Steltech Structural Beams
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Use Steltech® Beams because they are Smart Engineering
Steltech® manufacture columns and beams to almost any size, shape, or length so we give engineers the freedom to design the perfectly optimised beam for any application. As loads vary across a structure, we can fabricate members to the exact size needed to meet the loading in each part of the structure. By contrast, with imported hot rolled sections, engineers size the members to meet their critical load, so they have to be heavier overall. Often we achieve average weight savings of 25% to 35% over hot rolled beams – less weight means less cost*.Steltech® Members are an Economic Option
Although Steltech welded members can cost 25% to 30% more per tonne than imported hot rolled sections, this is offset by:- weight savings generated through optimising the design.
- 10 to 15% in reduced waste and fabrication costs – as members are manufactured to individual length and shape
Free Engineering Design
Talk to Steltech® to ensure that you have the most efficient structural design. Our engineers have years of experience designing cost effective and efficient structures – so savings are only a phone call away! Need a structure designed? Give us a call and we will give you the technical advice you need – or even design your structure for you free of charge!Steltech® – the Smart solution for:
- Industrial and Commercial Building Structures
- Car Parks and Multi-Story Buildings
- Columns and Piles
- Bridges
- Crane Rails
- Very big sign posts
- And many more applications, even artwork
Specs and Datasheet
Projects using Steltech® Structural Beams
We manufacture Steltech® Welded Beams
Steltech manufacture beams from plate steel using submerged arc welding. Our most common configuration is a “three plate I or H beam” with two flanges and a web but we can make “C”, “T”, or box beam configurations if required.
We manufacture all Steltech welded members to the specified length and end shape, in accordance with the customer’s shop drawings in our standard Component Drawing format. The final fabrication work is done by the customer’s chosen steel fabricator.
Other than “H” Piles our standard is to provide single sided fillet welds on most members are welded single sided. Double side welding is available as an optional extra on all member types.
Manufacturing Process Refined Over Many Years
It starts with high strength hot rolled plate supplied by New Zealand steel then accurately CNC profile cut into webs and flanges using drawings from our customers. If the finished beams are longer than the available plate length we splice the plates using full penetration submerged arc butt welds.
We then tack the flanges and webs in place and fillet weld using our automated pull through submerged arc welder or semi-automatic tractor welder. After going through our finishing department and final quality inspections the beams are available for collection by your favourite fabricator.
A wide range of plate thicknesses are available, allowing the designer to select almost any thickness and depth combination to give a virtually infinite range of structural members.
Services
We are experienced at designing structures that meet customer’s needs. We can work with your engineer to provide preliminary designs, provide complete designs that include connectors and producer statement, or just have a chat to give you advice.
If you can also complete one of our Beam Design Requests forms and we will design the beam for you and email or fax you back with the details of the beams.
Operating since 1987 Steltech are New Zealand’s leading producer of three plate welded beams for a wide range of construction and industrial applications. We use New Zealand Steel manufactured plate as our raw material.
Compared to imported hot rolled I sections manufacturing beams from plate steel gives us enormous flexibility to make the dimensions to suit the specific application. This flexibility allows the engineer to created more efficient designs than is possible when working to the limitations of standard section sizes.
Lower construction costs – more efficient structures, less steel used, less waste
Steltech makes you more productive – made to length so less fabrication time, less waste to deal with
Good for all of us – we use NZ made steel and manufacture the beams here in NZ so the whole value stays within the NZ economy.
ELEGANT SOLUTIONS FOR COMPLEX PROBLEMS
Steltech’s reputation has been built around innovation. Since we began in 1987 we’ve constantly sought new ways to minimise waste, create tougher, more durable structures, and deliver optimised, cost-effective solutions.
In keeping with that mindset we recently partnered with Donovan Group Ltd (DGL), an industry leader in the design, fabrication and erection of portal frame buildings, to co-develop a nested tapered box beam.
The result is Vertebeam™, a lightweight yet incredibly strong product that is quick to install and gives architects real scope to bring cutting-edge designs to life.
A PRACTICAL APPROACH
Our aim was to provide a smart solution to a genuine problem, and the design and development phase involved considerable input from customers, construction professionals and key stakeholders alike.
We used a build, measure, learn and adapt model, developing an in-depth understanding of the consumer’s needs and then working hard to find the most effective, functional solution.
This approach has led to rapid advancements in an industry where innovation is traditionally focused on small, incremental changes, rather than entirely new value propositions.
STRONGER, FASTER, BETTER
The Vertebeam™ portal frame solution promotes NZ-made products and presents the market with a genuine, quality alternative to imported hot rolled beams. Vertebeam™ offers a more robust design solution (compared to cold formed sections) for medium-span buildings, and a solution that is lighter than hot rolled sections. They also offer a variety of other benefits, not the least of which is the more elegant finish they lend to a project.
SLEEK AESTHETIC
Adding not only strength and stability to a building, Vertebeam™ enhances the aesthetics, contributing to the visual appeal and distinctiveness of architecturally-designed structures.
COST-EFFICIENT
While the bulk of the cost savings associated with Vertebeam™ come courtesy of weight savings (they are, on average, 10% lighter than hot rolled sections) there are also significant advantages when it comes to fabrication. The simple geometry makes it quicker and easier to paint a Vertebeam™, streamlining the overall production process.
CUSTOMISABLE
Vertebeam™ is a fully customisable system, with good bending resistance and optimal torsional stiffness creating a solid backbone for the construction of a strong, sturdy building. What’s more, when compared to cold-formed portal frames, projects using Vertebeam™ demonstrate a 10% reduction in time-to-occupancy.
BIRD PROOF
The flush layout of beams, girts and rafters makes a building constructed from Vertebeam™ virtually vermin-proof, a fact that’s particularly appealing for businesses operating in the food, storage and manufacturing fields.
CAPABILITIES AND SPECIFICATIONS
Vertebeam™ has been specified on projects featuring 65m clear spans.
Produced from coil plate folded into two tapered C’s nested inside one another, Vertebeam™ is manufactured using 6-10mm thick AS1594 HA300 plate to a design based on AS/NZS4600:2005. This structural design methodology was verified by HERA, the Heavy Engineering Research Association.
Developed in partnership by Steltech® and Donovan Group Limited, the intellectual property behind Vertebeam™ has been patent protected.]
For full details of the product specifications we manufacture, read about our Specifications and Dimensional Tolerances and Standard Plate Sizes.
Our free MemDes design software is a quick and easy way to design structural steel members widely accepted and used by engineers throughout New Zealand, read about our Design Software.
Innovation Is In Our Blood
We introduced optimised steel beams to New Zealand in the early 1990’s so we have almost 20 years experience designing and manufacturing them for a wide range of New Zealand, Australian, and Pacific Island customers.
We are a wholly owned subsidiary of New Zealand Steel Ltd, New Zealand’s largest steel making facility, the only plate steel manufacturer, and world pioneer of the process to make steel from natural iron sand.
New Zealand Steel Ltd are in turned owned by BlueScope Steel Ltd.
Steltech started operating on their Takanini site in 1986 making rolled formed sheet metal components for buildings and pioneering a number of roll forming techniques in New Zealand.
Through their involvement in the construction market they realised that there was an opportunity to supply a more efficient portal frame system than the imported Hot Rolled Sections used at the time.
After researching several alteratives they settled on developing an optimised welded beam system as this gave the flexibility needed for a small market like New Zealand and also had the added advantange of being able to utilise New Zealand Steel manufactured plate displacing imported steel.
The custom welded beam system developed by Steltech is based around a Climax Pull Welder that automatically aligns the flanges and webs then uses two twin wire Lincoln Submerged Arc welders to fillet weld each side.
To allow us to make beams longer than the available 12 metre plate length Steltech also invested in three splicing work stations that allowed us to splice shorter lengths of plate together so that we can make single piece beams up to 24 metres in length.
The Steltech manufacturing process virtually created a new market for wide clear span buildings. Prior to the availability of these custom welded beams designers had to use mid span columns and expensive fabrication processes to create haunched beams.
To support their welded beam technology in 1995 Steltech invested in developing MemDes, a piece of software that assists engineers with designing efficient steel members including custom welded beams from Steltech. This program is still widely used by engineers in New Zealand and overseas to design a wide variety of steel structures.
With these new tools designers continued to push the enevelop of what was possible with the Steltech product creating larger and larger spans. To meet the demands of the industry Steltech developed their “Heavy Side” beam assembly process that gave them the capability to fabricate larger and heavier beams than could go through the Climax.
One of the first major projects to go through the Heavy Side was much of the structure of the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter expansion project.Innovation Is In Our Blood
We introduced optimised steel beams to New Zealand in the early 1990’s so we have almost 20 years experience designing and manufacturing them for a wide range of New Zealand, Australian, and Pacific Island customers.
We are a wholly owned subsidiary of New Zealand Steel Ltd, New Zealand’s largest steel making facility, the only plate steel manufacturer, and world pioneer of the process to make steel from natural iron sand.
New Zealand Steel Ltd are in turned owned by BlueScope Steel Ltd.
Steltech started operating on their Takanini site in 1986 making rolled formed sheet metal components for buildings and pioneering a number of roll forming techniques in New Zealand.
Through their involvement in the construction market they realised that there was an opportunity to supply a more efficient portal frame system than the imported Hot Rolled Sections used at the time.
After researching several alteratives they settled on developing an optimised welded beam system as this gave the flexibility needed for a small market like New Zealand and also had the added advantange of being able to utilise New Zealand Steel manufactured plate displacing imported steel.
The custom welded beam system developed by Steltech is based around a Climax Pull Welder that automatically aligns the flanges and webs then uses two twin wire Lincoln Submerged Arc welders to fillet weld each side.
To allow us to make beams longer than the available 12 metre plate length Steltech also invested in three splicing work stations that allowed us to splice shorter lengths of plate together so that we can make single piece beams up to 24 metres in length.
The Steltech manufacturing process virtually created a new market for wide clear span buildings. Prior to the availability of these custom welded beams designers had to use mid span columns and expensive fabrication processes to create haunched beams.
To support their welded beam technology in 1995 Steltech invested in developing MemDes, a piece of software that assists engineers with designing efficient steel members including custom welded beams from Steltech. This program is still widely used by engineers in New Zealand and overseas to design a wide variety of steel structures.
With these new tools designers continued to push the enevelop of what was possible with the Steltech product creating larger and larger spans. To meet the demands of the industry Steltech developed their “Heavy Side” beam assembly process that gave them the capability to fabricate larger and heavier beams than could go through the Climax.
One of the first major projects to go through the Heavy Side was much of the structure of the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter expansion project.
