Ask for the data sheet and the sample calculation package
We issue profile data sheets, a sample structural calculation package, the mill certificate and the section catalog on request.
On request
See the technical documentation →
Reference document
Engineering and standards: how our steel is calculated and certified
Every standard here, with its exact edition and what it actually governs — everything your reviewing engineer needs to specify us with confidence. If we cannot stand behind a figure, it is not on this page.
NewCon Steel members are designed to AISI S100-16 (R2020) with Supplement 3 (S3-22) and AISI S240-20, and verified against the structural code of the destination country — REP-2021 in Panama, NSR-10 in Colombia, the IBC as adopted by the jurisdiction across the Caribbean — with calculations sealed by an engineer licensed in the project's jurisdiction.
AISI S100-16 (R2020) w/S3-22AISI S240-20AISI S400-20ASCE/SEI 7-22REP-2021 (Panama)NSR-10 (Colombia)ASTM A1003ASTM A1046 Type 1EN 10346 (ZM class)
Code framework
What each standard actually governs
A design standard is not a badge: it covers a defined scope. These are the ones that apply to cold-formed steel, with what each one genuinely governs.
| Standard | What it governs | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| AISI S100-16 (R2020) w/S3-22 | North American Specification for the Design of Cold-Formed Steel Structural Members. Design of cold-formed structural members. | It is the design specification for every one of our LGS/CFS profiles. |
| AISI S240-20 | Framing system: walls, shear walls, floors, roofs, diaphragms and trusses in cold-formed steel. | It governs the panel and the kit, not just the loose member. |
| AISI S400-20 | Seismic design of cold-formed steel structural systems. | Applied whenever the project's seismic design category requires it — the normal case in Panama and Central America. |
| ASCE/SEI 7-22 | Design loads and combinations: dead, live, wind, seismic, rain. | It defines the demand. It does not design the steel: it says how much the steel has to take. |
| REP-2021 | Structural Design Code of the Republic of Panama (JTIA), in force since 30 April 2023. | Mandatory framework for projects in Panama. |
| NSR-10 | Colombian Seismic-Resistant Construction Code. | Reference framework for projects in Colombia. |
| ASTM A1003/A1003M | Specification for coated steel sheet for cold-formed framing members. | It is the base-material standard for our profiles (Type H structural grades). |
| ASTM A1046/A1046M · EN 10346 | Steel sheet coated with zinc-aluminium-magnesium alloy by the hot-dip process. | It is the coil standard: class ZMM275 (ASTM, SI units) / ZM275 (EN 10346). |
The IBC is cited in the edition adopted by the project's jurisdiction, and with the edition of ASCE 7 that this edition references. We do not pair editions that do not reference one another: that is the kind of inconsistency a plan reviewer catches on the first pass.
Cold-formed steel is not designed with the hot-rolled specification
They are two different worlds. The cold-formed member is governed by AISI S100 and AISI S240 — local buckling, distortional buckling, slender sections; the hot-rolled beam is governed by a different specification and belongs to the group's engineering scope. If a supplier hands you an LGS profile backed by the hot-rolled steel specification, that supplier has read neither.
Coating
275 g/m² of Zn-Al-Mg, in arithmetic you can verify
Coating is where this market gets vaguest. These are the three numbers you can check against published standards and against the mill certificate.
The steel is zinc-aluminium-magnesium (Zn-Al-Mg) coated steel at 275 g/m² — class ZM275 per EN 10346 and ZMM275 per ASTM A1046/A1046M Type 1. The 275 g/m² is TOTAL mass across both sides of the sheet, roughly 137.5 g/m² per side. We say so explicitly, because that is the exact figure a buyer checks against the mill certificate, and reading it as "per side" would make the claim false.
That mass is identical to a high-grade Z275 / G90 galvanized coating. The advantage of Zn-Al-Mg is not in the quantity of coating — it is the same — but in its alloy chemistry. Anyone offering you "more coating" than a G90 at the same mass is selling you an imprecision.
And those 275 g/m² sit more than 50% above the G60 structural minimum (180 g/m², both sides) that ASTM A1003 requires for cold-formed structural framing members. That is arithmetic against a published standard, not an adjective.
- Correct designation: ZM275 (EN 10346) / ZMM275 (ASTM A1046 Type 1). It is a standard class, not a trade name.
- 275 g/m² = total mass, both sides (≈137.5 g/m² per side).
- Same mass as a Z275 / G90 galvanized coating; different alloy chemistry.
- More than 50% above the G60 structural minimum (180 g/m²) in ASTM A1003.
Corrosion
Two tests, each one named
We publish both numbers because they are not interchangeable, and because a multiplier quoted without naming the test is advertising, not engineering.
The mechanism first, because that is the verifiable part: the magnesium and aluminium in the alloy migrate across cut edges, punch-outs and fastener points, forming a protective film over the exposed steel. That is precisely where conventional galvanizing fails first on a cold-formed member — the cut edge, the punch, the screw.
In accelerated salt spray testing (JIS Z 2371), Nippon Steel reports that Zn-Al-Mg coatings outperform conventional galvanized coatings by 10 to 20 times in corrosion resistance.
In real atmospheric exposure — the test that actually matters — peer-reviewed literature records mass loss 2 to 4 times lower than conventional hot-dip galvanized steel after 4 to 6 years of weathering, including marine exposure sites.
Salt spray has no linear correlation with real service life. Multiplying salt-chamber hours by a factor to predict years in Colón, in Bocas del Toro or on a Caribbean island is scientifically invalid, and a senior structural engineer knows it. That is why we cite both tests with their standard and their conditions, instead of one convenient number.
Calculations
Who seals the calculations, and against which code
Cold-formed steel design is executed to AISI S100-16 (R2020) with Supplement 3 (S3-22) and AISI S240-20, with seismic design to AISI S400-20 whenever the project's seismic design category requires it. Loads and load combinations are taken from ASCE/SEI 7-22.
On top of that sits the code of the destination country, which is the one that rules: REP-2021 in Panama, NSR-10 in Colombia, or the IBC in the edition adopted by the jurisdiction in the Caribbean. The local code defines the design actions, the seismic design category and the review requirements; the AISI specification defines how the member is calculated.
The structural calculations are developed by the PEB Corp Group's engineering team, and the calculation package is sealed by an engineer licensed in the project's jurisdiction. When the contracted scope is a structural kit, the sealed calculations are included in the supply.
- Member design: AISI S100-16 (R2020) w/S3-22
- Framing system design: AISI S240-20
- Seismic design: AISI S400-20, when the seismic design category requires it
- Loads and combinations: ASCE/SEI 7-22
- Local code: REP-2021 (Panama) · NSR-10 (Colombia) · IBC in the applicable edition (Caribbean)
Verification
What can be audited about our steel
A procurement engineer does not buy adjectives: they buy documents. These are the ones we issue, and the ones you can require contractually before you pay.
If any of them does not apply to your scope, we tell you so in the quotation. We do not send decorative paperwork.
- Mill certificate for the steel in the supplied lot
- Profile data sheet: section, thickness, coating and base-material standard
- Sealed structural calculations by an engineer licensed in your jurisdiction, when the scope includes them
- Take-off, cut list and shop drawings for the fabricated pieces
- Panamanian certificate of origin, for export shipments
Mill certificateSealed calculationsCut listCertificate of origin
Next step
From the paperwork to the order
Kits with structural calculations included
When the scope is the complete structure, the sealed calculations are part of the supply — not an extra negotiated afterwards.
Sealed calculations
Kits with sealed calculations included →The group's BIM design and structural engineering
BIM modelling and the group's structural engineering are delivered by Pre-Engineered Buildings Corp, the parent company. NewCon manufactures and certifies the steel.
Group parent
Pre-Engineered Buildings Corp ↗Send us your specification. We will tell you what we meet and what we do not.
If your bid documents call for a specific standard, coating mass or steel grade, say so in the request: we will check it against what we actually manufacture and answer you in writing.