Situated in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in the Maritime region of Canada, the Magdalen Islands are known for beautiful beaches, lousy weather and delicious lobster. The story of “Homard Des Isles” (Lobster of the Islands) and their new live storage facility is thoroughly entwined with the latter two of these island hallmarks.

The continued growth in demand for lobster, especially in Asia, in recent years created the need for “Homard Des Isles” to add additional live storage capacity on the Island where they source their lobster. Previous experience and common sense warned of the severe danger of corrosion. The Magdalen Islands are sandbar type structures surrounded by sea water, usually engulfed in windy wet salt air and even the soil and groundwater are quite salty. But this facility would face an inside and out corrosion assault since the inside would be full of saltwater tanks (seawater is pumped constantly from the nearby ocean) to keep the countless lobsters happy and healthy while awaiting their shipment to every corner of the world.

Homard Des Isles contacted Turgeon Structural Steel, specialized in agricultural building construction and they already had the answer to this corrosion challenge - hot-dip galvanized steel for the entire structure. The galvanized steel could be designed and fabricated in a flash and erection of the precision fabricated components would be quick and easy. Given the high cost of any construction on these very remote islands, the plug and play qualities of hot-dip galvanized steel were especially advantageous.

Once constructed the high-performance value of HDG is especially beneficial in such an application and location. Previous experience had shown that paint systems utterly failed in such challenging environments as did pre-galv sheet products. A serious concern also identified from previous facilities was the combination of the salty humidity inside these live storage facilities combined with only marginal heating causing temperature cycles that lead to paint flaking. This introduces toxic material to the storage tanks that sickens any lobsters that may ingest it.

Now complete, this storage facility has a long future in store thanks to the incredible proven durability of hot-dip galvanized steel, even in this near perfect storm of inside and out corrosion potential. The next time you sit down and enjoy dipping that tasty lobster into melted butter please try to remember galvanizing contributed to that delicious meal getting to your plate safely and economically.