How We Overcome Logistical Challenges of Galvanized Steel: Three Ways
SGalvanized steel is a superior building material for many reasons. It can remain strong in harsh conditions, has a self-healing zinc coating, and can maintain like-new integrity for decades. But, there are a few logistical challenges when using galvanized steel for a project. At South Atlantic, we have created our own systems and resources to make sure you can use galvanized steel for your builds without the risks.
Here’s how we overcome the logistical challenges of galvanized steel:
We Galvanize the Steel Ourselves To Guarantee an Easy Ordering Process
One of the biggest galvanized steel logistical challenges is the ordering process. When you work through companies that don’t specialize in galvanized steel, they rarely carry the materials you need in the right sizes.
This means you have to work with two different companies: a steel supplier and a galvanizer. Two different suppliers mean slower turnaround times, extra POs and paperwork, and inconsistencies between batches of material.
Working with multiple vendors also means extra footwork for you. Not only do you have to make all the arrangements with both facilities, but you also have to cart the materials between both places. In addition to that, the availability of the materials is always in jeopardy. If you can get the carbon steel you need, you may not be able to send it straight to the galvanizer.
But once the galvanizer’s schedule is clear, the mill may be out of the correct steel. All of this downtime means more work for you while your project is delayed. And that cost adds up quickly.
At South Atlantic, we eliminate all those issues by providing a turnkey experience. As experienced manufacturers and suppliers of this material, we know the galvanized steel logistics better and have customized our ordering process to fit them. When you order galvanized steel from us, you only have to make one call.
We not only keep a large inventory of galvanized steel products on hand but also have our own hot-dip galvanizing vats. This means we can galvanize any materials you need to order and can be sure you have the materials you need on time.
We are also proud to have strong relationships with American mills across the country, who keep us supplied with a variety of steel and building materials. These relationships mean we can cut production times and costs in order to guarantee you reliable shipments.
We Know How to Coat and Store Our Galvanized Steel So It Maintains Its Integrity
Many of the galvanized steel logistical challenges originate either as the coating is applied or after it is placed in storage. Hot-dip galvanizing steel is a multi-step process. Each step must be done well if the next step is going to work.
If the galvanizer shortcuts one of the steps, all the others that follow it will produce inferior results. To make sure our galvanized steel is pristine each time, we use a special Air-wipe system. This creates a smooth, silver coating on the galvanized steel materials that are free from drips or spots.
At South Atlantic, we also take great care as we finish the galvanizing process and move the galvanized materials into storage. Waiting to drill holes or further manipulate the materials can add more galvanized steel logistical challenges. We overcome these by finishing any extra fabrication steps before dipping the materials whenever possible. We make sure each item is completely cool before attempting to store it.
Separate storage areas are set up for the galvanized materials so that other substances do not wear down the zinc coating. These storage areas are properly covered and ventilated to prevent any moisture-related damage or staining. We’ve been working with galvanized steel for over 50 years and have spent that time learning every trick and precaution to keep providing our customers with the highest quality building materials.
This is especially true of how we store and handle these products on our own lots. But when it’s time to fulfill an order, we go one step further to make sure they arrive in the same superior condition they were in when they left our facility.
We Manage Every Step and Mile of the Transportation Process to Protect Your Top Quality Products
We’ve covered how we overcome the logistical challenges of galvanized steel from the beginning of your order through the production and storage of the materials. Now, we’ll take a quick look at how we handle transportation logistics to ensure you receive the best products on time, every time.
Many of the challenges that can arise when transporting galvanized steel are similar to the concerns around storing it. A lack of proper moisture protection and air flow can let water seep in between materials, weakening them or leaving them damaged.
Failing to load them into the truck in a way that makes them easy to unload them can lead them to be improperly handled once they reach their destination. Not securing them, or transporting them with other materials that could cause chemical reactions, can also cause problems and hurt the end product.
Because galvanized steel is so resilient, the main transportation concerns center around hurting the aesthetic appearance of the materials. Whether or not the steel is still suited to your project, we want it to arrive looking like the highest quality galvanized steel that it is.
We take responsibility for our products, so it makes sense that we also manage and oversee their transportation. Because we galvanize the steel ourselves, we eliminate several rounds of shipping steel back and forth between the mill and the galvanizer.
Your materials are loaded onto trucks directly at our warehouse by our own teams. We then provide freight support and steady shipment updates to provide transparency throughout the entire transportation process. Once it arrives, our team is still there to ensure it is unloaded correctly.
Want the Benefits Without the Challenges? Leave the Galvanized Steel Logistics to Our Team
As you’ve learned from how we overcome the logistical challenges of galvanized steel, we really do remove all the hassle and headaches for you. We do this for our customers because we are passionate about making galvanized steel products readily available. The more this superior material can be used in projects across the country, the better for our infrastructure and our environment.
Contact our team to learn more about the products we have in stock, to get a quote for your upcoming project, or to start your order today: southatlanticllc.com/galvanized-steel.
