Sending scaffolding to a site abroad is not a longer version of a domestic delivery. Three things need to be settled before price comes up; quote without them and the number misleads both sides.
01Delivery terms
This decides what the price covers. In Incoterms 2020 terms:
- EXW: goods handed over at the plant. Loading, freight and customs are the buyer's.
- FOB: ours until the goods are loaded on board, the buyer's after that.
- CIF: freight and insurance to the port of destination included.
The same bill of material gives three different prices. When a buyer says the price is high, they are often comparing against a different delivery term.
02Container planning
Scaffolding is bulky cargo. What usually drives the cost is not the weight but how many containers it fills.
Design decisions land directly on freight here. In the flanged system, for example, bay lengths are 70, 103, 153, 203, 253 and 303 cm; which lengths are chosen changes how many metres of run fit in a container. If that is not part of the take-off, the bill of material is right but the shipping cost comes out inflated.
This is why take-off and loading plan are worked out together, not separately.
03Assembly and use documents
When the material arrives, the crew on the other end may be seeing it for the first time. If the assembly document, part list and instructions do not travel with the shipment, the material waits on site.
What buyers ask first
In our experience the first three questions are always the same: delivery term, lead time and payment terms. All three vary with order volume and destination country, so a standard list would be misleading. But knowing they are coming shortens the conversation.
Certificates
For steel structural components going to the European market, EN 1090 conformity is asked for. We hold EN ISO 3834-2 for welded fabrication and TS EN 12810 as the facade scaffolding product standard. For a buyer bidding on a tender, these usually come before price.
Two ways of working
We work abroad in two ways. The first is direct project shipment: we work out the take-off with you, produce and ship. The second is country distributorship: working with firms that already sell scaffolding and formwork in their own market, with stock, technical training and marketing support.
Whichever fits you, write to us with the project take-off or your company details.