Steel dunnage · Data centers and rooftop equipment
Steel Dunnage and Equipment Platforms for Arizona Data Centers
SQ Tech fabricates steel dunnage, equipment platforms and miscellaneous steel in its own plant in Hermosillo, Sonora, about 175 miles (280 km) south of the Nogales–Mariposa crossing. For data center and industrial projects in Arizona we work from your approved shop drawings, or detail the package ourselves, and hand it over at our plant, at the border or delivered to your site.
If your fabricator is booked out, our shop runs about 400 metric tons of structural steel a month per shift, on Arizona time.
Dunnage in construction
What steel dunnage does on a data center roof
Dunnage is the steel framing that lifts and carries mechanical equipment above a roof or a slab: chillers, air handlers, rooftop units, condensers, cooling towers and generators. A dunnage frame takes the equipment load to the building structure, keeps the unit off the roof membrane so the roof can be flashed and serviced, and sets it at the height and level its maker asks for.
A data center carries a lot of it: rooftop and yard equipment for cooling and power, the platforms and stairs to reach it, and the supports that run between. Most of it is repetitive, piece-marked steel that a second shop can take off your schedule without touching the primary frame.
What we fabricate
Dunnage, platforms and the steel around the equipment
Roof and rooftop dunnage
Dunnage frames for rooftop units, chillers, condensers and air handlers: wide-flange beams or channels on posts that land on the building's columns or main beams, to the heights and levels the equipment maker asks for.
Equipment platforms and yard steel
Platforms and supports for generators, electrical gear and mechanical equipment, with grating, stairs and handrail, fabricated to your drawings.
Mezzanines
Steel mezzanines and equipment floors on steel deck or grating, like the heavy-load mezzanine we fabricated and erected for the Carlisle plant in Nogales.
Supports, embeds and plate work
Support steel, base plates, embeds and gussets, CNC-cut and drilled to your details, delivered with the package.
Finish to your specification: shop primer, a paint system or hot-dip galvanizing through our galvanizing partner. Rooftop and yard steel is usually galvanized.
Standards and capacity
What you get from the shop
- Capacity
- About 400 metric tons of structural steel a month per shift, in our plant in Hermosillo. Large packages ship in stages, in the order your erector needs them.
- AISC
- SQ Tech's shop is not AISC-certified. All production follows AISC standards: steel design to ANSI/AISC 360, welding to AWS D1.1 and mill test reports for the structural steel. If your specification requires an AISC-certified fabricator, say so in your request and we quote only the scope it allows.
- Steel design
- ANSI/AISC 360-22, with the seismic provisions of ANSI/AISC 341-22 where your site requires them.
- Materials
- Structural shapes to ASTM / NMX with mill test reports; welding to AWS D1.1.
- Not included
- A US professional engineer's stamp from SQ Tech, foundation design, the permit application and erection on US sites.
- Export papers
- Commercial invoice, packing list, mill test reports (MTRs) for the structural steel, USMCA certification of origin, where the product qualifies.
Fabricated steel imported from Mexico falls under the US Section 232 steel tariffs, and the rate depends on the HTS classification and on where the steel was melted. For pickup at the plant or delivery at the border, your customs broker confirms the duty for your HTS classification before you order; with DDP, duty is part of our delivered price.
Projects
Steel we fabricated and erected in Sonora
None of these is a data center: they are a plant with a heavy-load mezzanine, a long-span joist plant and a three-level hospital, all fabricated in the same shop that would take your package.
Carlisle manufacturing plant
Nogales, Sonora
Foundation and steel design, fabrication and erection of the main building and an internal mezzanine on steel deck with arc-welded shear studs.
Read the case study
Stanley Black & Decker tool plant
Nogales, Sonora
Foundation and steel design, fabrication and erection of the manufacturing building, with a long-span joist roof, plus metal roof and wall cladding.
Read the case study
Hospital San José
Hermosillo, Sonora
Foundation and steel design, fabrication and erection of a three-level hospital with composite steel-deck floors.
Read the case study
Getting steel to Arizona
175 miles from our plant to the border
Our plant is about 175 miles (280 km) south of the Nogales–Mariposa crossing into Nogales, Arizona. From the border, I-19 runs north to Tucson and I-10 continues to Phoenix. Every package is quoted three ways:
| Term | Handover | Freight | US customs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pickup at our plant (FCA Hermosillo) | Loaded on your truck at our plant in Hermosillo, Sonora. | You book it, with your own carrier. | Your customs broker, at the crossing you choose. |
| Delivered at the Nogales border | At the Nogales crossing; the handover point is named on your quote. | We book the Hermosillo–Nogales leg; your carrier takes it from there. | Your customs broker. |
| Delivered duty paid to your site (DDP) | At your job site. | We book it door to door. | We do; duty is part of the delivered price. |
Hermosillo keeps Arizona time (MST, UTC−7, no daylight saving). More on routes, terms and paperwork: steel delivery to Arizona and the Southwest.
Questions
Steel dunnage questions
What is steel dunnage in construction?
Dunnage is the steel framing that lifts and carries mechanical equipment above a roof or a slab: chillers, air handlers, rooftop units, condensers, cooling towers and generators. The frame takes the equipment load to the building structure, keeps the unit off the roof membrane so the roof can be flashed and serviced, and sets the unit at the height and level its maker asks for.
Is your shop AISC-certified?
SQ Tech's shop is not AISC-certified. All production follows AISC standards: steel design to ANSI/AISC 360, welding to AWS D1.1 and mill test reports for the structural steel. If your specification requires an AISC-certified fabricator, say so in your request and we quote only the scope it allows.
How much steel can you fabricate?
Our plant in Hermosillo fabricates about 400 metric tons of structural steel a month per shift. Send your package and schedule and we confirm the dates in the quote; large packages ship in stages, in the order your erector needs them.
Can the dunnage be galvanized?
Yes. Rooftop and outdoor steel is often galvanized: we deliver it with shop primer, a paint system or hot-dip galvanizing through our galvanizing partner, as your specification calls for.
Do you install the dunnage?
Not on US sites. We fabricate the steel, mark every piece and bundle it in erection sequence; your erector or mechanical contractor sets it. In Mexico we also erect.
Are there US tariffs on fabricated steel from Mexico?
Yes. Fabricated steel imported from Mexico falls under the US Section 232 steel tariffs, and the rate depends on the HTS classification and on where the steel was melted. For pickup at the plant or delivery at the border, your customs broker confirms the duty for your HTS classification before you order; with DDP, duty is part of our delivered price.
How does the steel reach a site in Arizona?
Our plant is about 175 miles (280 km) south of the Nogales–Mariposa crossing into Nogales, Arizona. From the border, I-19 runs north to Tucson and I-10 continues to Phoenix. Every package is quoted at our plant (FCA), at the Nogales border or delivered duty paid to your site. How delivery works.
Request for quote
Send your dunnage package
Attach the drawings or describe the scope: the equipment, approximate tonnage, the finish, the site and delivery point, and the target dates. We reply within 24 business hours.
Related services
- Contract steel fabricationFrames, joists, plate work and miscellaneous steel from your approved shop drawings, for US contractors.
- Steel for Arizona minesConcentrate storage, maintenance shops, process plant steel and plate work for mining operations.
- Delivery to the US SouthwestPickup at our plant, delivery at the Nogales border or DDP to your site, and the papers that travel with the steel.