without getting their belongings wet." The thoughtful design by voestalpine Sadef takes several factors into account: "The columns are positioned so that the driver can easily drive his car into the parking lot and open the car doors properly."