When you’re in the market for a new commercial or industrial building, you’ll probably want to weigh up your options before making such a big decision. We understand that it’s vital to do your due diligence and investigate a few different solutions to understand which best suits your business's unique requirements. We also understand that you would have come across some fairly well-known brands during your research.
To make things that little bit easier for you, we thought we’d share a brief comparison between a few providers in the industry - Coresteel, Widespan, and Totalspan. Of course, to keep this article impartial, we’ve completely removed ourselves from the equation. We’re going to base this comparison on the core offerings and unique selling points of each company so you can see for yourself which best aligns with your needs. As commercial building specialists we often have people come to us asking about these businesses, so to save you asking we thought we’d summarise it in this article. Let’s get into it!
Coresteel
Coresteel is a large player in the commercial/industrial building industry in New Zealand. They’re a nationwide company with 25 franchises throughout the country, which means you’ll deal with different people depending on where you are in New Zealand. Their buildings can be built to virtually any size and shape a customer may need.
Coresteel’s design team can adapt their system to create a custom-built solution that meets a range of client expectations and specifications. These include:
- Commercial and industrial buildings:
- Retail buildings
- Workshops and factories
- Warehouses
- Sports, education, and community buildings
- Hangars
- Canopies
- Multi-tenant buildings
- Commercial storage units
- Farm and lifestyle sheds:
- American barns
- Storage sheds
- Farm sheds
- Shed homes
Coresteel has two structural systems
Donobeam
This is a structural steel system that is manufactured by welding two folded halves of a steel plate together to make an enclosed beam. This is typically used for industrial buildings and larger spans up to 75m.
Bracketless portal system
This system is a lightweight steel portal system using cold-formed steel ‘c’ sections. This uses bolts for connections rather than screws and brackets. The system does not require knee or apex braces which gives more internal space. This system is a good solution for smaller spans and lighter commercial builds.
Being one of New Zealand’s largest franchised commercial construction companies, they can deliver tailor-made building solutions throughout the country.
Widespan
Widespan also falls under the category of one of New Zealand’s most well-known suppliers of steel building solutions. Like most building suppliers they offer site-specific designs and certification, kit supply or full build package services, pre-engineering, a range of optional extras, as well as snow and earthquake loading.
Widespan also offers a few ‘peace of mind’ guarantees including a ShedSafe accreditation, offering site-specific engineering, and using 100% New Zealand supplied steel. They provide an expansive range of steel building options which consists of:
- Garages
- Rural workshops
- Commercial buildings
- Farm sheds
- Horse stables
- Storage facilities
- Industrial warehouses
Widespan design
The widespan design is typically a lightweight cold-formed structure using coil steel which is rolled into ‘C’ or ‘top hat’ sections. The connections are typically tex screws rather than bolts.
A lot of their designs have braces in the ‘knee’ (or corners) and at the apex (top). This saves cost on the portal frames as the members can be lighter due to the additional bracing provided by these struts, although this can have downsides.
Widespan has representatives across the country with some physical stores in both the North and South Islands of New Zealand.
Totalspan
Totalspan is another 100% kiwi owned and operated building company with over 30 years of experience in the industry. As another nationwide industry player, Totalspan specialises in rolled form steel buildings.
Totalspan’s team of consultants are spread out across the country and are trained in all areas of the building process, including understanding what your council requirements are so you select the right building for your needs.
Totalspan has a wide range of steel buildings to accommodate their customers’ different needs. Coming in a range of sizes, colours, and specifications, the Totalspan range includes:
- Carports
- Garages
- Sheds
- Barns
- Commercial buildings
Totalspan uses a similar roll formed ‘c’ and ‘top hat’ design to widespan
Totalspan buildings are also backed with a 25-year structural and a 5-year workmanship guarantee. Their industry experience and promise to deliver quality, affordable buildings, secures their spot on the list of NZ’s commercial and industrial building market leaders.
What’s the main difference between Coresteel, Widespan, and Totalspan?
Ultimately, all three of these companies are options when you need a commercial or industrial building in New Zealand. They each have a high level of experience and offer quality, customisable solutions across the entire country. So, what makes them different from one another?
Firstly, while each company offers a wide range of building shapes and sizes, Coresteel certainly specialises in large-scale steel-frame commercial and industrial buildings. These are your massive retail buildings, sports, education, and community buildings, to list a few. Whereas the likes of Widespan specialise in rural buildings including sheds, garages, and workshops. Totalspan differs from the others in that it tends to complete more of the smaller scale residential and farm-based building jobs. However, that is not to say that these companies solely focus on these applications. They all offer a wide range of building solutions and it’s always best to speak with them to ascertain which is the best fit for your unique project and requirements.
Coresteel, Widespan, and Totalspan are all widely-recognised commercial and industrial building companies in New Zealand. While they have similar offerings regarding building types, each company has their own speciality and area of high-level expertise.
While we’ve kept this article completely unbiased by removing ourselves from the comparison, we do know that our commercial and industrial buildings are also market-leading. If you’re interested in learning more about the XL Structural Steel system and our expertise in large scale industrial buildings, feel free to browse our website. Or simply download the XL systems brochure to gain insight into what makes our industrial buildings stand out from the rest.
