Frequently asked questions about steel profiles, panels and kits
Eighteen questions, answered with numbers and with standards. Where we do not hold the figure, we say so: we do not fill the gap with an adjective.
Direct answers to the questions structural engineers, procurement managers and contractors ask most about NewCon Steel LGS/CFS: thicknesses from 0.85 to 2.5 mm, ±0.5 mm tolerance, Zn-Al-Mg coating at 275 g/m², minimum order, behaviour in marine environments, applicable standards and shipping terms from Panama City.
The steel, the profile and the coating
What is cold-formed steel (LGS/CFS), and how is it different from hot-rolled steel?
Cold-formed steel — light gauge steel (LGS) or cold-formed steel (CFS) — is thin steel sheet formed at ambient temperature into structural members: studs, tracks and hat channels. Hot-rolled steel is formed at high temperature and produces heavy sections (W-beams, columns). They are different structural systems with different design specifications: cold-formed steel is governed by AISI S100-16 (R2020) w/S3-22 and AISI S240-20. NewCon Steel manufactures cold-formed steel in thicknesses from 0.85 to 2.5 mm. See LGS/CFS profiles.
What thicknesses does NewCon Steel manufacture, and to what tolerance?
NewCon Steel manufactures LGS/CFS profiles in sheet thicknesses from 0.85 mm to 2.5 mm, with a manufacturing dimensional tolerance of ±0.5 mm. Cut-to-length, punching, marking and labelling are executed by CNC on the same forming line, at the plant in Centro Industrial PEB, Las Mañanitas, Panama City. The exact thickness of every profile family on your project is confirmed on the data sheet we issue with the quotation.
What coating does NewCon Steel use, and how should I write it into my specification?
NewCon Steel supplies 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. Those are the two designations to write into a spec — they are standard classes, not trade names, so any compliant mill can be measured against them. The 275 g/m² is total mass across both sides of the sheet (≈137.5 g/m² per side), not per side; a spec that reads it as "per side" is asking for a product that does not exist. Full detail in engineering and standards. A note on the name: you may see zinc-aluminium-magnesium steel sold as ZAM®. ZAM® is a registered trademark of Nippon Steel Corporation, not a standard — so we do not use it for our product. Specify the coating by its designation (ZM275 / ZMM275) and its coating mass (275 g/m² total, both sides), and any compliant mill can be measured against it.
Is 275 g/m² a lot of coating, compared with ordinary galvanized steel?
NewCon Steel's 275 g/m² of Zn-Al-Mg coating is equal in mass to a high-grade Z275 / G90 galvanized coating — exactly the same mass — and sits more than 50% above the G60 structural minimum (180 g/m²) required by ASTM A1003 for cold-formed structural framing members. The advantage of Zn-Al-Mg over galvanizing is not the quantity of coating, which is identical, but the alloy chemistry. Anyone offering you "more coating" than a G90 at the same mass is selling you an imprecision.
Does the steel corrode in a Caribbean coastal or marine environment?
All steel corrodes; the question is how fast and where it starts. On a cold-formed member it starts at the cut edge, the punch-out and the screw. NewCon Steel's Zn-Al-Mg coating acts precisely there: the magnesium and aluminium migrate across the exposed edge and form a protective film. The data, each with its test named: Nippon Steel reports that Zn-Al-Mg coatings outperform galvanized coatings by 10 to 20 times in accelerated salt spray testing (JIS Z 2371); and peer-reviewed literature records mass loss 2 to 4 times lower than conventional hot-dip galvanized steel in real atmospheric exposure after 4 to 6 years, including marine sites. Salt spray does not predict real service life linearly — which is why we cite both.
Do profiles arrive cut and punched to size, or do I have to cut them on site?
NewCon Steel profiles arrive cut to length, punched, marked and labelled from the plant, to a ±0.5 mm tolerance and numbered against the structural model. Nobody measures, cuts or drills in the field: you locate the piece by its mark and screw it. The material waste stays at the plant. If you also order structural panels, the wall, floor cassette or truss is assembled in the plant as well.
How the steel is bought
What is the minimum order to buy profiles from NewCon Steel?
NewCon Steel imposes no full-container MOQ, which is the classic constraint of buying steel from Asia: you do not have to fill a container in order to buy. The real operational minimum depends on the production run, the profile family and the destination, and we confirm it in writing in the quotation. We do not publish an MOQ figure on the web because it would be an invented number, and you would find that out the moment you ordered. Ask the question in your RFQ and we will answer it against your actual scope.
How is steel quoted: by linear metre, by m² or by ton?
NewCon Steel quotes according to scope: linear metres when you buy loose profiles, m² of panel when you buy pre-assembled panels, and tons of structure when you buy a complete structural kit or bolted structural steel. Price is driven by section, thickness, quantity, level of pre-assembly and destination. We do not publish prices: we publish what determines them and how fast we respond — formal quotation in 48 hours, acknowledgement in under 24 business hours.
How long does NewCon take to fabricate and ship an order to my country?
NewCon Steel does not publish fabrication lead times in days, because they depend on the production mix, the scope and the season — a generic number on a website would be a commitment we could not hold. What is true without conditions: we manufacture in Panama City, so transit to Central America and the Caribbean is measured in days, not weeks, with no transpacific crossing. The real lead time for your order goes in writing in the formal quotation, within 48 hours.
Do I pay import duty on Panamanian steel entering my country?
It depends on your country, and it is not something NewCon Steel can decide: duty is charged by the destination customs authority, based on its national tariff schedule, the applicable trade agreement and the classification of the goods. What we do: our profiles are cold-formed in Panama, which changes the tariff heading and supports Panamanian origin, and we issue a certificate of origin so you can claim whatever preference applies to you. Panama has an FTA with Central America (with a bilateral protocol per country) and only Partial Scope Agreements — closed lists of products — with Colombia, the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago. Nobody who promises you 0% duty can guarantee it. See coverage by country.
Should I buy from NewCon in Panama or import from Asia?
Compare the whole chain, not the price per ton. Buying from NewCon Steel in Panama: no transpacific crossing, regional transit in days rather than weeks, no full-container MOQ, engineering support in your own time zone in English and Spanish, and a counterpart you can reach if there is a claim. Buying in Asia: the container has already sailed by the time you catch the error, standard equivalence is yours to prove, and your counterpart is twelve time zones away. NewCon steel is designed to AISI S100-16 and AISI S240-20 and verified against the code of your country.
What documentation comes with the order?
With a NewCon Steel order you receive the mill certificate for the supplied lot, the data sheet for the profiles, the take-off and cut list plus the shop drawings for the fabricated pieces, and — for export — the Panamanian certificate of origin. When the contracted scope is a structural kit, it also includes the structural calculations sealed by an engineer licensed in the project's jurisdiction. You can request all of these documents in advance from technical documentation.
What the steel complies with, and who is who
Which standards does NewCon steel comply with, and who seals the calculations?
NewCon Steel members are designed to AISI S100-16 (R2020) with Supplement 3 (S3-22) and AISI S240-20, with seismic design to AISI S400-20 when the project's seismic design category requires it, and loads per ASCE/SEI 7-22. The base material complies with ASTM A1003 and the coated coil with ASTM A1046 Type 1 / EN 10346 (ZM class). Verification is against the code of the destination country: REP-2021 in Panama, NSR-10 in Colombia, or the IBC in the edition adopted by the jurisdiction in the Caribbean. The calculations are developed by the PEB Corp Group's engineering team and sealed by an engineer licensed in the project's jurisdiction. Detail in engineering and standards.
What is the difference between buying profiles, buying pre-assembled panels and buying a complete structural kit?
With NewCon Steel these are three distinct scopes. Profiles: loose members, cut, punched and labelled; your crew frames on site. Structural panels: walls, floor cassettes and trusses already assembled in the plant, numbered and sequenced against the model; your crew lifts and fixes. Structural kit: the building's entire structure — profiles, panels, connections and accessories — on a single purchase order, with sealed structural calculations included. The more that is pre-assembled in the plant, the less labour and the less error is left on site. See structural kits.
Does NewCon Steel build the building, or only supply the steel?
What is the difference between NewCon Steel, SmartBrix Construction and Pre-Engineered Buildings Corp?
They are the three brands of the PEB Corp Group, and they sell different things. NewCon Steel® supplies the steel: it is the manufacturing brand, with its plant at Centro Industrial PEB, Las Mañanitas, Panama City. SmartBrix Construction executes the construction: turnkey and modular. Pre-Engineered Buildings Corp provides the engineering and the institutional relationship: it is the group's parent. If you are buying material, it is NewCon; if you are buying a finished building, it is not.
Can I buy just the structure and erect it with my own crew?
Yes. That is the normal NewCon Steel case: you buy the material and your own crew or your general contractor erects it. The steel arrives cut, punched, marked and labelled, with the connections executed in the plant, so erection is done with screws and bolts: no field welding and no site galvanizing. That means you do not need certified welders on site — which on a Caribbean island is often the difference between holding the schedule and losing it. We issue an erection guide on request from technical documentation.
How many storeys can be built with LGS profiles?
NewCon Steel does not publish a storey count, because it is not set by a supplier's catalog: it is set by the project's structural calculations. Viable height depends on the loads, the site's seismic design category and wind exposure, the structural system adopted and the local code (REP-2021, NSR-10 or the applicable IBC), calculated to AISI S100-16 (R2020) w/S3-22, AISI S240-20 and AISI S400-20. In hybrid systems, bolted structural steel extends the range. Send us your typology and your location and we will answer with numbers, not with a slogan.
Your question is not here?
Write it exactly as you would ask it. An engineer replies within 24 business hours, in English or Spanish, from the plant in Panama City. If you need a quotation, the formal one comes back in 48 hours.