Metal Building Contractor in Roswell, New Mexico
Hangars and dairy barns want the same thing from a roof: a wide span nobody has to prop up. In Roswell we build both. The city sits on a high plain with irrigated farming, dairying, ranching and petroleum-related facilities around it, and its air center has a 13,000 foot runway. A pre-engineered rigid frame suits that mix.
Leprino Foods operates one of the world's largest mozzarella factories in Roswell, and the dairies in the area need barns, commodity sheds, equipment shops and feed storage. Meanwhile, Roswell Air Center is five miles south of town on 5,029 acres at an elevation of 3,671 feet, with a 13,000 foot by 150 foot runway and a 10,008 foot by 100 foot runway, and aircraft owners and repair shops need hangars.
Between those two markets, wide clear span steel is the most common building we are asked to price here.
Hangars, repair bays and aircraft storage
Tenants at Roswell Air Center include AerSale and other aircraft repair and refurbishing companies, an Eastern New Mexico University campus, and a large aircraft storage site where over 300 aircraft were ferried in 2020. Repair work needs big clear floor, high doors and heavy slab areas. Our aircraft hangar builds, which serve aviation owners and repair shops alike, use deep trusses or rigid frames with large door openings, either hydraulic, bifold or sliding, and we help you choose the opening size from the tail height of the largest aircraft you expect.
Starting in 2025 the National Championship Air Races are held at Roswell Air Center. An event like that brings temporary structures, storage and hospitality needs. For a permanent building, we can design a hangar that works as a shop most of the year and an event building when needed, though we advise talking to the airport about any assembly use first.
Dairies, processors and ranches
Dairy buildings are built to a different list than a shop. They want ventilation, wide drive-through alleys, concrete floors with drainage, sloped roofs and long runs of eave. Metal framing handles those spans without interior columns, which keeps cows and equipment moving. See our agricultural buildings work for how we frame open-sided, curtain-wall and fully enclosed barns.
On the processing side, food plants need washdown-friendly interiors. We coordinate food and beverage processing shells with the owner's process engineers, who set the finishes and the floor drains. We build the structure and envelope and leave the process equipment to specialists.
What we coordinate with trade partners
We erect the steel through trade partners: the anchor bolt check, columns, rafters, purlins, girts, and the roof and wall panels. We also hang overhead and sliding doors and install insulation. Subcontracted trades handle concrete, electrical and plumbing, and we coordinate them with the steel schedule.
Coordinating erection lets us sequence the work around weather conditions. On a dairy site we work around the milking schedule. On a hangar we work around the airfield's own operations. In either case, we plan access and laydown with the owner on day one.
Distance to Roswell and what it does to the schedule
Roswell is on its own on the plains. US 70, US 285 and US 380 intersect there, with US 285 running 76 miles south to Carlsbad and US 70 running 117 miles west to Alamogordo. That is a lot of empty road between big towns. If the erection trade partner comes from Albuquerque or farther, we plan travel and lodging, and we tell you so.
BNSF Railway provides freight service to Roswell, which helps with some heavy materials, but most steel arrives by truck. We stage the delivery in order of erection so there is no re-handling. Monsoon storms in summer and wind in spring each take days out of the calendar, and we show that in the schedule.
Permits for farm buildings and hangars
Agricultural buildings are treated differently from commercial buildings in many places, and the rules depend on the use and occupancy. We ask early whether a barn is for livestock only or includes people and a shop, since that shapes what the building department requires. Hangars are commercial buildings and fall under the 2021 New Mexico Commercial Building Code, which adopts the 2021 International Building Code as amended and took effect July 14, 2023.
We prepare the permit set with the manufacturer's stamped drawings and a foundation design that matches the anchor bolt plan. If you are a dairy planning expansion, tell us the herd and building timeline so we can design phases. Neighboring towns like Artesia and Portales have similar farm and industrial needs, and Carlsbad to the south has its own mix; we apply the same process in each.
Working beside aircraft and animals
Airfield work has rules: vehicle routes, crane height limits, foreign object debris control and checks with the airport. Dairy work has its own: animal movement, biosecurity and wash areas. We brief every crew member on the rules for the site and keep tools and trash under control. A bolt or a scrap of panel left on a taxiway is a hazard, so we sweep at the end of every shift.
Roof work in the high desert means heat and wind. We tie off, start early, and stop lifts when sheets get hard to hold. It slows us a little and it keeps people safe, which is the only trade-off that matters. On dairy jobs we also follow the owner's biosecurity rules about boots, vehicles and tools.
Put up your Roswell building
Tell us whether you need a hangar, a barn or a plant addition, and give us the parcel. We will price the shell, include the travel plainly and propose a schedule.
Common Questions
How wide a door can a hangar have?
It depends on the building design and the door type. Bifold and hydraulic doors can be very wide, and sliding doors can span more with proper tracks and headers. Tail height drives the opening height, wingspan drives the width. Tell us the largest aircraft and we will size the frame and header to match.
Can you build a dairy barn with curtain walls?
Yes. Open-sided and curtain-wall barns are common. The frame carries the roof and the curtains let air move. We coordinate with your dairy consultant on ventilation, drainage and cow flow. Slab and drain design matter as much as the steel.
What does hauling steel to Roswell add?
It adds freight and crew travel. Because Roswell is far from other large towns, we price travel and lodging separately. We include them in the budget so that you see the actual cost.
Are farm buildings permitted differently?
They can be, depending on use and occupancy. A barn with no regular occupants may have lighter requirements than a shop with employees. Ask the building department early, and give us the real use of the building so the drawings match.
Can I use the building for events?
A hangar used for public events becomes an assembly use, which has stricter rules for exits, fire protection and occupancy. Raise it before design. Changing use later can be expensive.
