Tanks built in the workshop
or on site?

Transport sets the limit

The choice between workshop and site depends mainly on size. A tank built in the workshop has to travel by road to the customer: its diameter and height are limited by what can be transported. Beyond that limit, the only way to have a tank in one piece is to build it where it will be used.

In our workshop

In our workshop we build tanks from 1,000 litres up to the largest transportable size, with all the equipment of the factory at hand. The tank arrives finished and is set in place: it is the simplest choice for most wineries, olive mills and food companies.

On site

For large volumes it makes sense to build on site: you avoid oversize transport and you can have fewer, larger tanks, making better use of the space. Site-built tanks have a conical bottom or a sloped flat bottom and stand on a concrete slab.

The same machines, on site

A site-built tank can usually be recognised by its welds. To avoid this, we bring the equipment we use in our workshop to the site:

• the automatic welding rig, which welds inside and outside at the same time;
• the cleaning station, for the inside and the outside;
• the decoiler, to work the sheet directly from the coils.

The welds are brushed with a Scotch-Brite band and pickled; on the outside only a thin bead remains. The tanks look just like those built in our workshop. Assembly is carried out by our own teams, with no subcontracting. How we build on site.

Calculations and standards

For special cases we carry out FEM analyses and simulations, and always when a seismic design calculation is required, which we handle ourselves. Site-built tanks are steel structures in every respect: we build them to EN 1090, with factory production control certified by Bureau Veritas.

What we need to decide

To choose, we need the volume to be stored, the product, the space available (floor area and height) and access to the site. We assess this during the site survey, together with the timing of the site work.

The concrete slab is the customer’s responsibility, both design and construction: we provide the tank loads for its design.