Industrial steel structures are almost always more than one building. A working plant is a main hall or multi-storey block, yes — but also the elevated pipe racks that carry services, the conveyor galleries and the bridges that link one structure to the next. When all of that steel is designed and supplied as one coordinated package, the pieces fit; when it comes from several suppliers, the joints between them are where problems start. Here is what the full steel scope of an industrial project looks like, from the photos of a Vikkins build.

More than the main building

The biggest element is usually the primary building: a large-span or multi-storey steel frame that houses the process, the production line or the storage. On site the frame goes up first, then the envelope closes in as cladding panels are lifted directly onto it. For an industrial building this frame has to carry more than its own weight — crane rails, equipment loads and services all hang off it — so it is engineered for the plant it serves, not sold as a generic shed.

A plant is rarely just one hall, either. Alongside the production buildings sit multi-storey blocks — offices, control rooms and amenities — each with its own steel frame and a finished façade. Same steel discipline, a very different building.

The steel between the buildings

What separates an industrial complex from a single warehouse is everything that connects the buildings. Elevated pipe racks carry process pipes and cables across the site at height; conveyor galleries move material from one building to another; and connecting bridges and walkways let people and services cross between structures. These are steel structures in their own right — designed for their spans, loads and the plant layout — and they have to land precisely on the buildings they join.

Why one coordinated steel package beats piecing it together

On an industrial project the hardest part is rarely any single structure — it is the interfaces between them. When the main building, the pipe rack and the connecting gallery are each drawn by a different supplier, their connection points, tolerances and load assumptions have to be reconciled on site, and that is where delays, rework and finger-pointing happen. Designing the whole steel scope together removes those seams: one set of drawings, one standard, one party responsible for how the pieces meet. For a buyer, that means fewer surprises during erection and a single point of accountability for the industrial steel structures as a whole.

Vikkins’ scope for industrial projects

Vikkins engineers industrial steel structures from its Montréal office and fabricates them at ISO 9001 / ISO 14001-certified bases — main buildings, pipe racks, galleries and connecting steelwork — then packs the package for sea freight and ships it to more than 90 countries, with drawings and installation guidance so a local team can erect it. It is the same discipline the company has applied on power and process-plant projects: design the complete steel scope as one system so it goes together cleanly on the ground. Explore the Vikkins steel structure system, or see the full range of produits de construction en acier.

Questions fréquemment posées

Can one supplier provide all the steel for an industrial plant?

Yes — that is the point of a coordinated package. Vikkins designs and supplies the main buildings together with the pipe racks, galleries and connecting steel, so the interfaces are resolved on the drawings rather than on site.

What is a steel pipe rack?

An elevated steel structure that carries process pipes, cables and services across a plant at height, clear of traffic and equipment. It is engineered for its spans and the loads it carries, and it connects to the buildings it serves.

Does Vikkins install the steel on site?

Vikkins supplies the structure as a bolt-together package with drawings and installation guidance; a local team or contractor carries out the erection. This keeps industrial projects on local labour with support from the Vikkins engineering team.

Can Vikkins ship an industrial steel structure to my country?

Yes. Vikkins packs steel structures for sea freight and delivers to more than 90 countries, with design, supply and installation support.