American Ambassador – Apia, Samoa

Black Steel fabricate, supply and install structural steel throughout the Pacific and so we were contracted to complete an ambitious project for the American Ambassador working in Apia.

The construction proposal, designed by one of New York’s leading architects, was so creative and cutting edge that the steel had to be custom-built in New Zealand and transported to Samoa by ship.

The tight radii of the roof steel required by the design meant steel beams had to be split down the middle, individually roll formed in “T” sections, rewelded together and assessed by weld inspectors to ensure their flawless integrity – a test Black Steel passed.

In all, the job required over $360,000 worth of steel, which we were proudly able to organise, ship and install for them.

Part of the difficulty with jobs of this nature is that we are creating structures that have never been constructed before.  Add to that the need to communicate with architects and engineers half a world away, the challenge of coordinating shipping deadlines, and fitting in with the various contractor’s travel itineraries – it all meant that if we slipped up on any one of the many required components, we could push out the entire build by weeks, even months. We are proud of the fact that we managed to hit every single export deadline with days to spare and the building was completed to the client’s expectations.