Spiral Steel Silos Engineered for
Long-Term Storage
Advanced spiral seam silo systems for efficient, airtight, and durable bulk material storage.
Double Seam Spiral Folded Silo
Double Seam Spiral Folded Silos are a patented spiral steel silo technology developed by German engineer Xaver Lipp. This technology relies on cold, continuous forming of steel strips on-site. This leads to a seamless spiral structure and a mechanically self-locked joint. Compared to traditional silo constructions, these joints enhance the structural integrity and airtight performance of the silo.
- Weld-Free Cold Forming Process
- Highly standardized
- All-Weather
- Reducing logistics and assembly costs at origin
- High-precision delivery without prefabrication
- Hot-dip galvanized
- Galvalume / ZAM optional
- Extended service life
Double-Seam Spiral Joint Technology
Generally, the spiral seam encases thin and uniform continuous ribs of 30-40 mm that nearly surround the silo. This acts similarly to adding many external stiffeners during construction. Compared to conventional bolted silos, this results in a 3 to 5 times higher bearing capacity, uniform stress distribution, resistance to wind and earthquake damage, etc.
- Continuous Helical Stiffeners
- Five-Fold Mechanical Interlock
- Stress Concentration is eliminated
- Geometric Stability is enhanced
- Labor Costs are Reduced
- Construction is Quiet and Pollution Free
Superior Airtight Performance
Every spiral silo electrolizes the GB/T 25229-2024 airtightness test beforehand, which you can see it all released. Failures are always-fix-until-compliant at the contract level.
German Lipp five-layer spiral seam, joint thickness five times higher than the base material, reinforced with high-performance weather-resistant sealant.
Loss rate as low as 1%. Traditionally storage with poor airtightness causes clumping and mould without you realising it — eating away at your profits.
This results in a total reduction of grain loss, which over the period of 3 years fully compensates for the difference in your initial investment. Not an estimate, these astonishingly high numbers come from real five-year working records of a provincial reserve grain depot in the province.
- Continuous Forming
No panel joint accumulation, enhances overall air tightness and structural continuity
- Small Site Foot Print
Construction equipment needs only 150–200m² of level land which means the precise installation facility can even be mounted in limited area like a factory or even between existing structures.
- Reduces Labor Dependence
Customers can benefit by not depending on labour intensive manual assembly, obviating the risk of labour fluctuations and potential cost increases.
- Optimized Project Timelines
With no need for scaffolding, the primary structure of a 5,000-ton silo is usually completed within 10-15 days.
High-Speed On-Site Construction
The streamlined processes of the Neorigin Spiral Steel Silo ensure that construction timelines are optimized and safety, quality and performance are guaranteed. These features become especially important for large scale storage projects.
This is what makes spiral silos so fast to construct from an engineering sense, with wall sheets simultaneously roll-formed and place directly on site, removing the need for bother panel alignment, extensive bolting and largescale scaffolding that typically goes into conventional silos system.
What are the advantages of spiral silos?
Take the time to learn the true distinctions of silos before committing your capital for a long duration. Compare airtightness, construction efficiency, durability, maintenance and lifecycle cost of spiral silos with conventional structures.
DECISION GUIDE: Quick Selection
Silo systems are an essential design element. Poor silo design impacts material handling efficiency and operational safety and translates into higher lifecycle costs. Unfortunately, the real costs of poor design only materialize years after the systems are operational.
Technical Performance Comparison
| Parameter | Spiral Silo (Lipp) | Bolted Steel | Welded Steel | Concrete |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical Capacity (per silo) | 500 – 25,000 t Small to Medium focus | 10 – 3,000+ t Widest range | 1,000 – 100,000 t Ultra-large | 10,000 – 50,000+ t Large focus |
| On-site Construction Time (per silo) | 3–15 Days Fastest | 10-20 Days Fast | 30–60 Days Slow | ＞120 Days Slowest |
| Airtightness Performance | Excellent Long-Term Airtightness Mech. 5-layer seam | Moderate Bolts + EPDM (needs maint.) | Very High (Depends on weld quality) | Variable Prone to cracking |
| Service Life | 25 Years | 25 Years | 25 Years | 50 Years |
| Typical Foundation Cost (% of total project cost) | 10 – 15% Lightweight | 10 – 15% | 20 – 30% | 30 – 40% Excessive dead weight raises foundation construction costs |
| Maintenance Cost (% of annual operating costs) | 0.5% | 5% | 5% | 0.5% |
| Typical Construction Method | On-site continuous forming (Highly Automated) | Factory prefab, modular assembly | Site welding (Labor intensive) | Formwork casting (High civil construction workload) |
Structure & Working Principle
We precision design and manufacture our silos for structural integrity while simultaneously maximizing your storage volume.
Key Technical Parameters
3 – 40 m (up to 40m special)
Advanced Material Selection
Whatever is your environmental and material requirements we have different types of corrosion resistant coatings and structural steel materials.
Core Structural Steel Options
Carbon Steel
- Q235 / S235 / ASTM A36 (Standard Strength)
- Q345 / S355 / ASTM A572 (High Strength)
Anti-Corrosion Coating Systems
Galvanized Steel Silo
The industry standard for general bulk storage.
ZAM Steel (Zinc-Aluminum-Magnesium)
An advanced high corrosion resistant coating which has the ability to autogenic heal at cut edges.
Material & Industry Suitability
Our spiral silos are one of the most versatile in there handling of a whole range of different bulk powders and granualrs in different sectors.
- Cement
- Aggregates
- Fly Ash
- Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag / GGBFS
- Manufactured Sand
- Gypsum
- Stone Powder
- Lime
- Slag
- Carbide Slag
- Foamed Glass Aggregate
- Anti-Segregation Agent
- Concrete Residue Treatment Agent
- River Sand
- Crushed Stone
- Calcite
- Silica Fume
- Autoclaved Silicate Aggregate
- Wheat
- Corn
- Paddy Rice
- Sorghum
- Beans
- Rice Husk
- Flour
- Feed
- Liquid Fats And Oils
- Soybean Meal
- Oilseeds
- Soybean
- Rapeseed
- Sunflower Seeds
- Peanut
- Cottonseed
- Corn Germ
- Palm Kernel
- Flaxseed
- Ferroalloy
- Alumina
- Copper Concentrate
- Lead-Zinc Concentrate
- Quartz Sand
- Sulfur Concentrate
- Iron Ore Fines
- Sinter
- Active Calcium Oxide
- Metallurgical Dust
- Magnesite
- Magnesium Oxide
- Petroleum Coke
- Needle Coke
- Graphitized Coke
- Graphite
- Food Waste
- Orange Peel Fiber
- Construction Waste
- Recycled Aggregate
- Sludge
- Biomass Wastes
- Fly Ash
- Furnace Slag
- Fgd Gypsum
- Ceramsite
- Fly Ash
- Liquid
- Activated Carbon
- Polyaluminum Chloride
- Quartz Sand Filter Media
- Water Softener Salt
- Urea
- Soda Ash
- Polyethylene Pellets
- Plastic Pellets
- Semi-Coke
- Carbon Black
- Coke Dry Quenching
- Petroleum Coke
- Calcined Petroleum Coke (CPC)
- Prebaked Anode
- Coal
- Iron Concentrate
- Phosphate Rock Powder
- Silica Sand
- Kaolin
- Limestone
- Silicate Rock
- Barite Powder
- Dolomite
- Attapulgite Clay
Trusted by Industry Leaders
Validated by engineers, operators, and procurement teams in long-term industrial storage projects around the world
A well-functioning silo is primarily a silo that discharges smoothly, seals perfectly and shows no wear. Neorigin silo system performed as per all our engineering expectations while in actual operation. It gets running for quite a long time on end is exceptionally solid.
Grain is a thing that breathes, you really must not be just looking at there shell. One of neorigin silo especially excels at is the design of ventilation, keeping grain storage exactly breath and humidity balance require.
'' We should not focus solely on the procurement of equipment, but rather on its reliable operation ten years from now. Based on the feedback we have received, the equipment’s long-term structural stability and maintainability are fully aligned with our safety objectives.”
I am investing in operational reliability for the long haul, not a short-term production demo. Neorigin bulk storage system performance has been stable, and the supplier has behaved like a real project partner during execution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a spiral silo truly airtight? Can it be used for grain fumigation?
Yes. The spiral silo wall is completely free of bolt holes with both structural integrity and gas-tightness provided at the same time by the double-lock seam. This makes it suitable for phosphine or methyl bromide fumigation applications where sealing an atmosphere is key.
Although bolted silos can be made sufficiently airtight through the use of gasket and sealant compound at each bolt connection, they still require re-inspection of bolts and washers (every 6 months according to SYMAGA maintenance guidelines), in order to maintain sealed joints.
With spiral silos, this ongoing maintenance factor is removed for operations that must be hermetically contained at all times.
What is the maximum capacity of a spiral silo?
Spiral silos are ideal for smaller to medium-capacity uses, generally up to 15,000 metric tonnes. Maximum diameter is capping by the mechanical limits of the roll-forming process: thickness is limited to around 6 mm for practical applicability, which means that by increasing diameter too high, there are little structural walls left to transmit high load cases found in very large-diamter entries.
For one silo larger than 15,000 tonnes, or an expandable structure with future-proofing in mind (with systems even at the range of 45,055 m³ volume), bolted silos using S450GD high strength steel (such as those used by Silos Córdoba) are the more suitable engineering choice.
What steel grade and anti-corrosion coating is used on your spiral silos?
Our Spiral Silos are fabricated from hot-dip galvanized strip steel, with minimum coating weight of Z275 (275 g/m²) for standard inland environment; upgradable to Z600 (600 g/m²) or ZM310 zinc-magnesium alloy coating in coastal, tropical and high humidity environments.
For installations in ISO 12944 corrosivity category C5-M (marine) or CX, we suggest specifying ZM310 with an epoxy “primer plus topcoating”. Structural strip steel is a product that meets EN 10346 or an equivalent degree.
Buyers working in salt-fog environments should request a corrosion protection specification sheet for the specific project rather than relying on brochure data alone.
What design standards does your spiral silo comply with?
The structural design is made according to EN 1993-4-1 (Steel Silos) for shell stability and load calculations; this includes the action forces of the bulk solid – calculations according to EN 1991-4, and ANSI/ASAE S433. 1 (Janssens equation for horizontal and vertical grain pressure) where applicable
In the case of grain handling applications, ventilation systems are sized based on ANSI/ASABE S624 with a range of 0.1 to 0.5 cfm/bu airflows.
All structural calculations can be delivered with a stamped PE report upon request — standard practice for EPC projects, not an optional extra.
What is the total cost of ownership (TCO) for a spiral silo over its lifecycle?
EPC turn-key cost of spiral storage silos for common grain applications usually vary from USD 80–120 per MT of storage space according to condition, foundation design and scope of conveying equipment.
It is known that maintenance budgets per year are typically between 1–3% of CAPEX at commissioning Spiral silos require less Routine Maintenance than bolted silos since spiral have no bolt re-torquing cycles. But wall rescreening tends to require cutting and welding by specialized workers.
When specifying the right material, a design service life of 25–30 years can be expected.
Does a spiral silo work for cement or industrial powder storage?
Spiral steel silos used to store dry industrial powders like cement clinker and fly ash come with high eccentric discharge loads that require special engineering. Asymmetric discharge can produce local wall pressures that are many times greater than symmetric fill conditions and must be specifically addressed in structural calculations, as noted in ACI 313-16.
Your seamless wall construction performs well at moisture exclusion, which is important for being able to store cement. On the flip side, bolted silos have an operational advantage of being replaceable panel-by-panel that is advantageous in applications requiring future wall replacement due to factors like abrasion and localized corrosion.
Cement bulk density is usually defined to be 1.5–1.6 t/m³ for structural load calculations.