Southern Steel: Project Ready Steel, On Site, When You Need It

ITS ROOTS FIRMLY ESTABLISHED IN THE AUSTRALIAN STEEL INDUSTRY, SOUTHERN STEEL GROUP HAS QUIETLY AND METHODICALLY GROWN INTO ONE OF AUSTRALIA’S LEADING BUSINESS GROUPS. DURING ITS LONG HISTORY, SOUTHERN STEEL GROUP HAS PARTNERED WITH, AND CONTRIBUTED TO, MUCH OF AUSTRALIA’S INDUSTRIAL JOURNEY IN MINING, AGRICULTURE, ARCHITECTURE, DEFENCE, CONSTRUCTION AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS.

From its humble beginnings in 1947 Wollongong, New South Wales, the Southern Steel Group is proud of its rich history. Over the last 75 years, the company has grown its asset base to include 23 subsidiary steel supply, processing and distribution businesses under management.

Today, the Group’s network covers steel products, sheet and coil, steel processing and distribution. It continues to fortify its position through strategic acquisitions incorporating ethical governance and management oversight.

With national reach, the Southern Steel Group’s network is represented in all Australian mainland states. The company’s long term client portfolio is extensive and features some of Australia’s most influential steel fabrication, engineering and construction companies. The Group’s network continues to service small, medium and large enterprises with flexibility, humility and excellence in customer service and communication.

ADVANCED STEEL PROCESSING

Southern Steel's advanced steel processing services consistently deliver value-added steel solutions to all market segments, including fabrication, construction, agriculture, transport and mining.

HGG SPC 1200 pipe profiler. According to Greg Peat (Processing Marketing Manager, Southern Steel Supplies), "We can process all materials. Our beam line cutting and drilling services include plasma and saw cutting, coping, notching and mitre cutting. We can provide full CNC plate profiling solutions for any project utilising oxy and plasma cutting techniques."

"Our plate profiling service is efficient and fast. In addition to cutting, we offer hole drilling, countersinking, weld prep bevelling, and external rolling, pressing and bending services."

SOPHISTICATED PIPE PROFILING

Southern Steel is the only distributor in Australia that boasts pipe cutting capabilities, having recently invested in two HGG SPC 1200s for their Sydney and Queensland facilities. A highly accurate pipe cutting machine, the SPC 1200 is engineered to process highly complex designs of a wide variety of sizes and wall thicknesses, saving time and resources on laying out cuts, manual cutting and grinding. Southern Steel can process pipe from 80mm to 1225mm in diameter, and up to 12m in length.

"We supply fully processed material to fabrication workshops so that fabricators can concentrate on their core business. We speed up their process, making our customers more efficient and productive, and reducing their materials handling and waste." "Our pipe machine is quite unique—it will scallop, put in transition points, and mark up to 1,200mm diameter pipe. It saves our customers more than just simple materials handling."

"Traditionally, fabricators that work with pipe use cardboard templates in a very time consuming process. Our pipe processing capabilities eliminate all of that for fabrication shops. Some fabricators take one look at project drawings, see that there is pipe involved and say 'no way'—it's just too hard. Now, they can take on these projects, knowing that they can do it with our support."

"At the moment, fabrication businesses are finding it almost impossible to get tradesmen like boilermakers and welders. With the processing capabilities that we offer, fabricators don’t need the manpower that they would normally," said Greg.

Southern Steel's pipe processing capabilities are already proving beneficial for the Australian steel supply chain, having been instrumental in major projects such as CommBank Stadium and the roof trusses at the Centre of Excellence at Concord Oval (both located in western Sydney), Jubliee Hotel in Brisbane, Salesforce Tower in Circular Quay, and the Amazon Distribution Warehouse at Kemps Creek (profiled opposite).

Jubilee Hotel Development in Brisbane.

2,300 steel beams, 1,100 WB 215s at 15.m and 1,200 WB 455s at 18m cut to size weighing 9,000 tonnes. To put that into perspective, it is the equivalent of 50 full grown blue whales.

These are big numbers for a big project, but the numbers alone don’t tell the full story. This project was of strategic significance to the client and a logistical jigsaw for Southern Steel Supplies. With many moving parts, including sourcing the material, processing and distribution to the site, the project required precision timing, high level attention to detail, expert planning and high performance communication and relationship skills.

Some of the steel beams needed to be delivered to the fabrication site, others direct to the painting facility and then onto the construction site. Beams of this size and weight can only be transported five beams at time, and the builders required 280 beams delivered per month. That equates to 56 deliveries every month for the best part of nine months. The Tier 1 builder had committed to a very tight milestone schedule, requiring the steel beam components to be delivered within these milestones without fail.

TIMING IS THE KEY TO DISTRIBUTION

Timing is everything, and with this project there were added timing considerations. The route the trucks needed to take was within a school zone. For two hours each morning and two hours each afternoon, delivery was not possible. A detailed running schedule was devised to ensure the deliveries could be made during the open time frame.

This consideration permeated through the project, influencing processing, loading and staffing schedules, to ensure the team could maximise the narrow time window and deliver as promised.

The logistical and distribution matrix involved in this project set new benchmarks for Southern Steel Supplies. The team worked tirelessly; the factory operated 24 hours a day with three active shifts.

“It was the most dynamic project I have worked on. The timing milestones were significant. The builder required the steel beams at certain points each day to ensure the build schedule was adhered to. Our role was to ensure the steel arrived from the mill, was processed correctly and distributed to either the site, the fabrication facility or the painter,” said Scott Johnson (Processing Manager, Southern Steel Supplies).

“This was one of those projects where teamwork and communication were put to the test. This project was additional to our other work. It all looks easy and smooth on a spreadsheet, however spreadsheets don’t always take into account daily variables like delays from the mill, road closures and other factors that are often out of our control."

"A project of this size and duration will inevitably confront unforeseen challenges; however, it was our responsibility to overcome any hurdles and keep the steel supplied on time and on budget and to specification.”

OPEN AND TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION WINS

The real key to the success of this project was in the communication. Open and helpful communication across each touchpoint, forecasting and communicating potential hazards, and robust relationships with the mill, the client, the fabricators and painters, transport and processing teams ensured the project was successfully completed on time and on budget.

“We knew early on that the success of this project would be determined by open, clear and transparent communication. It is a pillar that Southern Steel moulds into our daily work life, and this project brought out the best in our effective communication techniques," said Scott.

"At all stages, the communication with the mill, fabricators, painters, builders and within our own teams ensured that every stakeholder knew what was going on and when. It sounds like a simple thing; however, without effective communication strategies project like these can easily get out control."