Picking a Membrane Structure Contractor

Search for a membrane structure contractor and dozens of names come back. Some are real contractors, some are resellers who pass the job to someone else, and some are steel shops handling tensile fabric for the first time. From the outside they look alike: tidy website, fast quotation. The difference only surfaces when something goes wrong, and by then it is usually too late.

Contractor, reseller, or steel shop

A full membrane structure contractor holds the whole chain in-house: structural calculations, frame fabrication, fabric patterning and welding, and the crew that shows up on site. A reseller only holds the quotation. The work goes to a third party you never meet, and when the fabric slackens a year later, responsibility bounces between them. A steel shop can build a good frame but orders cut fabric from elsewhere, so patterning and tension are not their problem. In a membrane structure the fabric and the frame are one system holding each other in balance, and they cannot be managed apart.

The quickest way to tell them apart is to ask who does which part. A contractor who owns the whole thing answers in detail without stalling. An answer that drifts into "our team will handle it" with no names attached usually means someone else is doing the work.

Questions to ask before you sign

• Are there structural calculations? Ask for working drawings and wind-load figures. "We do this all the time, it will be fine" is reassurance, not engineering.
• How is the fabric joined? PVC membrane is joined by high-frequency welding, not stitched and not glued. Stitching punches needle holes that let water in, and adhesive lets go under heat and UV.
• Which fabric brand and type? It belongs in the quotation, with the manufacturer's technical data attached. "Imported membrane" with no type name is marketing language, not a specification.
• Where is the warranty written down? A warranty spoken over WhatsApp helps nobody. Get it on paper, and check that material cover and workmanship cover are stated separately, because they run for different terms.
• Is the install crew employed or subcontracted? A crew of different faces on every job means the installation standard changes on every job too.

What a complete scope actually contains

Quotations that look cheap are often cheap because they contain less, not because the pricing is leaner. A complete scope covers at minimum: site survey and measurement, a 3D design you approve before fabrication starts, structural calculations, frame fabrication including anti-corrosion finishing, fabric patterning and welding, installation by a field crew, and inspection before handover.

Some items sit outside the package for good reason and get quoted separately: foundations where existing conditions do not allow direct anchoring, civil works, electrical works, demolition of old structures, and permits. What matters is that they are written down at the start rather than appearing halfway through. Ours are set out on the official rate card.

How we work

The AeroSpan workshop is in Bogor, and nearly all the heavy work finishes there before the crew leaves. Frames are cut, welded, and finished in the workshop. Fabric is patterned and welded in the workshop. What is left for your site is frame erection, fitting the fabric, and tensioning it. Time on site stays short, which matters a great deal on a building that keeps operating while the work runs.

One team carries the project from design to handover, so responsibility never gets passed between vendors. We also only take complete packages: design, supply, and installation. We do not sell material alone or labour alone, because quality and warranty are only ours to guarantee when the whole process is ours. Every project carries a membrane warranty of up to 15 years and a 1-year workmanship warranty. The sequence is laid out in our installation process guide.

A track record you can check yourself

A portfolio you can walk up to beats a row of client logos on a homepage. Several of our jobs stand in public places: the membrane canopy at Plaza Bapindo in the Sudirman precinct, membrane structures at Terminal 3 Soekarno-Hatta, and the Maxs Sport Center grandstand roof. Look at how they hold up now, not at the renders. That is the fairest test for any contractor, ours included.

Signals worth slowing down for

A fixed price within minutes, with no survey and no idea of the ground conditions. Fabric described only as "premium membrane". Working drawings that are always coming next week. A large deposit before there is a design you have approved. Any one of these can be innocent, but when they arrive together, get a second quotation before committing. If you are still weighing materials, our fabric types guide gives you something to read quotations against.

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