Pipe rack fabrication contractor India — process plant and industrial steel structures

Process plant projects in India rely on pipe rack structures to carry piping, cable trays, and instrument lines at elevation — freeing ground level for equipment and maintenance access. Fabricating those racks to IS 800:2007, with node connections that align at site without field modification, is a distinct discipline from general industrial building work. Sun Corporation Fabricators & Engineers handles pipe rack fabrication alongside industrial building steel from our Hyderabad workshop — columns, tier beams, bracing, and connection plates fabricated, treated, and erected under one scope. EPC documentation for process plant sub-vendors is available via our manufacturer credentials page.

Pipe rack fabrication — scope, tiers, and process plant applications

Pipe rack structures in Indian process plants typically fall into three categories. Single-tier racks support one elevated pipe level over equipment or access roads — common in chemical and pharmaceutical plants where rack height is 4 to 6 metres. Multi-tier racks carry two or three pipe levels plus cable tray and instrument support — standard in refineries, power plants, and large cement facilities where rack height can reach 12 to 18 metres. Pipe bridges span between buildings or over roads within a plant, carrying piping between process units.

Sun Corporation Fabricators & Engineers fabricates pipe rack primary and secondary steel — columns, tier beams, bracing members, and connection plates — to IS 800:2007 using IS 2062 graded material with mill test certificate traceability. Node connections are fabricated to the issued-for-construction drawings; bolt-hole positions and member lengths are checked against the erection drawing before dispatch. Typical pipe rack packages range from 80 MT for a single-tier unit extension to 800 MT or more for a multi-tier rack complex on a greenfield refinery or power project.

Sectors served include cement plants (pipe rack and conveyor support steel), thermal power projects (main pipe rack and auxiliary structures), chemical and pharmaceutical facilities, and steel plant process areas. Pipe rack steel is fabricated in our Hyderabad workshop, surface-treated to the project specification, and erected with alignment checks before piping contractors commence bolt-up at rack nodes.

Multi-tier pipe rack fabrication — columns, tier beams, and bracing

Pipe rack node connections and IS 800 compliance

Pipe rack steel grades — IS 2062 selection for process plant atmospheres

Pipe rack and process plant steel — documentation for EPC submittals

EPC contractors evaluating pipe rack sub-vendors request the same workshop credentials as for general structural steel, plus evidence of similar process plant rack work. Documentation is available on request — see our workshop credentials and QA/QC records.

Industrial steel building fabrication — types of structures

Single-span factory sheds — the standard industrial building

The single-span portal frame factory shed is the workhorse of industrial steel building fabrication in India — a primary frame spanning 12 to 30 metres between eave columns, with a ridged or mono-slope roof, Galvalume or insulated panel cladding, and secondary purlins and girts. Single-span factory sheds are used for component manufacturing, food processing, light engineering, auto ancillary production, and light warehousing. Portal frames can be PEB tapered sections for spans up to 40 metres without cranes, or conventional hot-rolled sections for shorter spans, irregular geometry, or projects requiring flexibility for future modification.

Multi-span industrial buildings — large factory and warehouse complexes

Multi-span industrial steel buildings in India cover several connected parallel bays sharing interior columns. The spanning system in each bay is the same as a single-span building, but the shared interior columns are designed for the combined loads from both adjacent bays. Multi-span industrial steel building fabrication requires careful coordination of the frame geometry across bays — particularly at the valley between adjacent roof slopes where the roof drainage concentration loads the valley purlin and the interior column, and where the relative deflection between bays under asymmetric loading needs to be controlled.

Crane bay industrial buildings — EOT crane structures

Industrial steel building fabrication for crane bay structures is fundamentally different from standard factory shed work because the overhead crane introduces large vertical and horizontal forces into the structure at the crane rail level. The vertical wheel loads from the crane transfer through the rail into the runway beam, and from the runway beam into the crane column through the bracket connection. The horizontal surge force from crane acceleration and braking transfers through the crane rail connection and into the crane column as a horizontal load at the runway beam level. The lateral thrust from the crane end carriages on the rails transfers as a horizontal load perpendicular to the runway direction.

These three force components — vertical wheel load, horizontal surge, and lateral thrust — determine the design of the crane runway beam, the crane column, and the crane column base plate for every EOT crane bay industrial building in India. IS 807:2006 governs the structural design of the crane supporting structure, and the crane supplier’s wheel load data is the critical input to the structural engineer’s design. Industrial steel building fabrication for crane bays at Suncorporation starts with a review of the crane supplier’s data sheet to confirm that the structural drawings use the correct wheel loads before fabrication begins.

Multi-level industrial structures — process plant mezzanines and elevated platforms

Multi-level industrial steel building fabrication in India covers the elevated platforms, mezzanine floors, and equipment support structures that sit inside or adjacent to the main industrial building frame. A pharmaceutical manufacturing plant might have clean room mezzanines at four levels inside a single-storey shed. A cement plant might have elevated access platforms around a kiln at multiple levels with live loads exceeding 5 kN/m². A steel plant might have a multi-level furnace charging platform with heavy equipment loads and high-temperature structural requirements. Each of these is industrial steel building fabrication with requirements that go beyond a standard factory shed.

Industrial steel building fabrication — IS standards that apply

• IS 800:2007 — the primary structural steel design and fabrication code for all industrial steel buildings in India. Limit state design of primary frames, connections, crane columns, and mezzanine structures.
• IS 875 Parts 1 and 2 — dead loads and imposed loads for industrial buildings. IS 875 Part 2 specifies the minimum imposed loads for industrial floors — 5 kN/m² for general industrial use, higher for specific applications like plant rooms and storage. IS 875 Part 3 for wind loads on cladding and primary frames.
• IS 807:2006 — design, erection, and testing of cranes and hoists. The primary code for industrial steel building crane supporting structures.
• IS 1893:2016 — seismic design. Industrial steel buildings in seismic zones III, IV, and V need IS 1893 lateral force design for the primary frame and the crane column connections.
• IS 2062 — hot-rolled structural steel material standard for all industrial building primary steel.
• IS 9595 — weld procedure qualification standard for all structural welding in industrial steel building fabrication.
• NBC 2016 — National Building Code. Fire resistance requirements for industrial occupancies — structural steel fire protection depends on occupancy classification and the number of storeys.

Industrial steel building fabrication cost India — 2026

Industrial steel building fabrication costs in India in 2026 vary significantly depending on the type of structure, the crane provision, and the complexity of the structural system. Key cost drivers are the primary steel tonnage, the connection complexity (standard bolted end plates vs. heavy welded crane column brackets), the weld inspection category, and the painting specification. Indicative rates from Suncorporation’s current project experience:

• Standard portal frame factory shed, no crane: Rs 75,000 to Rs 95,000 per MT of primary steel fabricated and erected, or Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,600 per sq ft supply and erect including cladding.
• Factory shed with EOT crane up to 10 MT: Rs 90,000 to Rs 1,15,000 per MT fabricated and erected. Stepped crane columns and runway beam add material and fabrication complexity.
• Heavy industrial structure with EOT crane above 20 MT: Rs 1,10,000 to Rs 1,45,000 per MT fabricated and erected. Heavy plate girder runway beams, UT and MPI inspection, IS 807 documentation.
• Multi-level industrial structure with mezzanine steel: Rs 95,000 to Rs 1,25,000 per MT fabricated and erected. Floor beams, mezzanine columns, stair stringers, and handrail steelwork all within the scope.
• Process plant pipe rack and equipment support structures: Rs 90,000 to Rs 1,20,000 per MT. Connection complexity and inspection requirements drive the cost relative to simple shed steel.

Industrial steel building fabrication — why single-contract scope matters

Industrial steel building projects in India frequently encounter coordination problems between the structural engineer, the fabricator, the crane supplier, the civil contractor, and the erection contractor. The structural engineer designs for wheel loads from the crane supplier’s data sheet; if the crane supplier changes the wheel load data after the structural drawings are issued, someone needs to review the design. The civil contractor builds the column bases to the fabricator’s anchor bolt templates; if the template is not accurate, the column bases need to be modified on site. The erection contractor installs the crane runway beams; if they are not to the alignment tolerances in IS 807, the crane rails cannot be set correctly.

Suncorporation manages all of these coordination interfaces as a single-contract industrial steel building fabrication scope. We review the crane supplier’s data with the structural engineer before fabrication begins, we supply accurate anchor bolt templates that are verified against the foundation drawings, and we erect the runway beams with the alignment accuracy required by IS 807. When one organisation is responsible for fabrication and erection together, the coordination gaps that cause delays and disputes on multi-contract industrial building projects do not arise.

Industrial steel building fabrication enquiries

To get a quotation for industrial steel building fabrication from Suncorporation, send us your structural drawings or project scope description. We respond to all industrial building enquiries within 24 hours. For projects in Hyderabad and Telangana, a site visit can be arranged within 48 hours of the initial enquiry.

Contact Suncorporation for industrial steel building fabrication. Also see: Industrial shed fabrication | Crane girder fabrication | Pre-engineered buildings | Structural steel Hyderabad