Planning A Steel Building Project: Deciding Between a Contract Manufacturer and a Broker

Before embarking on the purchase of a pre-engineered steel building, you should be clear about the differences between a broker and a contract manufacturer.

Most building brokers provide the cheapest cost on essential resources. Steel structure brokers purchase the cheapest resources in order to increase their profit margin. Brokers tend to promote their services by way of advertising. They are generally interested only in matching the size to the lowest cost (and commonly the cheapest quality) of building ingredients. They also tend to provide little or no assistance to the buyer, and often the only services you will receive will be transportation of your building to your worksite; and the provision of an erection guide manual. During the finalization of your project, many steel structure brokers add on costs for anchor bolt patterns and certified blueprints. The buildings in some instances will not be precision pre-engineered and might necessitate additional time to assemble. Steel structure brokers usually operate out of a “boiler room” and they may not have a wide knowledge of the structures they are promoting. Selling buildings is their primary concern.

You will require doors, windows and ridge vents, among other items, to outfit your all-steel building. These may be provided as part of the package by a broker, but they may be of questionable quality. Inquire, instead, as to obtaining commercial quality items or even low cost substitutes.

The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) authorized the use of cost escalation provisions in building contracts when the price of steel climbed in 2004. This was necessitated by the fact that purchases were not available for immediate production. Until scheduled for production, the building seller can impose a balance due for the rise in steel costs, from the day the pre-engineered steel building was obtained. You should ensure that these costs are “locked in” for the extent of time necessary to secure drawings.

Utilizing a full service contract manufacturer is another alternative. As opposed to brokers, most any contract manufacturer has their product specifications listed with a number of building manufacturers. Guidelines are established and produced at the most cost efficient and convenient sites and these steel buildings do not require welding and bolting together. You can choose that the rigging and blueprinting of your base building be carried out by any contract manufacturer. Contract manufacturers will not pre-assign or decide the additional accessories for the pre-engineered steel building, but commonly offer these types of extras at direct pricing. You are usually assigned someone to contact whenever you need help with the building codes or site plans, and who will recommend erectors and architectural renderings to help with code approvals.

Contract manufacturers provide communication and service assistance. You will have full oversight of your building plan and can control cost levels, building size, any and all additions you require, and the erector you wish to employ. There are no hidden costs and any potential buyer can build a new all-steel structure with the best economical techniques available through contract manufacturers.