Case study · Smart logistics
Owner: JD LogisticsMain contractor: CSCEC 1st BureauQ355B
JD Asia No.1 Smart Warehouse: Steel Frame for 1.6 Million Parcels a Day
Multi-storey steel frame for JD Logistics’ South China hub in Machong, Dongguan, sized around a 22 km cross-belt sorter, 78 automated stacker cranes and AGV traffic. Main contractor CSCEC 1st Bureau, 2017.
1.6 M+Parcels handled per day
22 kmCross-belt sorter supported
78Automated stacker cranes
approx. 9,500 tStructural steel, estimated
01Project facts
A warehouse designed around its machines
JD Asia No.1 Machong is the South China smart logistics hub of JD.com, in the Xinsha industrial park on the Pearl River near Dongguan port. The building houses a 22 km cross-belt sorting system, 78 automated stacker cranes and fleets of handling robots, with a design throughput of more than 1.6 million parcels per day.
For a building like this, the structure is part of the equipment. Guiguan supplied the steel frame, mezzanine steel and floor deck, coordinated with the automation vendor’s load and deflection limits.
Warehouse steel frame during erection
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Owner | JD Logistics (JD.com) |
| Main contractor | China Construction First Group, 3rd Company |
| Location | Xinsha Industrial Park, Machong, Dongguan, Guangdong |
| Building type | Multi-storey automated sorting and storage warehouse |
| Floor area | approx. 150,000 m² across warehouse levels |
| Structural steel | approx. 9,500 t (about 63 kg/m²) |
| Key members | Welded H columns and girders, roof trusses, sorter support platforms, mezzanines, truss floor deck |
| Steel grades | Q355B main members, Q235B secondary |
| Grid / span | 12 × 24 m typical bays; 36 m clear span over the sorting hall |
| Our scope | Detailing, fabrication, coating, delivery, erection supervision |
| Year | 2017 |
Tonnage and member data from fabrication records; areas and dates from the owner and main contractor.
02The challenge
Tight deflection limits and a fixed go-live date
Automated systems tolerate millimetres, not centimetres. The steel had to stay inside the automation vendor’s limits under full live load.
Deflection and vibration
Sorter platforms and stacker rails need deflection in the order of L/1000 and low vibration. Standard warehouse girders do not meet that.
Column-free sorting zones
The cross-belt loop needed a 36 m clear zone, while storage areas needed dense 12 m grids for rack loads.
Heavy floor loads
Mezzanine and storage floors carried 15–25 kPa live loads plus point loads from racking and AGVs.
Go-live date fixed by sales peaks
Steel had to close in time for equipment installation ahead of the 618 and 11.11 sales seasons.
Thousands of interfaces
Sorter hangers, conveyor supports, sprinkler mains and cable trays all bolted to the primary steel.
Fire and corrosion
Riverside site with high humidity, plus fire ratings for a multi-storey storage building.
03Engineering solution
Stiff girders, a clear-span sorting hall and pre-punched interfaces
Storage zones used a 12 × 24 m grid of welded H columns with deep welded plate girders, sized for stiffness first. Sorter and conveyor platforms were designed as separate braced frames sitting on the primary steel, so vibration from the sorter did not drive the floor girders.
The sorting hall used 36 m roof trusses on box-section columns, keeping the cross-belt loop free of columns. All equipment interface plates, hanger holes and cleats were placed in the Tekla model from the automation vendor’s layout and shop-drilled, so installers only bolted.
Floors used truss floor deck as permanent formwork, which let MEP crews work below while slabs were poured above.
Column erection in the storage zone
| Member / detail | Section & grade | Detailing note |
|---|---|---|
| Main column | Welded H 500×400 to 700×500, Q355B | Base plates with shear keys, anchor templates supplied |
| Floor girder | Welded H 900–1,200 deep, Q355B | Pre-cambered, designed for L/800 or better |
| Sorting hall truss | H-section truss, 36 m span, Q355B | Trial-assembled in shop, bolted splices |
| Sorter platform | H and channel frames, Q235B | Separate braced frames, slotted holes for alignment |
| Floor deck | Truss deck 1.2–1.5 mm base, 90 mm truss | No props, 3.0 m span between beams |
| Interfaces | Cleats, hanger plates, inserts | Shop-drilled from vendor layout, piece-marked |
Fabrication & QC, Guangdong base
04Fabrication & QC
Camber, flatness and piece marks for fast installation
Floor girders were pre-cambered in the shop and checked before dispatch. Column base plates were milled flat for full bearing. Every interface cleat carried a piece mark that matched both the Tekla model and the automation vendor’s drawing, which let two installation teams work from one reference.
- 100% UT on CJP welds at girder splices and column bases
- Camber measured and recorded per girder
- Hole position tolerance ±1 mm on interface plates
- Sa2.5 blasting, epoxy zinc primer and intermediate coat for humid riverside exposure
- Fire protection by intumescent coating to the specified rating
05Delivery & erection
Zone by zone, so automation could start early
The building was split into erection zones. Each zone was handed to the automation installer as soon as steel and deck were complete.
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01
Model and vendor coordination
Equipment layout imported into Tekla; interface plates and hanger points fixed before fabrication.
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02
Foundations and bases
Anchor bolt templates delivered first; bases surveyed before column release.
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03
Storage zones
Columns and girders erected level by level, deck laid behind the steel crew.
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04
Sorting hall roof
36 m trusses lifted by mobile crane after shop trial assembly.
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05
Sorter platforms
Platform frames installed and aligned with slotted connections.
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06
Handover to automation
Zone-by-zone handover with survey records for rail and platform levels.
06Results
A frame the automation installer could work with
1.6 M+Parcels per day design throughput
22 kmSorter carried on steel
78Stacker cranes
36 mClear span, sorting hall
The steel frame was closed zone by zone to the logistics program, and equipment installation started on handed-over zones while erection continued elsewhere. Shop-drilled interfaces removed site drilling at sorter and conveyor supports.
For overseas logistics owners the takeaway is simple: give us the equipment layout early. We size the frame for the machine, not just the code load, and ship the interfaces drilled. See steel warehouse buildings and our cost per ton guide.
07Related
Systems and members used on this project
Each page lists spans, grades and processing limits. See all reference projects.
08FAQ
Questions about this project
Planning a similar structure? Send drawings and our engineers reply within 24 hours.
What did Guiguan supply for JD Asia No.1?
The primary steel frame, sorting hall roof trusses, equipment platforms, mezzanine steel and truss floor deck, with erection supervision. Erection was by the main contractor, CSCEC 1st Bureau.
How much steel does an automated warehouse need?
Single-storey logistics sheds run 32–45 kg/m². Multi-storey automated warehouses with heavy floors typically run 55–95 kg/m². This project sits at about 63 kg/m².
Can you design to an automation vendor's deflection limits?
Yes. We check girders and platforms against the vendor’s deflection and vibration criteria, then detail interface plates directly from their layout.
Do you supply warehouses overseas?
Yes, FOB, CFR or CIF from Shenzhen or Guangzhou, with erection supervision. In Southeast Asia our subsidiary PT Xianghe can install. Transit is about 3 days to Manila and 6 to Indonesia.
What is the lead time for a warehouse frame?
Fabrication takes 25–40 days after shop drawing approval, delivered in erection zones so site work can start before the last batch ships.
Send your drawings. Get a 24-hour BOM and FOB price.
DWG, IFC, Tekla or PDF. Engineering review by our Tekla team, from 50 t or 2,000 m².